Learning from the Past is a KA2 Erasmus+ project that aims to promote the European values of internationalism, equality and human rights.

Adult research volunteers from seven European countries used archives, libraries and museums to research local history relating to peace and internationalism in the years following the First World War. This learning has been documented through an online interactive map on the Learning from the Past website.

The volunteers then shared these little-known histories with young people in their country and invited them to create films, theatre, literature and visual art in response to this learning, linking it with contemporary issues of conflict and peace in Europe today. These artistic responses have been shared and discussed with the wider community in a series of ‘Living Museums’ across the partner countries in 2020, culminating in an online exhibition, launched on this website in February 2021, which brings the map entries and artistic responses together. It is hoped that the exhibition will transfer to Lancaster City Museum later in 2021.

We are extremely grateful to the National Heritage Lottery Fund for funding the work with young people in the UK. This project, Growing the Seeds of Global Citizenship, has led to the addition of new entries to the online map and the creation of further displays and arts work for the online exhibition.

In this time of increasing racism and challenge to the European values of internationalism, human rights and peace, understanding the past is important so that something like the Holocaust never happens again.