Moderation: Alex TAYLOR – European Journalist

Opening words
Bjørn BERGE – Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe
Francesca CAMILLERI VETTIGER – Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Malta to the Council of Europe, Representative of the Maltese Presidency of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers

Panel
Sofia ZACHARAKI – Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, Greece
Mykola TROFYMENKO (online) – Deputy Minister of Education and Science, Ukraine
Josep Anton BARDINA PAU – State Secretary for Education and Universities, Andorra
Dimitris P. SOTIROPOULOS – Chair of the OHTE Governing Board

Moderation: Alex TAYLOR, European Journalist

In today’s world, citizens often find themselves trapped in echo chambers, swayed by emotion-driven content on social media, and pushed toward polarised views. Space for dialogue and mutual understanding is shrinking. Could debates help restore reasoned exchange? Could they offer citizens a way to shape their own opinions, in their own space, while recognising that no complex issue has a simple yes-or-no answer? Inspired by the Oxford model, the inaugural edition of the OHTE Debates will address the motion: “History should not be used as a political tool.” The event will spotlight outstanding students from several countries in a House debate, followed by an engaging exchange with leading European personalities.

House Format
Jonah BERGER – PhD Researcher in History, European University Institute of Florence
Albana BIKAJ – MA in History of Political Thought and Intellectual History, University College London and Queen Mary University of London
Ellie DOUSKA – PhD student in Contemporary History, University Jean Moulin Lyon III – LARHRA Lyon
Andrii KARPENKO – MA in History, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
Pietro MASSAINI – PhD student in Political Sciences at University of Rome La Sapienza and University of Strasbourg
Anne DE MONTLAUR – Master student in English and American History at the ENS Paris-Saclay and in Public Policy at the Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas

Debaters
Sonja LICHT – President of the Foundation BFPE for a Responsible Society
Markus MECKEL – Former Diplomat and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the German Democratic Republic

Observer
Alain LAMASSOURE – Former French Minister and Founding President of the Observatory on History Teaching in Europe

Moderation: Alex TAYLOR – European Journalist

Placing trust in history to reinforce democracy and its fundamental values seems a fairly safe choice. Yet, as with any venture, some risks remain: how can we ensure that history education truly reflects and supports these values?
This is a crucial question because if we fail, history teaching risks becoming a tool for ideologies that run counter to democracy.

Panel
Joëlle ALAZARD – Chair of the Association of Professors of History and Geography (APHG), Lycée Louisle-Grand, Paris
Niklas AMMERT – Professor of History, Pro Vice-Chancellor at Linnaeus University, Member of the International Network of Historical Consciousness and Democracy (INoHiDe)
Lise BUTLER – Doctor in Modern History, Senior Lecturer in Modern History, City St. George’s, University of London
Eva-Clarita PETTAI – Doctor in Political Science, Free University of Berlin and Director of Studies at the Europäische Acadamie of Schleswig-Holstein
Villano QIRIAZI – Head of Education Department, Council of Europe

This session will present the documentary that gathers the learnings of “Changing Democracies”, a European project that explores how Europe’s living history about recent transitions to democracy can help us to grasp what processes are needed today for democracy to fulfil its promises for everyone. It is the result of a collaboration between 12 partners from 10 European countries and was coordinated by the Evens Foundation and EuroClio with funding from the European Commission.

Presenters
Eugenie KHATSCHATRIAN – Project Manager and Operations Coordinator, EuroClio
Marjolein DELVOU – Programme Curator, Evens Foundation

Moderation: Matjaž GRUDEN – Director for Democracy, Council of Europe

In this new OHTE Talk, the importance for democracies of investing in high-quality history teaching will be underlined. In a world marked by disagreements and polarisation, history education can both offer younger generations the prospect of a democratic and peaceful future, and equip them with the tools to understand and face today’s complex challenges.

Yascha MOUNK – Political Scientist and author, Associate Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, Washington D.C., and Visiting Professor at Sciences-Po Paris