Four Under One Roof
During 2017 and 2018, history competitions in four countries – Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine – will be supported within the framework of a cooperation project supervised by Körber-Stiftung/EUSTORY and DVV International and funded by the German Foreign Office. DVV International’s regional office in Kiev forms the project hub.
In the project, experienced partners from the EUSTORY Network in Belarus and Ukraine share their longstanding experience and knowledge with partner organisations from Georgia and Moldova. All project partners will combine their unique expertise, aiming at debating and developing new approaches to historical project work. To start this process, all project partners have met during a Kick-Off Workshop in Hamburg in June 2017.
These days, information meetings and teacher training sessions are conducted in all four countries. History competitions will be announced during the second half of December 2017.
Belarus: From the History of the Family to the History of the Community
In Belarus, a competition will be announced under the title: "Behind the Scenes: From the History of the Family to the History of the Community". The task for the participants will be to use family photographs and recollections of family members as a starting point for a journey into family history, exploring interconnections between family and communal history. Young people between 16 and 25 of age are invited to participate in the contest. Whenever needed, mentors and experts are prepared to give hints or assistance to the participants, focusing on capacity building in historical research. The competition will be held by Young People Association »Historyka« in cooperation with the Representative office of the German Adult Education Association (DVV International) in the Republic of Belarus. Historyka has conducted several history competitions before and is a EUSTORY member since 2013.
Georgia: My Ancestor at my Age – The Young Generation in Twentieth Century Georgia
The competition in Georgia focuses on family history as well and carries the title: "My Ancestor at my Age – The Young Generation in Twentieth Century Georgia". The NGO "Soviet Past Research Laboratory" (SovLab) and the Georgian Association of History Educators (GAHE) have teamed up to facilitate the history competition in cooperation with the Georgian country office of DVV International. Pupils from 15 to 18 years of age are invited to participate individually or as groups. Though Georgian forms the main language in this country, in some regions Azeri respectively Armenian is spoken. To facilitate the participation of pupils from all parts of the country, entries can be made in either one of these three languages. Since no history competition based on project work has been held in Georgia so far, the current competition forms a pilot project. About 100 teachers have already been trained as tutors in workshops in Tbilisi and other towns during the last months.
Moldova: Local Heroes of the 20th Century in our Neighbourhood
In Moldova, SLocal Heroes of the 20th Century in our NeighbourhoodS has been chosen as topic of the competition which will be implemented by the Young Historians Association of Moldova (ANTIM) in collaboration with the Moldovan country office of DVV International. Both, pupils (aged 14-18) and students (aged 19-21) are invited to participate. In Moldova, entries can be made in the Romanian or the Russian language. The organisers have produced a video to promote their project.
Ukraine: History of my Community – Past for a Common Future
In Ukraine, participants are invited to explore places of historical or cultural heritage in their neighbourhood. In a second step of the project, participants, tutors and other member of the local community will gather together and think up ways of how these places can be turned into a benefit for the community, for example by promoting them as tourist destinations. Both historical research as well as community activities form the project »History of my Community – Past for a Common Future« and will be conducted by NOVA DOBA in cooperation with the Ukrainian country office of DVV International. NOVA DOVA is one of the founding members of EUSTORY and has already collected outstanding expertise with history competitions in Ukraine. Within the cooperation project, NOVA DOVA and DVV International have developed an innovative communal approach for the competition round of 2017/2018.
Next steps
All competitions will be announced in December 2017. Participants are supposed to hand in their contributions by the end of March 2018. Award ceremonies are expected to be held in May and June 2018, followed by feedback-workshops for tutors and the planning of future competitions. Successful participants will have a chance to apply for a History Camp in Berlin in late 2018.