27 January 2022, on the occasion of the International Day of Commemoration of the victims of the Holocaust, Jean-Michel Blanquer, French Minister of Education, Youth and Sports, participated in the memorial ceremony organised on the margins of the plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. During the ceremony, each and every speaker stressed the importance of history teaching in reinforcing common values and in helping young people to develop a critical understanding of the past.

It was in this context that the Observatory on History Teaching was established, and present on the day to present its work to the Assembly's parliamentarians and highlight its activities in the promotion of quality history teaching.

The Observatory was honoured to welcome Jean-Michel Blanquer to its stand, which was an opportunity for Aurora Ailincai, Executive Director of the Observatory, to present the work carried out since its creation in November 2020, and to thank the Minister for the unwavering support of France for the Observatory's activities.

We should recall that the Observatory on History Teaching in Europe project was initiated during the French Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (May-November 2019), and announced by Jean-Michel Blanquer on 26 November 2019 in Paris at the Conference of European Ministers of Education, following an expression of interest from 23 Council of Europe member States.