European Association of History Educators

Anna Lindh Foundation organises the Euro-Arab Forum on “youth and Migration” which will be held in Assillah, Morocco between the 14th and the 19th November 2009 by the League of Arab States, the Council of Europe, the UNFPA, The European Youth Forum and other partners from the Euro-Med region. Mounir Dadi, EUROCLIO Partner in the Project "Discovering Diversity: an integrative approach to the History of Migrants" will participate on behalf of the Association and present to the wider audience the project.

The Anna Lindh Foundation is organising a Regional Communication Seminar ‘Common Ground, Common Purpose’ in Malta from 25th to 27th October 2009 and aims to support project management in developing the communication dimension of their initiatives. The seminar will aim to provide the project Managers with strategic communication tools and guidelines to implement to their Project and help them meet their aims. EUROCLIO will be represented by Maria Kazamiaki, Communications Manager and member of the Team of the Project "Discovering Diversity - An integrative approach to the history of migrants" sponsored by Anna Lindh Foundation.

EUROCLIO, the European Association of History Educators and Dadi Advies, a consulting firm specialised in social cohesion programmes, will work together with history educators and experts from the Euro-Mediterranean Region to develop educational material on the history of migrants. The focus on shared historical experiences and the attention paid to inter-generational and inter-cultural dialogue will contribute to mutual understanding and social cohesion. The material resulting from this project will be integrated in an online, interactive multimedia tool which will ensure a sustainable outcome of this project and easy access to the material by teachers.

 

The project team will develop high quality educational material on cultural diversity appropriate to contribute to the debate on migration and its impact on society. The project involves professionals in history education from various Mediterranean and Western European countries.  This wide geographical outreach can assure that the method that will be developed stands the test of diverse and intercultural learning. The developed materials will aim at building mutual awareness and respect in multicultural classes, and strengthening self esteem and sense of belonging for the second and third generation migrants. A feeling of commitment will be developed amongst students through the discovery of the various and complex contributions of older generations to the history of the country.

The educational material resulting from Discovering Diversity will be integrated in an online, interactive multimedia tool that will provide a framework for constructing common historical knowledge about Europe without loosing a plurality of perspectives and inter- and intra-state diversity that will be developed in the EUROCLIO project Past, the future of Europe.

Project motivation

Until the 1960’s the European continent has mostly witnessed movements of emigration. This picture however has changed. Immigration has become a growing trend in all European countries. The contemporary European society therefore comprises a mixture of different cultures, ethnicities and religions. The project Discovering Diversity tackles the challenges of a constantly changing society which is founded on a multiplicity of origins. It aims to encourage a better understanding of the migratory phenomenon and its impact on society avoiding the pitfalls of stereotyping and simplifying. An interdisciplinary approach to cross-cultural topics such as Cities, Pioneers, Identities and Borders will highlight common points and connections and thus enhance mutual awareness.

One of the explanations for perceived decreasing social cohesion in society is the missing bridge to visualize a common past. Particularly events like 9/11 that shocked the world, led to alienation of the wider population from migrant communities and their descendents. Some communities even felt secluded from the rest. In this context, the subject History has become more and more difficult to teach as one simple narrative. Common historical roots are not self-evident anymore due to diverging personal and historical backgrounds of students. The approach offered by the project Discovering Diversity tries to show that the essential strength of society today is to be found in its diversity which creates more openness and fluidness.