This Comenius School Partnership aimed at awakening the interest of young people in participation in political life at school, local, European and global level by analysing dangers and threats against democracy in diff erent types of societies. But it also contributed to more democratic practices in the participating schools and to closer cooperation with the local communities and associated partners. Pupils and teachers in fi ve schools in Sweden, the Czech Republic, Spain, Bulgaria and Poland studied and discussed topics including the obstacles in the reintroducing and reconstructing democratic institutions, causes and background of terrorism, structural obstacles to the political participation of disadvantaged groups, the implementation of democratic values in the educational system and, last but not least, the role of women in political life. The partners collaborated in organising meetings, conferences, comparative studies and exhibitions concerning these issues. And the project work was truly cross-curricular, involving history, religion, social science, native and foreign languages, geography, and thereby a large number of teaching staff . The schools involved associated partners such as the United Nations’ local associations and local politicians in their work. The partnership also worked across diff erent school levels by involving pupils of diff erent ages. By studying the lack of, and the threats to, democracy in diff erent parts of the world, pupils reached a deeper knowledge of other societies and learned to accept and listen to others. Teacher reported that students became more critical and politically aware throughout the project. They gained a better understanding for other cultures and improved their skills to debate, to listen and to analyse the opinions of other young people. The success of this Partnership inspired several new school projects and due to the clear impact on the schools’ working methods, the results have proved sustainable at local level.