Launching conference on new Council of Europe project "Shared Histories for a Europe Without Dividing Lines" took place in Drammen, Norway

How can history teaching in Europe contribute to overcome old dividing lines without creating new ones?  How can it help young people to engage themselves in a diverse and constantly changing world?

These were some of the leading questions when the new Council of Europe (CoE) project ”Shared Histories for a Europe Without Dividing Lines" was launched at a conference on June 16-17, 2010 in Drammen, Norway.

The conference was organized by the CoE in co-operation with The European Wergeland Centre and the support from the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research.

More than hundred participants, among them representatives from the Ministries of Education, historians, authors of text books, teacher trainers, decision-makers, as well as representatives from international organizations and non-governmental organizations took part in this event.

Norway's Minister of Education, Ms. Kristin Halvorsen held the opening speech, in which she underlined the importance of diversity as a resource necessary to build peaceful and sustainable democracies in contemporary Europe. Emphasized was as well the role of the European Wergeland Centre - and other resource centers - as an important tool when it comes to preparing the pupils and teachers in Europe for living together in diverse societies.

In her welcome speech, EWC executive director Ms. Ana Perona-Fjeldstad highlighted the dynamic between the finalized CoE programme “The Image of the Other”, and the new one, “Shared Histories without dividing lines”. History teaching, through the deconstruction of stereotypes and the focus on interactions and convergences, can effectively contribute to the prevention of conflicts and can support reconciliation processes.

In this way, history teaching in Europe and beyond – through dialogue with its neighbor regions – can contribute to cultures of mutual respect and acknowledgement.

Ms. Tatiana Minkina-Milko, Deputy Head of the CoE History Education Division, presented some of the challenges history teaching is facing in the 21st century:

• Skills among young people such as flexibility in thinking, empathy and willingness to interact need to be enhanced
• Roles of history teachers are changing: being rather a partner and a mentor of learning processes than a transmitter of knowledge
• New types of local, national and transnational partnerships have to be developed, including the fields of education, science and culture

As it was underlined by Ms. Minkina-Milko, the new programme will create a space for action, transforming concepts and insights into educational realities.