A New Format for Multilateral Textbook Work: European Forum for Reconciliation and Cooperation in History and Social Sciences Education (EFREC)

Abstract of the publication

Bi- and multilateral research on textbooks, curricula and educational materials has recently faced a difficult task in the face of newly spreading nationalistic and xenophobic trends and the return of violent conflict in Europe. The education sector needs to react quickly to these changes and develop new forms for exchange of experiences and the creation of educational products that meet the latest teaching requirements. In response to these challenges, the Leibniz Institute for Educational Media | Georg Eckert Institute of Braunschweig, Germany, established the European Forum for Reconciliation and Cooperation in History Education and Social Sciences Project (EFREC) in 2021. The EFREC aims to overcome the fragmentation of revision activities in Europe and to create a sustainable form of information, exchange and archiving of innovative projects and products of bi- and multilateral research on textbooks and educational media. In this article, the authors justify the need to strengthen and institutionalize efforts for bi- and multilateral textbook work, and present the stages of implementation of these activities.