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Project Overview

The i-konf project introduces a comprehensive digital feedback tool designed to enhance and refine confirmation work. This project includes a third study on confirmation work, spanning the Protestant Church in Germany and regional churches across nine European countries.

i-konf was developed to foster a deeper understanding of confirmation work, with the ultimate aim of continuously improving the quality of this nonformal educational field.
To achieve this, a versatile and youth-oriented digital feedback tool has been developed, that can be used free of charge. This approach to gathering feedback offers multiple benefits:

  • Confirmands can easily give feedback on their experiences of confirmation work via their mobile phones.
  • Full-time and volunteer leaders can gain valuable insights from confirmand feedback without the burden of time-consuming manual evaluation or the need for research expertise. These insights can inform strategies for refining confirmation practices within their parishes.
  • Data gathered through i-konf will be analysed at local and regional levels, empowering parishes and churches to make informed decisions for continuous improvement. Ultimately, i-konf can help connect and advance confirmation work across Europe.

iKonf was implemented for a third empirical study on confirmation work in 2021/2022. This study builds upon the insights and findings gathered from two previous national and international studies on confirmation work between 2007 and 2018.

This international research project is the collective efforts of research teams and Protestant/Lutheran/Reformed churches from across Europe, including Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and Switzerland.

The German project is led by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Ilg of the Protestant University of Applied Sciences Ludwigsburg with Prof. Dr. Henrik Simojoki of Humboldt University Berlin serving as the coordinator of the international project. Manuela Hees is the research coordinator at the Protestant University of Applied Sciences Ludwigsburg.

The project receives financial support from the participating European churches and German regional churches. The latter group’s contributions are made in conjunction with the Comenius Institute and Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland.