In the resolution of 19 September 2019 on the importance of European remembrance for the future of Europe, the European Parliament "calls for a common culture of remembrance that rejects the crimes of fascist, Stalinist, and other totalitarian and authoritarian regimes of the past as a way of fostering resilience against modern threats to democracy, particularly among the younger generation."
Contributing to the culture of remembrance, the "50+30: from WW2 to the end of communism" project aims to increase youth's knowledge on the implications of World War 2 and the period until the fall of communism in Europe on today's democracy, thus seeking to combat the populism and euroscepticism that are present in the european public space in the last years.
Funded through the Europe for Citizens program, the project is implemented by a consortium of 10 organizations from 9 EU countries which, until now, implemented the following activities:
- 10 memorial walks to vivify the remembrance of WW2 and communist history;
- raising mass awareness on key dates of historical events through daily retrospective Instagram posts - @5030remember;
- measuring the knowledge of young people on the implications of WW2 and other key historical events through an online survey;
- identifying the challenges to remembrance and drafting recommendations for stakeholders during an online seminar which took place between 2-11 November 2021 and gathered more than 60 participants from 10 countries.
CONFERENCE FORMAT
The final activity of the project, the online conference, comes as a logical
ending to our efforts and seeks to explore how remembrance can be a tool for
the revitalisation of democracy. In order to do that, we have prepared a
week of interesting activities, which will start on December 10th, on the
occasion of the International Human Rights Day.
10-15 December 2021: asynchronous activities, on the following topics:
- Networking
- Totalitarian regimes
- Transition to democracy
- Democracy now. Reflections on the Future of Europe. Euroscepticism and populism
Simultaneous workshops:
- 16 December 2021, 17-19 CET: Timeline of Human Rights (Source: Compass - Council of Europe);
- 17 December 2021, 14-16 CET: Transition to democracy: what are our collective memories about the totalitarian regimes
17 December 2021, live panels with human rights education practitioners and experts:
- Totalitarian regimes and transition to democracy, 11-13 CET
- Democracy now. Reflections on the Future of Europe. Euroscepticism and populism, 17-19 CET
YOUR PARTICIPATION
The participation is free of charge and the project is aimed at EU residents
with a strong motivation to get involved in the activities described above.
The registration is open until December 9th and will be rewarded with
a digital certificate. The participants who have been selected as
communicators and rapporteurs will be publicly acknowledged.