On the way to the "best childrens´s university": The supply and demand relationship under the principle of partcipation. Opportunities and challenges raised by the children´s university

I know the children’s university is the best university in the world,” says Elisabeth, who is 9 years old and an attendee at the children’s university in Vienna. This charming compliment paid to the children’s university organizers raises an opportunity for further critical inquiries. The statement puts “real” universities on a par with children’s universities and therefore contains the implicit question of the status of children’s universities in the educational landscape: as a hybrid of formal and non-formal education. The specialist conference “On the way to the ‘best Children’s University’: The Supply and Demand Relationship under the Principle of Participation. Opportunities and Challenges”, took place from 8 to 10 May at the University of Cologne, addressed this intermediate position in all its facets. Further topics were possibilities for getting children involved as equal partners, and an international comparison of children’s university models. The conference was funded by the Ford Foundation and supported by KolnAlumni – Freunde und Forderer der Universitat e.V. It was organized in partnership with the international children’s university network EUCUNET along with the multinational EU project “SiSCatalyst. Children as change agents for science and society”.