Reinforcing historical awareness and culture through higher education: threats and challenges (2025)

Re-clarify the role that history plays in our societies in order to consolidate the democratic and human rights acquis

As part of the intergovernmental programme on history education, the Education Department of the Council of Europe has launched a series of forums on key topics concerning history in the first quarter of the 21st century.

The third forum was entitled “Reinforcing historical awareness and culture through higher education: threats and challenges” and took place at the University of Bologna in May 2024. This event was organised in collaboration with the University of Bologna and in partnership with key players in higher education: the International Association of Universities (IAU), Eurodoc, the European Students’ Union (ESU) and the Magna Charta Observatory.

The following themes were addressed during the Third Forum for History Education and are found in this report: taking popular culture into account in the formulation of a historical narrative; the role of the public authorities as guarantors of the framework for the operation and funding of higher education; the role of the actors involved in defining a historical narrative, particularly in terms of teaching, a role that can only be thought of in terms of respect for academic freedom; and the importance for learners and citizens of having a common historical foundation on which to live together.

At the crossroads of a reflection on history within higher education and discussions on the state of higher education, in particular the question of academic freedom and institutional autonomy, the Bologna Forum provided an opportunity for very rich debates, including contradictory ones, to which this report bears witness.