Skip to content
News Archive » Page title auto-generated here

Children take the Historical Archives by storm

Posted on 03 July 2014

schools1

The educational programme of the Historical Archives of the European Union destined for Primary and Secondary Schools was launched earlier this year as part of “Le Chiavi della Città”, the extra-curricular activities programme of the Florentine school administration. With about 200 pupils, ages 6 to 14, visiting Villa Salviati this spring semester to familiarize themselves with the European Union and its Historical Archives, the programme has proven to be a success.

The closure session of the programme was honoured by the presence of Carlo Casini, Member of European Parliament and Chair of the Constitutional Affairs Committee. He presided a session of the “little European Parliament” at Villa Salviati and led a debate with secondary school students of the Poliziano school in Florence on the priority use of water in Europe as public good, particularly with regard to areas and periods of drought.
“We are extremely pleased that our educational programme has produced such a positive outcome in such a short period of time. Working with Florentine schools and the City of Florence has been very rewarding”, says Dieter Schlenker, Director of the HAEU.

“Under a Good Star”, a programme for Primary Schools, and “Florentines: Citizens of Europe”, a programme aimed at Secondary Schools, were developed in close cooperation with educational and cultural experts and with the local school administration of Florence, to ensure high quality and suitability of programmes for each age group.

Through participation in “Under a Good Star”, the young students learn about the significance of the European flag with its twelve stars and produce a European Flag of their own. The practical workshop also includes a treasure hunt and personalizing a “European Passport” for each child. The children are introduced to the construction of Europe by means of art and imagery. The programme also involves a learning exercise about the daily work of an archivist, with the possibility of trying out the microfilm readers.

The aim of the Archives’ programme “Florentines: Citizens of Europe” is to introduce secondary school children to the history, aims and objectives of the European Union, to its governing institutions and to its archival memory at the European University Institute in Florence.

“Citizens of Europe” consists of two sessions, one at school and one at Villa Salviati. During the session at school, the students are introduced to the subject through a series of presentations, quizzes and interactive games. The second session at Villa Salviati provides insight into the nature of the Historical Archives of the European Union, as well as allowing the students to take part in a “little European Parliament” session, practicing their participation in public debate.

“For us archivists this educational programme has been a completely new but a refreshing task to tackle. Children are demanding but it has been an exciting experience and surely lots of fun for the kids”, says the archivist Mary Carr, hoping for similar enthusiasm in the semesters to come.

Related news:

Under a Good Star 

Florentines: Citizens of Europe

Go back to top of the page