The project “Remembrance Education” aims at improving the access and participation of adults in cultural events. The audience in focus are the adult inhabitants of housing estates in Białystok, Poland, and adults residing in and around Ekne, Norway. The project will map what the adult population are interested in learning about in relation to the collections of the Army Museum in Białystok and the Falstad Centre in Ekne. The Army Museum cooperates with the Ksiaznica Podlaska of Lukasz Gornicki in Bialystok to arrange cultural events. The project runs from the autumn of 2022 until spring 2024 and is funded by EEA Grants.
Both project partners experience that a segment of the population, especially those aged 30 – 50 years, seldom participate in cultural events at the institutions. Therefore, the cultural interests of this age-group will be charted, to identify hindrances to active participation, as well as develop cultural activities which are interesting and rewarding for them to participate in. The goal of the “Remembrance Education” project is to engage adults both in the events arranged by the partners, as well as to take part in cultural activities in general.
The starting point for the cultural activities will be, among other things, the war history of Białystok and Falstad. The partners share common ground in terms of war history and in challenges getting in touch with the age group in question. With “Remembrance Education”, we want to reinterpret the established method of conveying the history of World War II, by emphasizing personal and local perspectives, rather than focusing on the development of military technology. This in turn will contribute to engaging the audience in their local history and developing their understanding of the value of peace and the consequences of war.
To design cultural activities dedicated to the target recipients, a team of educators will participate in special training sessions, including a study visit to Falstad. They will develop a scenario of activities that will be implemented in the period of May-August 2023 on the housing estates of Białystok, and in September 2023 at Ekne. Their experiences will serve as a starting point to create a new audience strategy. This document will in turn outline the next steps to build a community around the institutions. The project will end with a national conference to disseminate the project’s results with other educators from around Poland.
The project is based on the exchange of experiences and cooperation of three partners. The project promoter is the Army Museum in Białystok. The role of the Falstad Centre will be to share knowledge in the area of remembrance education and the history of World War II, as well as participate in the whole project process. Ksiaznica Podlaska is the only institution in Białystok cooperating with the audience on the housing estates by providing library services.
The Project is financed by the EEA Financial Mechanism and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland. The Project is co-financed from the City of Białystok’s budget.
