FIBGAR completes the first round of workshops for ‘Young People with Memory: Badajoz in Democracy’
The initiative, funded by the Badajoz Provincial Council, brings democratic memory and human rights to secondary school pupils in the province through participatory workshops on the Civil War and the Franco dictatorship.
Last week, the Baltasar Garzón International Foundation (FIBGAR) concluded the first round of workshops for the ‘Young People with Memory: Badajoz in Democracy’ project, an educational initiative aimed at secondary school pupils in the province and funded by the Badajoz Provincial Council’s Historical Memory Service.
Eight schools and 227 pupils from the towns of Badajoz, Don Benito, Hornachos, Montijo, Puebla de la Calzada, Santa Amalia and Valdelacalzada took part in this first phase. Through participatory sessions, FIBGAR has introduced young people to the history of the Civil War and the Franco dictatorship, with a particular focus on their consequences for rights and freedoms.
Understanding the past to comprehend the present
The project is based on a fundamental conviction: understanding the past is essential for comprehending the present and building the future. For this reason, the workshops not only address historical events but also encourage pupils to reflect on the importance of democratic memory and the defence of human rights.
Understanding how democratic coexistence broke down and what the consequences of the Civil War and the dictatorship were enables new generations to appreciate the value of freedoms and to recognise the risks posed by intolerance, disinformation and hate speech. In a context where historical events can be oversimplified or misrepresented, it is particularly important to foster critical thinking and provide young people with the tools to interpret the past accurately and relate it to today’s democratic challenges.
A memory built in the classroom
The project will continue with a second round of workshops and a research project that each school will carry out alongside its teaching staff. Pupils will thus have the opportunity to delve deeper into the history of their local area and identify places and events linked to democratic memory.
This collective effort will contribute to the creation of the Route of Democratic Memory for the Province of Badajoz, to which each participating school will contribute historical references from its local area. The initiative will enable stories linked to the province’s past to be recovered and shared, bringing democratic memory closer to the everyday lives of the younger generations.
Through ‘Young People with Memory: Badajoz in Democracy’, FIBGAR reaffirms its commitment to education in human rights and democratic values, promoting spaces for learning and reflection that help to foster a critical, informed citizenry committed to peaceful coexistence.
Understanding and passing on our history is also a way of protecting the rights and freedoms of the present and the future.
