Editorial |
OPTIMISTIC PROSPECTS for a NEW APPROACH on NATIONAL HISTORIES IN SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE
Distinguished Readers and Friends of the Historical Sciences, Dear Colleagues in South-Eastern Europe, be welcome to this friendly meeting, thanks our first issue of a Newsletter entirely dedicated to the CHANGE OF CURRICULA IN NATIONAL HISTORIES IN SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE in the CONTEXT OF THE CREATION OF THE NEW UNITED EUROPE! This a concrete part of our ONE-YEAR SEE EDUCATIONAL PROJECT, aimed to transform the curricula of socio-humanistic faculties in our region concerning the teaching/learning of national histories and of the history of Europe, according the needed intercultural, interdisciplinary and inter-confessional changes in our so turmoiled region. From the beginning, our regional reforming proposal, designed in a clear cross-border and cross-cultural context, was generously embraced and supported by the special PROGRAMME FOR REGIONAL ACADEMIC CO-OPERATION OF STUDENTS IN SEE (PRACS) launched by the OPEN SOCIETY INSTITUTE (Budapest/Zurich). Also, we are pleased to add that many other European, USA and national authorizing bodies, research educational institutes, NGO networks and specialized departments, remarkable personalities in the field of education rapidly understood the noble goals of our initiative and joined our efforts. More recently, we benefited from the suggestions and direct encouragement from Kultur Kontakt, the representative department of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Austria. Thanks to its kind support and orientative help, we aspire to develop and extend the objectives and the final impact of our youth initiative, open to all eight SEE participating countries/partner organizations. This Newsletter is proposed to you in the same respect, it means it is intended to clarify controversial issues and problems concerning the historical knowledge on our histories as well as the whole Balkan history. In the same time, our publication written by is young students and graduates, but it contains also suggestion and scientific advice coming from well-known experts and professors from EU, USA and our own geographical region. We aim, in this way, to stimulate a permanent unconventional and permanent dialogue, exchange of experiences and dissemination, related to the practices and policies recommended for a deeper change of perceptions in the field of presenting the evolution of facts, events and mentalities in the historical life of our societies. One of our way to better connect with you, our readers and helpful critics, will be to ensure a free room for your comments, remarks, questions and suggestions, planned to concretely support the establishing of a inter-cultural/inter-disciplinary SEE Network. Such network could become a pro-active and really viable tool for introducing to the young generation from our region the principles and objectives of the European Idea, and familiarize our colleagues of generation with a fully renewed perspective on our past, memories, but also emerging future. In this view, please be convinced that your interest and proposal will be an important barometer for our day-by-day work and will increase the general impact of our results on the specialists directly involved in the reforming of education through the history, and also on a much larger audience. Thank you in advance for your interest on our initiative and feel free to contact as soon as possible our editorial board to the e-mail address: eurolink@fx.ro on the behalf of the Editorial Board, Sever AVRAM
Sandu ZAMFIRESCU & Silviu HARITON Editor in Chief Project Coordinators |