Background Information and Objectives of the 2nd Transnational EDUVINET Project Partner Meeting in Cadenabbia/Italy

The European Parliament in 1994 proposed "creating a framework to help citizens develop their own national sense of European unity. However, active support for this ideal had to wait until after the Maastricht Treaty of 1992 had been ratified. Article 126 of the Treaty defines the following goal as a task to be universally achieved: "the development of a European dimension in the education sector".

1.0 The subject of the meeting will be "European Identity".

(Note that European identity is also the first of four subjects we will deal with during the project)

It is planned to answer the following questions on a transnational level:

• Does the European Union need a distinct consciousness, a distinct identity ?
  If so, what are the contents ?
  If not, what are the alternatives ?
• Is a national way of thinking and the nation state a sufficient basis for European solidarity ?
• To act in solidarity with somebody also means to go through unpleasant things and situations together. How far are we willing to go in pursuit of common goals ?
• With what values should the younger generation in the European Union identify ?
• Do people in the EU need a common vision as a basis for political actions ?
  If so, what vision(s) ?
  If not, what are the alternatives ?

These questions have important implications for the co-existence of European people. Currently however their role remains marginal in the teaching of history and political science.

The Eduvinet project partners agreed at their 1st transnational meeting to work to improve this situation and to develop common value systems for the building of a new Europe.

2.0 Can we find value systems which all European people can identify with ?

Based on the rich historical experience of European people exemplary historical events will be selected which can be classified as follows:

In order not to extend the discussion too far contributions should concentrate on one or two of the following questions:

• Which developments, institutions or events could or can contribute to a European consciousness? What have Europeans in common and what has formed our feeling of belonging together ?
• Which historical events promote understanding of the European Unions present problems ?
• Which ideas and actions have led to catastrophes in Europe and have to be avoided in the future ?
• What outside factors have shaped European national and regional solidarity ?

3.0 What is the European added value of the EDUVINET project ?

The EU cannot support nationally oriented teaching schemes from common European support funds. On the contrary, as many European citizens as possible need to have access to project results. New ways of teaching and learning have to be tried out since the knowledge and skills which were acquired in school do not last a lifetime. So it is important to promote the idea of lifetime learning among students.

The EDUVINET project will deal with both these objectives in the following way:

At the 2nd transnational meeting in Cadenabbia, university professors, educationalists and teachers will try to broaden their nationally oriented horizons by adding a European perspective.

• The technical possibilities the Internet (WWW) offers, together with translations, will make it possible for the results of the meeting to be used by teachers and students in other member states of the EU and even world wide.
• Additionally, the project partners decided in December 1996 to establish a Web-forum on the Internet using special forum software to exchange opinions about project contents and results. In this way, experts and students who do not directly participate in the project can contribute their opinions and ideas.
• This instant, low cost electronic exchange of ideas has only been made possible through new achievements in information technology in the last couple of years.
• In this sense, the EDUVINET project is a pilot project which combines new technology with new ways of teaching and learning.