EUSTORY History Camp „United or Divided in Diversity?“ has started!
Given the many challenges in Europe caused by the Ukraine crisis, the refugee crisis, Brexit and growing populism, young Europeans are concerned about the future of the continent. Is there a sufficient basis of shared values and sense of community in Europe to tackle the current crisis as a common challenge? From 2 – 8 October, twenty-five EUSTORY alumni from sixteen countries are meeting in Georgia at the EUSTORY History Camp »United or Divided in Diversity? National Identities in Europe» to engage in an intensive and cross-border dialogue about identities and nationalism in Europe.
The young Europeans meet in Tbilisi and, through excursions and intense encounters, will explore the country’s history and present as well as the self-image of people in a rather young nation state in Europe. An important issue will be the various components of identity in Georgia and the role of the Soviet legacy in it. A workshop together with a Georgian school class, a visit to an exhibition at the Georgian National Museum, various discussions with expert historians as well as meetings with politicians, activists, intellectuals and artists from Georgia will be on the agenda.
Among others, the young people will meet with the former Georgian Foreign Minister Eka Tkeshelashvili who belongs to the Körber network Munich Young Leaders. The young people will present the results of their investigation to the public during a final presentation at the National Museum of Georgia. The Georgian Regional Office in Tblisi of the Institute for International Cooperation of the German Adult Education Association (DVV International) is the operational partner of the event.
"By examining different perspectives, participants formulate and challenge their views and national characters," says Katja Fausser, managing director of the EUSTORY network. In preparation for their journey, young Europeans worked together on the seminar subject for several weeks in a closed group on the online platform "History Campus". It became clear that there is much to discuss in Tblisi. A Bulgarian participant writes: "For me, European identity is an attempt to find a bridge between liberalism and nationalism, between values of freedom and national values as well as traditions of different countries of Europe." A Spanish participant responded more pessimistically: "The concept of 'European identity' is in my opinion the attempt to prevent conflicts between countries in Europe. Unfortunately, history has shown that everybody feels European until the interests of their own countries come into play." From a British perspective the issue of identity is currently difficult. "As someone who lives in the UK, I sometimes find it difficult to describe myself as ‘European’, especially now after the outcome of the EU referendum," complains a Welsh participant. The testimony of a Latvian participant reveals that European and national identity cannot always stand side by side free of tensions: "For me European identity means to know and respect the history and culture of my own country."
The seminar results and insights into the debates in Georgia will be published on the History Campus blog: https://www.historycampus.org