A three-day conference (11-13 June) of the intergovernmental programme on history education is taking place both at the Council of Europe Youth Centre in Budapest and online. The event "Where learners meet history: reaffirming the role of history education in the 21st century" will bring together academics, civil society, teachers and youth representatives to discuss about the relevance of history education for young people today.
"In the times in which the confidence in democracy among many young people is in decline, quality history education becomes even more important. It helps us to understand why democracy is important, by recalling what happened - and may happen again, - when there is no democracy. This Forum will help us to reaffirm the ethical foundations of how we teach history, and to place learners at the heart of that mission," said Matjaž Gruden, Director for Democracy at the Council of Europe ahead of the conference.
A keynote speech will be delivered by Niklas Ammert - pro vice-chancellor of Linnaeus University, Sweden and Professor of History Education and History Didactics. Ammert's research focuses on how individuals and groups in society encounter, interpret and communicate history at school, in higher education, in politics and in other cultural and societal contexts. He has a special interest in intersections of history and moral aspects.
In the current geopolitical context and against the background of a surge of disinformation online, the ethical question of how history should be taught will be at the heart of the event - with several sessions and debates dedicated to this aspect. With 70 years of activity in the field, the Council of Europe's intergovernmental programme on history education institutionalised the dialogue of member states on the way history should be taught. It led to standards in the field of history teaching and is currently at the end of its 6th phase.
Access to the online event is subject to registration.
