The project creates, empowers and increases the impact of a global core group of civil society actors that have a mission and relevant experience on the promotion of innovative and responsible history education and work on a cross-regional level to work on Dealing with the Past in History Education. This project enables this core group to learn from each other and other stakeholders during joint project meetings and international study visits. The core group members will experience first-hand how other organizations implement their mission. They will explore what history education can contribute to conflict prevention and transnational justice and identify ways to overcome the practical challenges related to dealing with conflicting memories and narratives, dealing with emotional and difficult histories, dealing with uncertainties and sensitivities. The result of this exploration will be the documentation of existing practices and practical recommendations that can be used for local and cross-regional implementation and joint advocacy on global, regional and national levels.Cover images (left to right):
PROJECT AIMS
The overall objective is to create, empower and increase the impact of a global core group of civil society actors that have a mission and relevant experience on the promotion of responsible history education and work on a cross-border level on dealing with the past in history education. More specific objectives are:
- To build the professional capacity and extend the networks of leading civil society actors who work on dealing with the past in history education through a series of peer learning activities (project meetings and study visits).
- To build, provide access to and promote the use of a knowledge base consisting of teaching resources, multi-lateral textbooks, relevant stakeholders, policies and recommendations, journals, (action) research and strategies that are not yet sufficiently disseminated.
- To engage in joint advocacy to inter-governmental organizations and targeted media on regional and global levels, raising awareness amongst policy makers and civil society actors on the importance of responsible history education on dealing with the past for sustainable peace.
EXPECTED OUTCOMES
The work on dealing with the past in history education is done by a small group of people with a strong commitment to promote sustainable peace. It takes civil courage to challenge the problematic fixed points of view and ask critical questions in order to create empathy and mutual understanding. They are often obstructed or resisted by people in power and suspect to negative reactions by people who believe that only their interpretation is true and leave no room for alternative views.
The advantage of this project is that it will empower civil society actors to continue their work on historical dialogue, transitional justice and conflict transformation. The project will involve practitioners across a variety of regions that normally are unable to meet and learn from one another. The project partners will be able to learn from specialists that are working in the field of dealing with the past and adapt the lessons learned to promote responsible history education, so that more history educators can work to build more peaceful societies on a day-to-day basis.
Specific expected outcomes are:
- Building capacities of civil society actors with a core mission to use history education as a tool for societies to deal with the legacies of a violent past, for conflict transformation and prevention and ultimately reconciliation. For EUROCLIO, it is important to empower organizations involved in these spheres of education because it increases the impact of our projects. Capacity building allows these civil society actors to be more effective when acting independently and with partners, and encourages international cooperation and coordination.
- These civil society actors will have larger networks because of this project. They will reach more individuals through direct and face-to-face contacts; their social capital will increase, as well as their reach and capacity to act. As these organizations become larger, they have a greater impact on their societies.
- The members of the global core group, the host organizations and other stakeholders connected will gain new insights and expanded their knowledge base on how to implement strategies related to dealing with the past through history education.
- The public-at-large will have access to an online repository (the knowledge base) of relevant practices, policies and projects that can be used for advocacy and monitoring to further develop the field, and learn from the project via regular blog posts.
- Through joint advocacy and media outreach, the project will result in increased awareness of the “abuse of history” in society as an obstacle for peace and stability amongst representatives of political parties, civil society organizations, professional volunteers, educational authorities (including inspectors, curriculum developers, and examiners), and other actors responsible for policies.
- Through additional events organized by partners and other stakeholders they will be able to increase the use of teaching tools that promote responsible approaches to history education that have the potential to transform and prevent conflicts.
- The study visits will make it easier for the selected civil society organizations from the core group and the host organizations to meet with policy makers.
