6. Education systems must adapt to social changes and respond with new curricula and interactivemethodologies to new demands – not only to meet emerging job requirements but also respond effectively tothe growing diversity of societies. They should also contribute to countering the erosion of democratic values,particularly among young people in Europe. For these reasons education for democratic citizenship should beprovided as a distinct compulsory subject, be included in other relevant subjects, such as history teaching,during all stages of formal education (primary, secondary, and higher education), and form a constituent partof vocational training and non-formal education.

7. With all these considerations in mind, the Assembly calls on member States of the Council of Europe toundertake a strategic policy review aiming to incorporate the Council of Europe guiding principles for historyeducation and the Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture throughout their educationpolicies, and in particular:

7.1. concerning curricula, to:

7.1.1. introduce education for democratic citizenship as a distinct compulsory subject and incorporate competences for democratic culture in other relevant subjects such as history teaching during all stages of formal education;

7.1.2. provide for more flexibility of history curricula to enable teachers to develop a learner-centred and competence-based approach alongside chronological and knowledge-based teaching;

7.1.3. allow sufficient space and time to properly consider the complexities and implications of the 19th and 20th century history, aiming to deepen students’ understanding of the challenges of the present time, including as regards sensitive history and remembrance;

7.1.4. include in history curricula the study of different forms of totalitarian regimes as well as other violent ideological movements which have devastated Europe in the 20th and 21st centuries, as serious violations of human rights that people in Europe have suffered, with a particular focus on the ways in which distorted historical interpretations can be deployed to justify acts of aggression in the present day;

7.2. concerning methodologies, to:

7.2.1. stimulate critical thinking through learning how to evaluate historical sources and make well-informed judgments;

7.2.2. develop human rights-based analysis of historical events, multiperspectivity in history education, and critical consideration of different standpoints;

7.2.3. foster interactive pedagogies and co-operative learning in small groups, acknowledging cultural differences and multiple identities among learners in a class;

7.3. concerning measures to create a supportive and enabling environment for teachers and learners, to:

7.3.1. include the competences for democratic culture in teacher education and vocational training, multiply teachers’ opportunities for professional exchange and development and provide a range of different teaching resources and guidance – including the Council of Europe guiding principles – available in local languages;

7.3.2. guarantee free access to virtual learning environments and to open educational resources;

7.3.3. promote collaborative learning projects, for instance to facilitate contacts between students and survivors of totalitarian regimes and violent ideological movements, or victims of terrorist groups, and transnational networking and co-operation in the field of education for democratic culture and history teaching;

7.4. concerning synergies between formal and non-formal education, to:

7.4.1. facilitate partnerships between schools, cultural institutions and other relevant stakeholders, such as sites of remembrance, museums, archives, civil society, artists and associations of victims of terrorist groups, to co-create history lessons; this requires time and financial resources for visits and joint projects, as well as training and curricular support for teachers to prepare for the wider historical context this will involve;

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