The way ahead – " Building a more humane and inclusive Europe", 2007 Standing Conference of European Ministers of Education
In May 2007, the Ministers of Education endorsed the past work of the history division as part of "a response to the challenges posed by the diversity of our societies by making education for democracy and intercultural education key components of educational reform".
Their recommendations as to the programme 2008-2010 in the field of history teaching are:
- disseminating the results of the project "The European dimension in history teaching" (2002-2006), the book Crossroads of European histories – multiple outlooks on five key moments in the history of Europe, the CD-ROM "Turning points? Critical moments in recent European history" and the accompanying teachers’ manual, particularly in the context of initial and in-service teacher training;
- promoting history teaching and learning tailored to the increasingly multicultural nature of European societies as part of the new project "The image of the other in history teaching" through educational policy measures and proposals for strategies and methods;
- contributing to the reconciliation, respect and understanding of and mutual trust between different cultures and conceptions by promoting the principles of tolerance, openness to others, human rights and democracy in the context of globalisation and history teaching in conflict and post-conflict situations;
- drawing up proposals for general guidelines for the development of history teaching in both school and out-of-school education, with a view to including these in the general work on intercultural and inter-religious dialogue and providing governments as well as other partners concerned with proposals for strategies, methods and/or instruments for translating these general guidelines into specific measures;
- continuing the technical co-operation and consultancy activities concerning the reform of history teaching, teaching methods and educational material and the fostering of multiple outlooks.
Resolution on the results and conclusions of completed projects 2003-2006