RETHINK 4TH NEWSLETTER
Dear reader,
With the RETHINK final seminar now behind us, we would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved – the host, participants, speakers and you, our public, for contributing to the success of the Conference.
The Final conference of RETHINK took place from 2 to 4 March 2021. Representatives from partner organisations and Remembrance Education experts met to support inclusive education by providing educators with innovative tool to challenge prejudice, deepen student’s understanding of phenomena such as polarization and identity and to develop their media literacy and critical thinking skills. During the conference many speakers emphasised the importance of knowledge on remembrance education and raising awareness in order to improve pupils’ thinking critical skills to make them future active, tolerant and involved citizens.
Conference Highlights
3 Days
11 Speakers
More than 10000 people reached
Highlighted comments from the speakers

“Remembrance education is definitely not something that is related just to critical history education. Until Remembrance education becomes something mandatory, we will be still struggling to break through and to bring in more the idea that it is important to learn how we can prevent collective violence.”
Nena Mocnik
..
“We are not responsible for what some members of our nation or other groups we can identify with, did or failed to do … But we are responsible for what we do with the past today. That is our responsibility.”
Dariusz Stola
…
“Be aware that history for some people in the classroom might be a distant cultural memory; for other pupils it might be very close by and even very sensitive, too painful.”
Maarten Van Alstein
…
“We need to accept that the unacceptable is a part of our inheritage.”
Jean-Philippe Restoueix
Videos & all contributions to the conference are available on the project website: rethink-education.eu/final-conference/.
You still have time to evaluate our conference at forms.gle/CdJk7z2osbCv62Wa8.
RETHINK in a Nutshell
The challenge
Recent events and terrorist attacks in Europe have exposed divisions within our societies, and in particular a growing tendency to think in terms of “us” and “them”.
Our response
In linking past and present, Remembrance Education illuminates both the origins, the historical significance and devastating consequences of polarised identities, exclusion and prejudice and provides tools to combat intolerance. Memorial institutions and democracy-building NGOs have designed programmes that promote tolerance and respect towards diversity – while developing media literacy and critical thinking skills.
The RETHINK project aims to facilitate the dissemination of these programmes and is to support inclusive education by providing educators with innovative tools to challenge prejudices, deepen students’ understanding of phenomena such as polarisation and identity, develop their media literacy and critical thinking skills.
Our results
- RETHINK DATABASE
Browse our database and discover non-formal educational practices that promote the values of tolerance and diversity. - A TEACHER’S GUIDE TO REMEMBRANCE EDUCATION
Check out our tips and suggestions to integrate remembrance education into your practice. - RETHINK E-LEARNING PLATFORM
Upgrade your teaching and learn how to use remembrance education principles and tools in class. - POLICY RECOMMENDATION
Get convinced to integrate our innovative approaches into common practice. - RETHINK NETWORK
Get to know other formal and non-formal education stakeholders interested in transnational collaboration.
76
Practices collected
in the Database
151
Users in the
e-learning platform
420
Downloads of the Teacher’s Guide
38
Downloads of the Policy Recommendations
50
Organisations enrolled in the RETHINK Network
The impact
In our work, we set out to develop material that would be useful for policy makes, memorial institutes, and educators. Many of the developed resources have been available for several months already, and have been widely used by practitioners across Europe. This allowed us to start assessing the impact of the project.
We can confidently say that:
- The Database, the Teachers’ Guide, and the e-Learning Platform made it so that more and more educators have easy access to successful remembrance education practices, and can confidently set out to transfer them to their specific context;
- Our ambitious training programme made it so that many practitioners had the opportunity to engage with the material, as well as to exchange views and practices on Remembrance Education;
- (Educational) policy makers have access to realistic, practical, and detailed recommendations that can help them to develop remembrance programmes that effectively engage with disenfranchised youngsters, countering radicalisation.
We can’t wait to see what future developments in RETHINK and in the world of remembrance education in general will bring! If also you are enthused by this perspective, join our Network!
RETHINK Network – Our work is never over
The Network will keep you updated on new practices, innovative tools, cooperation possibilities and interesting events, linked to Remembrance Education.
Complete our online form and receive our newsletters automatically in the future.
If you want to contact the RETHINK Network, please contact us through our form: https://rethink-education.eu/contacts/