In the era of rapid technological advancement and the pervasive influence of social media, the proliferation of misinformation and deliberate historical distortions has become increasingly prevalent and often used for political ends. While no age or socio-professional category is exempt from these worrying phenomena, which undermine critical thinking and reason, the younger generations are particularly exposed to these abuses.  Any educational shortcomings in this area can contribute to the abandonment of the democratic and humanist values defended by the Council of Europe. Fake news and the manipulation of history are a major challenge facing the future of democracy but how can we help young people to combat these phenomena?  

Moderation:
Tobias FLESSENKEMPER, Head of Youth Department, Council of Europe

Panel
Vincent FLIBUSTIER, Media Trainer on digital citizenship and disinformation, Belgium
    
María SABIOTE, Secondary education teacher and member of DICSO research group (University of Murcia), IES Foramontanos, Spain

Lauren PRAY, Executive Committee Member, European Students’ Union, Prague (Czech Republic), member of the History Working Group (GT-HIST), Council of Europe

Presentation of the HISTOLAB Toolkit for History Classes: Debunking Fake News and Fostering Critical Thinking by Eve RYAN, Project Officer, History Education Division, Council of Europe

What meaning should be given to the commemorations that are organised? What meaning should be given to the commemorations that have been organised? How can we remember and pass on? Several themes will be addressed using videos produced by the MIRA association:

-The Liberation of territories occupied militarily by Germany: how to construct a narrative and promote a living history and memory of the liberation of Strasbourg and Alsace?

-The liberation of the concentration and extermination camps set up in Nazi Europe: how can this memory be passed on and how can this history be taught today at a time when the fight against anti-Semitism is once again an important issue in the political debate?

-Freeing minds from the grip of totalitarian regimes: how can we use knowledge, information and remembrance to combat the return of the nationalist, xenophobic and authoritarian ideologies that are once again on the rise in Europe?

Moderation

William IRIGOYEN, ARTE journalist.

Opening words

Anne MISTLER, Deputy Mayor of Strasbourg in charge of arts and cultures

Panel

Laura CASSARINO, Director of the MIRA association - Cinémathèque régionale numérique ;

Nicolas BUCHHEIT, History and geography teacher at the Lycée Marc Bloch (Schiltigheim) ;

Tal BRUTTMANN, Historian, specialist in the Shoah and anti-Semitism ;

Emmanuel DROIT, Professor of contemporary history at Sciences Po Strasbourg ;

Camille MAHE, Lecturer in contemporary history at Sciences Po Strasbourg.

This conference-debate is part of the three-year Strasbourg European Capital Contract, which aims to confirm and strengthen Strasbourg's ambitions as a European capital, the seat of the European institutions, the historic and political heart of Europe and an international city of human rights.

Admission free, subject to availability.

In French, without interpretation.

Opening words
Bjørn BERGE, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe (video message)
Claude MEISCH, Minister of National Education, Representative of the Luxembourg Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, Luxembourg

Moderation
Alex TAYLOR, European journalist

Opening session

Anđela JAKŠIĆ-STOJANOVIĆ, Minister of Education, Science and Innovation, Montenegro

Tomáš DRUCKER, Minister of Education, Research, Development and Youth, Slovak Republic

Artur MARTIROSYAN, Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, Armenia

Mychailo WYNNYCKYJ, Deputy Minister of Education and Science, Ukraine

Alain LAMASSOURE, Chair of the OHTE Governing Board, France

Luuk VAN MIDDELAAR, Founding director of the Brussels Institute for Geopolitics and 
Professor at Leiden University, Belgium

In dialogue with

Pap NDIAYE, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of France to the Council of Europe

Moderated by

Matjaž GRUDEN, Director for Democracy, Council of Europe

Moderation 
Alex TAYLOR, European Journalist

Panel
Mychailo WYNNYCKYJ, Deputy Minister of Education and Science, Ukraine

Yaroslav HRYTSAK, Director of the Institute for Historical Studies, National University of Lviv, Ukraine

Serhii PLOKHIY, Professor of Ukrainian history, Director of Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University (HURI), USA

It goes without saying that human history is punctuated by a variety of crises, each with distinct consequences, studied at all levels of education and in all member states of the Council of Europe. Despite our theoretical knowledge of past crises, current and future crises share a common obstacle: their occurrence is often difficult, if not impossible, to predict regardless of their nature. Consequently, studying historical crises in order to identify the strategies that were used to overcome them seems a promising approach in the effort to avoid repeating past mistakes and, ideally, preventing them altogether. In recent years however, the fact is clear: Europe has gone through and continues to grapple with economic and health crises, all while experiencing major conflicts and total humanitarian crises.  Is this symptomatic of an inability to draw inspiration from the past to manage and protect against these crises, or are crises an enduring challenge for humanity? 

Moderation
Alex TAYLOR, European journalist

Panel 
Bilgin AYATA, Professor for Migration and Transnational Studies, Center for Southeastern European Studies, University of Graz, Austria

Harold J. COOK, John F. Nickoll Professor of History, Brown University, USA

Tal BRUTTMANN, Historian, attached to Cergy Paris University, Franc

Peter GAUTSCHI, Professor of History Education, University of Teacher Education Lucerne, Switzerland

Caitriona NI CASSAITHE, Assistant Professor of History Education at the Institute of Education, Dublin City University, Ireland

History is a science and, like any science, it is based on scientific, factual and verified analysis. However, despite the scientific approach that should be the norm in its teaching, history can be interpreted very differently depending on who you talk to. More worryingly, history can be hijacked and manipulated to serve political discourse and construct narratives that are bellicose, discriminatory and promote values that run counter to democratic ideals. There has been a marked increase in misinformation and distortion of history, fuelled by various sources (political and social debates, conflicts, etc.), especially online, which can leave history teachers at a loss and even in danger. If history is misused in this way, is there a risk that it will become a tool of mistrust rather than of trust? And, to borrow the title of Francis Fukuyama's world-famous essay, we might ask: is this the end of history?

Moderation 
Villano QIRIAZI, Head of the Education Department, Council of Europe 

Panel
Semih AKTEKIN, Professor of History Education, Rector of Nevşehir Haci Bektaş Veli University (Türkiye), Member of the OHTE Governing Board

Ann-Laure LIÉVAL, Professeure agrégée of History and Geography, Lycée Fénelon and CPGE ECG (Classe préparatoire École de Commerce), Lycée Gaston Berger, Lille (France), Member of the OHTE Scientific Advisory Council

Mario CARRETERO, Emeritus Professor, Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain

Slobodan G. MARKOVICH, Professor of the Faculty of Political Science, University of Belgrade, Serbia

Luke GAUCI, Graduate History Student, University of Malta, Winner of the 4th OHTE Annual Conference call for papers, Malta