For “Changing Democracies”, an oral history project, twelve European organizations partnered up to collect testimonies of more than thirty ordinary people who experienced life under a dictatorship and a transition to democracy. On Friday 7 February, the results of the scientific part of the project, as well as concrete ways and tools to work with it online and in classrooms and other educational contexts, were presented in the Flemish Parliament.
In the Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, Romania, and Croatia people were interviewed who experienced life under a communist regime. In Portugal, Spain, and Greece project staff collected testimonies from people who lived under a fascist dictatorship. And in Flanders, Belgium and the Netherlands stories from newcomers who migrated from a dictatorship were collected.
Marjolein Delvou, project coordinator at the Evens Foundation: “The project brings together a wide variety of perspectives and lived memories of people coming from different countries, who experienced a transition from a non-democratic to a democratic society. This makes the Changing Democracies project unique in the European context.”
Based on the testimonies, the Changing Democracies project engaged young people and citizens in learning experiences about dictatorship and in critical conversations about democracy. What does democracy mean to different people? What is our role as citizens in fostering our democracy? And, importantly, what is life like without democracy?
The collecting of testimonies and the educational work of the Changing Democracies resulted in various outputs, such as an interactive website, an educational resource pack and a travelling exhibition, that will be on display at the conference. In all partner countries, moreover, local projects were developed with young people – pupils in primary and secondary education, students in teacher training and students in art schools.
The Flemish Peace Institute, an independent institute for peace research at the Flemish Parliament, was in charge of the scientific report that accompanies the project.
Maarten Van Alstein, researcher at the Flemish Peace Institute and editor of the report: “Among scholars, the idea of drawing lessons from history is often met with unease, suspicion, and even resistance, even when well-intended, for example, when the teaching of violent history is framed in terms of promoting democracy or peace. The reasons are obvious: There are many pitfalls and risks, and history is often misused. Nonetheless, the question of learning from violent histories is not easily sidelined. Nor should it be. During the project and in the report, we collected a multitude of ideas to avoid all kinds of pitfalls.”
In doing so, the project was able to create trans-European and transgenerational spaces where European citizens could meet and engage in dialogues about the multitude of conflictual memories that we share in Europe.
Brussel, February 7, 2025