edums.eu - Developing Education at Memorial Sites
Developing Education at Memorial Sites is a project of the educational team of the Mauthausen Memorial. It is supported by the "Europe for Citizens" programme of the European Union as well as by the Austrian Ministry of Interior (Mauthausen Memorial) and the Austrian association ERINNERN:AT.
Since its establishment in fall 2007 the educational team of the Mauthausen Memorial has sought new ways of dealing with the challenges of the memorial site. After researching other sites and consulting other heads of education they set out on developing a pedagogical concept. The results, presented for critical discussion in an experts workshop summer 2009, served as the basis for the first guides' educational course which began in winter 2009.
The Mauthausen educational team works continually on the further development of its pedagogical concept, presenting the results in professional publications and conferences. An initial theoretical presentation was published in 2011 in German (Gedenkstaetten-Rundbrief Article), and the latest update was presented at a conference at Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Clark University in April 2013 (Strassler Article).
The pedagogical work at Mauthausen was reviewed at the end of March 2012 in a three day workshop organized by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) and the Mauthausen Memorial educational team. A group of experts from different disciplines, institutions and countries joined youth groups in their regular tour of the sight, discussed the concepts and gave a rich feedback. The current project, Developing Education at Memorial Sites, allows the continuation of the work which began with that workshop.
Aims, Format, Results
Structure and Timeline
Participants
Whereas the visitors to the memorials consist of a very international mix, the memorials' educational staff tends to stem from the country in which it lies. The Think Tank will be bringing together experts from different European countries and thus introducing different perspectives and narrative interpretations. Additionally and no less important is the fact that different disciplines will be represented, i.e. the social psychology aspect through the partnership with the Center for Interdisciplinary Memory Research of Flensburg University, or the educational expertise of the Institute of Education at the University of London.
More information bout the participants and their impressions: Full Article
Working Groups
Educational / Project Team
Themes
As mentioned in the project's introduction, the aim is to develop concepts as well as practical methods for the visit of memorial sites. In order to achieve this, the project participants will focus on the three practical goals:
- Narrative options for the structure of the tour
- Models and examples for interactive sequences
- Research and development of source materials
The project will deal with two additional themes, which are central for the educational work:
- Concepts and structures for development and support of educational staff involved in the visit of memorial sites.
- Development of a practical evaluation structure, allowing insight into the reality of the guided tours.
The current development of these themes will be presented here as they evolve throughout the project's duration. Each theme is introduced with a brief theoretical article. Below the theoretical introduction the current stage of the respective theme development is portrayed by multimedia articles, showcasing the experiments and discussions during the Think Tank Workshops.
Narrative
Interactive Sequences
Material
Support
Evaluation
Workshops
A central part of the project is the workshops. Their aim is to bring together the knowledge and experience of external experts at the Mauthausen Memorial, expose them to the memorial’s educational activity and set the stage for an exchange with the memorial’s guides, i.e. the working groups, and the educational team. These three groups – external experts, guides and educational team – comprise the project’s Think Tank. During the workshops the experts review the ideas of the guides, and their input serves to revise and improve the guides' educational work and the educational concepts in general.
Additionally, the external experts offer their expertise through presentations and workshops, integrated into the workshops’ programs. Below you will find information on the workshops, in the form of protocols, videos and other material as it is collected during the project.
Glimpse into the Workshops
Input External Experts
Library
Here you find all articles and downloads.
Articles External Experts
Mauthausen Pedagogy
Further Resources
Project Report
All videos
The Link to all videos recorded during the project on Vimeo.com: -Link