The Education for Democracy Foundation (FED) was established at the end of the 1980-s as a cooperative effort between Polish and American pro-democratic educators. An independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan organization, the FED promotes the dissemination of knowledge concerning democracy and a free market economy as well as provide skills for civic activity in a democratic state. The Foundation's initial task is granting assistance in this field to educators and activists of non-governmental, trade union, youth and local governmental organizations in Poland and other countries of Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia.

 

Convinced that civil society does not exist only for the few, the Education for Democracy Foundation supports local communities, inside Poland and beyond its borders, in their efforts to build a civil society and, in particular, in those areas where access to education, the labor market and possibilities for determining one’s own fate are limited.

In building its programs on a foundation of local traditions and culture, the Foundation cooperates with people of various nationalities, religious beliefs and political convictions. The Foundation conducts its programs in Poland as well as Eastern and Southern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus serving as an educational bridge between East and West.

The Foundation is a member of national and international organizations as well as an active member of  Zagranica Group, an association of non-governmental organizations working outside the borders of Poland.