History at all costs?

Observatory on History Teaching in Europe

Flagship event of the Observatory on History Teaching in Europe tackling the state of history teaching & challenges in history education.

Languages of the event: English and French---------------------------You can now access the conference teaser, final programme, and details about the speakers on our landing page: <a href="http://www.ohte2025.com/" title="http://www.ohte2025.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">www.ohte2025.com</a>The livestream will automatically start on the same website, at 9:15 (CET), with possibility to switch between English and French channels.------------------------------During its 5th Annual Conference, the Observatory on History Teaching in Europe (OHTE) will publish its second Thematic Report on <a href="https://www.coe.int/en/web/observatory-history-teaching/economic-crises-2024-" title="https://www.coe.int/en/web/observatory-history-teaching/economic-crises-2024-" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">"Economic Crises in History Teaching"</a>. The report provides an overview of how economic crises, their origins and impact on societies, are taught in primary and secondary level history education."History at All Costs" also stresses the fundamental importance of history education – an essential investment in understanding the world and shaping the future.In line with the <a href="https://rm.coe.int/2pager-new-democratic-pact-for-europe/1680b650f2" title="https://rm.coe.int/2pager-new-democratic-pact-for-europe/1680b650f2" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">New Democratic Pact</a> proposed by the Council of Europe, this year’s OHTE Annual Conference will promote quality history teaching as a powerful tool for enhancing democracy by deepening our understanding of our shared pasts – with the ultimate goal of ensuring a peaceful future. <h3>DRAFT PROGRAMME*</h3><h3>THURSDAY, 16 OCTOBER 2025</h3>9:30 - 10:30 - OPENING SESSION: “HISTORY AT ALL COSTS”Moderation: Alex TAYLOR, European JournalistOpening wordsBjørn BERGE, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of EuropeFrancesca CAMILLERI VETTIGER, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Malta to the Council of Europe, Representative of the Maltese Presidency of the Council of Europe's Committee of MinistersPanelSofia ZACHARAKI, Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, GreeceYevhen KUDRIAVETS, First Deputy Minister of Education and Science, UkraineJosep Anton BARDINA PAU, Secretary of State for Education and Universities, AndorraDimitris P. SOTIROPOULOS, Chair of the OHTE Governing Board-----------------------------------------------------10:30 - 12:30 - OHTE Debate: “HISTORY AND POLITICS – THE UNBREAKABLE BOND?”Moderation: Alex TAYLOR, European JournalistIn today’s world, citizens often find themselves trapped in echo chambers, swayed by emotion-driven content on social media, and pushed toward polarised views. Space for dialogue and mutual understanding is shrinking. Could debates help restore reasoned exchange? Could they offer citizens a way to shape their own opinions, in their own space, while recognising that no complex issue has a simple yes-or-no answer? Inspired by the Oxford model, the inaugural edition of the OHTE Debates will address the motion: “History should not be used as a political tool.” The event will spotlight outstanding students from several countries in a House debate, followed by an engaging exchange between two leading European personalities. House FormatJonah BERGER, PhD Researcher in History, European University Institute of FlorenceAlbana BIKAJ, MA in History of Political Thought and Intellectual History, University College London and Queen Mary University of LondonEllie DOUSKA, PhD student in Contemporary History, University Jean Moulin Lyon III – LARHRA LyonAndrii KARPENKO, MA in History, Taras Shevchenko National University of KyivPietro MASSAINI, PhD student in Political Sciences at University of Rome La Sapienza, Italy and University of StrasbourgAnne DE MONTLAUR, Master student in English and American History at the ENS Paris-Saclay and in Public Policy at the Université Paris-Panthéon-AssasDebatersSonja LICHT, President of the Foundation BFPE for a Responsible SocietyMarkus MECKEL, Former Diplomat and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the German Democratic Republic ObserverAlain LAMASSOURE, Former French Minister and Founding President of the Observatory on History Teaching in Europe-------------------------------------14:00 - 15:30 - Plenary Session 1: “HISTORY EDUCATION: A SAFE BET FOR DEMOCRACY”Moderation: Alex TAYLOR, European JournalistPlacing trust in history to reinforce democracy and its fundamental values seems a fairly safe choice. Yet, as with any venture, some risks remain: how can we ensure that history education truly reflects and supports these values? This is a crucial question because if we fail, history teaching risks becoming a tool for ideologies that run counter to democracy.PanelJoëlle ALAZARD, Chair of the Association of Professors of History and Geography (APHG), Lycée Louis-le-Grand, ParisNiklas AMMERT, Professor of History, Pro Vice-Chancellor at Linnaeus University, Sweden; Member of the International Network of Historical Consciousness and Democracy (INoHiDe)Lise BUTLER, Doctor in Modern History, Senior Lecturer in Modern History, City St. George’s, University of LondonEva-Clarita PETTAI, Doctor in Political Science, Free University of Berlin and Director of Studies at the Europäische Acadamie of Schleswig-HolsteinVillano QIRIAZI, Head of Education Department, Council of Europe----------------------------------------15:30 - 16:00 - Screening: “IS DEMOCRACY WORTH THE TROUBLE?”This session will present the scroll documentary that gathers the learnings of “Changing Democracies”, a European project that explores 15/how Europe's living history about recent transitions to democracy can help us to grasp what processes are needed today for democracy to fulfil its promises for everyone. It is the result of a collaboration between 12 partners from 10 European countries and was coordinated by the Evens Foundation and EuroClio with funding from the European Commission.PresentersEugenie KHATSCHATRIAN, Project Manager and Operations Coordinator, EuroClioMarjolein DELVOU, Programme Curator, Evens Foundation--------------------------------------------16:30 - 18:00 - OHTE Talk: “TEACHING HISTORY IN A WORLD WITHOUT CONSENSUS”Moderation: Matjaž GRUDEN, Director for Democracy, Council of EuropeIn this new OHTE Talk, the importance for democracies of investing in high-quality history teaching will be underlined. In a world marked by disagreements and polarisation, history education can both offer younger generations the prospect of a democratic and peaceful future, and equip them with the tools to understand and face today’s complex challenges.Yascha MOUNK, Political Scientist and author, Associate Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, Washington D.C., and Visiting Professor at Sciences-Po ParisEND OF DAY 1-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<h3>THURSDAY, 16 OCTOBER 2025</h3>09:00 - 10:30 - Plenary Session 2 “ECONOMIC CRISES IN HISTORY TEACHING:WHAT SUPPLY, WHAT DEMAND?”Moderation: Raul CÂRSTOCEA, Professor of History, Maynooth UniversityThis session will enable those involved in the production of the second OHTE Thematic Report on Economic Crises in History Teaching to present its main findings. The audience will be encouraged to take part in the discussions, focusing on how economic crises are taught in history education across Europe.withSteffen SAMMLER, Historian at the Leibniz Institute for Educational Media I Georg Eckert Institute and senior lecturer at the Technical University of Braunschweig; co-ordinator of the group of experts responsible for drafting the second OHTE Thematic ReportAnn-Laure LIEVAL, Member of the OHTE Scientific Advisory Council, Professeure agrégée of History &amp; Teacher Trainer, Lycée Fénélon of Lille-------------------------------------------------11:00 - 12:30 - Plenary Session 3 “THE COST OF FORGETTING: WHY ECONOMIC CRISES SHOULD BE TAUGHT IN HISTORY”Moderation: Olena PALKO, Assistant Professor at the Chair for East-European History at the University of Basel, Switzerland, Chair of the OHTE Scientific Advisory CouncilBased on the findings of the OHTE’s second Thematic Report on Economic Crises in History Teaching, this session will provide the opportunity to discuss in-depth the place of economic crises and economy in history teaching and why this is relevant for learners. Through concrete examples and diverse perspectives, we'll see that economic crises have played a major role throughout history in forming our modern societies, in all their facets.PanelMarco COKIĆ, PhD Student in Economic History, LSE | London School of Economics and Political ScienceFrancesco BOLDIZZONI, Professor of Economic History, University of PalermoGeorge PAGOULATOS, Greek Ambassador to the OECD, Professor of European Politics and Economy at the School of Economics of the Athens University of Economics and Business, and Visiting Professor at the College of EuropeAliette QUINT, Chair of HENSOLDT Nexeya France, Representative of Plus Europa---------------------------------------------------12:30 - 13:00 - Closing Session “5 YEARS OF OHTE – INVESTING IN THE FUTURE OF HISTORY TEACHING”Moderation: Aurora AILINCĂI, Executive Director of the Observatory on History Teaching in EuropeConference reportSerena GANDOGONON, Student at Sciences Po StrasbourgVladimir GILG, Student at Sciences Po StrasbourgClosing words:Marja RUOTANEN, Director General of Democracy and Human Dignity, Council of EuropePap NDIAYE, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of France to the Council of Europe

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History at all costs?

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