Founded in November 2020 through a partial agreement signed by 17 Council of Europe (CoE) Member States, the Observatory on History Teaching in Europe (OHTE) arose in response to a difficult geopolitical context in Europe, where tensions are rife in a number of regions: Ukraine, Belarus, the Balkans, and the English Channel. Many Europeans are questioning verified facts, and certain agenda-driven national narratives are ignoring historical truths established by the community of academic historians. In such a situation, we need to reiterate our duty with respect to memory and historical research. This is particularly true in an educational setting, since learners may be tempted to have recourse to biased and unverified sources of information. The OHTE aims to provide a snapshot of the current situation of history teaching and to demonstrate that history teaching can help us to build a more inclusive European society in which all histories are heard and approached on an equal footing.

The FEDE and the Observatory on History Teaching in Europe (OHTE)

Eager to explore the role of history in strengthening citizenship, the FEDE wishes to play an active role in the work of the CoE-affiliated OHTE so as to provide learners with technical, concrete and conceptual tools to ensure their vigilance in the pursuit of knowledge and skills. To this end, we have carefully followed the work and developments of the OHTE and have endeavoured to build a close partnership with it. On 20 November 2021, we were delighted to host Mr Alain Lamassoure, former minister and MEP and currently Chairman of the Observatory’s Governing Board, at the FEDE’s Paris office. The aim of the meeting was to present Mr Lamassoure with a proposal for FEDE-Observatory cooperation: the joint creation of an innovative teaching module on the importance of history teaching. The course would be taken by students at FEDE-member institutions and would follow the same model as that of the awareness-raising course on corruption developed jointly by the FEDE and experts from the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), which has been taken by 15,000 FEDE students since its launch in September 2019. During the meeting with Mr Lamoussure, Claude Vivier Le Got and Xavier Paroutaud presented a framework document summarising the proposed project. They discussed the overall format of the proposal as well as the OHTE’s prospects for future development.

Following this meeting, the Chairwoman of the FEDE was invited to speak at the first annual conference of the Observatory, which took place in person on 2-3 December in Strasbourg. It was entitled ‘Preserving Democracy: Why does History Education Matter?’ and attracted some 100 participants. Educational professionals, history teachers and government representatives debated the current state of history teaching in Europe. The Conference was also an opportunity to set up a platform, which will bring together various organisations (federations, NGOs and associations) and networks of experts. During the conference, Claude Vivier Le Got gave her views on the role of the Observatory and expressed the FEDE’s eagerness to be actively involved in the activities of the future Platform.

Throughout the first half of 2022, the FEDE has attended all the webinars organised by the Observatory: ‘Historical Thinking at the Service of Democratic Cultures’ (31 March), ‘Teaching the History of Minorities in Europe: the Case of Roma History’ (14 April); and ‘The End of Peace in Europe?’ (12 May). The FEDE’s Director of Education Xavier Paroutaud was invited as an expert to the webinar of 12 May to give his views on the history of Europe, the reasons behind the founding of European institutions, and the role of history teaching, both at schools and universities, in European construction.

For more information on the OHTE, please follow this link: https://www.coe.int/en/web/observatory-history-teaching

The FEDE and the European HISTOLAB (Transnational History Education and Co-operation Laboratory) project

During the first annual conference of the OHTE in December 2021, the European Commission, represented by its Vice-President Margaritis Schinas, announced that it wished to help create a joint project to step up cooperation with the OHTE and increase participation by involving the CoE’s 46 Member States. It was in this way that the European HISTOLAB (Transnational History Education and Co-operation Laboratory) was officially launched on 1 May 2022 by the European Commission and the CoE. In July 2022, the FEDE was officially invited to play an active role in the HISTOLAB project. The initiative will be conducted over two years (up until April 2024) and has been allocated a budget of €1.1 million, of which 90% is being provided by the EU; however, the project will be largely implemented by the Council of Europe. The main goal of HISTOLAB is to facilitate cooperation between different history-teaching stakeholders. HISTOLAB will encourage the sharing of knowledge, experience and expertise between history-teaching professionals – that is, practitioners (such as teachers and museum curators), academics, young researchers and political decision-makers, the aim being to advance debate on this subject and take into account a range of different perspectives. HISTOLAB will approach the sharing of expertise on good practice, between both professionals and countries, in a horizontal way. In so doing, HISTOLAB will not restrict itself to reflecting on, identifying and promoting good practice in history teaching but will also provide a range of professional development and networking opportunities. Consequently, the joint research programme is aimed at both young researchers and professionals working in history teaching; it will give them an opportunity to develop their knowledge, participate in professional networks and gain new professional experience.

HISTOLAB aims by 2024 to set up a digital platform that will include:

  • a directory of contacts for HISTOLAB members and partners;
  • a shared calendar and a digital bulletin board;
  • a directory of relevant resources for history teachers and researchers.

Additionally, various HISTOLAB cooperation activities should help to facilitate networking between persons working in history teaching. Such activities will include:

  • a European Day of Innovation in History Teaching – an annual forum that will focus on the future of history teaching;
  • a HISTOLAB Prize to reward innovative ideas and projects in schools; the competition will involve students in the European Schools Network and the CoE’s Democratic Schools Network;
  • a series of webinars where innovative initiatives will be presented.

One of the most important expected outcomes will be the production of guidelines to combat the deformation of history and disinformation online. The guidelines will be aimed at users, educators and online platforms. The aim is to step up media literacy and resilience capacity in the face of the abusive use of history, which poses a threat to democratic values.

For more information on the HISTOLAB project, please follow this link: https://www.coe.int/fr/web/observatory-history-teaching/histolab

The commitment to advancing this work of key history-teaching partners such as the FEDE is a way to improve understanding of the shared aspects of European history. Ultimately, the Observatory and the HISTOLAB project aim to nurture a shared European identity rooted in the recognition and promotion of democratic values.

Thanks to its participation in OHTE activities, and building on the expertise that the OHTE will help generate, the FEDE hopes to produce an innovative educational course on the importance of history teaching.

Rémi LOISON

Institutional Relations Policy Officer at the FEDE