The Observatory on History Teaching in Europe is an Enlarged Partial Agreement of the Council of Europe, comprising 16 member states and 4 observer states. It was established in November 2020 at the initiative of the French government – among the priorities of its Presidency of the Council of Europe.

Our vision is embodied by our moto: “Teaching History, Grounding Democracy”. In practice, this means that everything we do aims at promoting quality history education in order to improve the understanding of democratic culture among young people.

Our mission is to provide a clear picture of the state of history teaching in Europe. Within the countries party to the Observatory, we do this through:

Moreover, the Observatory has created a transnational history education and co-operation hub, together with the European Union, that serves as a platform for professional development and networking for European professional associations and institutes active in the field of history teaching.

Our factual and academic rigour is guaranteed by the Scientific Advisory Council, composed of 11 experts from a variety of geographical regions and professional backgrounds. The Governing Board is the main decision-making body of the Observatory, composed of representatives of each of the 16 member states and 2 observer states. Mr Alain Lamassoure (France) is the current Chair. Everyday functioning of the Observatory is ensured by the Secretariat.

We build on the Council of Europe's nearly 70 years’ experience in history education, while complementing and strengthening its intergovernmental programme.

As part of the Council of Europe we share its values: Human Rights, Democracy and Rule of Law.

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Our official hashtags are #HistoryAtHeart #LHistoireAuCoeur and #OHTE.

 

  See our presentation leaflet