At the end of January 2016, the Spanish Association of History and Geography Teachers (AEPHG) held its annual meeting, for the first time since 2008. The AEPHG was originally founded in 1991, in Cervantes, a historical secondary school in Madrid. During the 2016 General Assembly, which took place in the Spanish capital Madrid, a new board was elected, comprised of Cristina del Moral (President), Luis Horillo (Vice President), Álfredo López (Treasurer), Maria José Escaso (Secretary), Alejandro Molinero (External Relations) and Rosa Pulido (Outreach).
The association was only recently reactivated. Luis Horillo:
Personally, I believe that it is a great opportunity for Spanish history teachers to have the same experience as I had, while attending to the EuroClio Annual Conference in Denmark. Therefore, after last summer, with the help of other history teachers we have started updating the Spanish Association of History and Geography Teachers again.
In 2015 Luis Horillo had a meeting with EuroClio Secretariat members Jonathan Even-Zohar, Steven Stegers and Judith Geerling, which helped to revitalize the Spanish association. About the Annual Conference in Denmark which Luis Horillo attended, he says: “It is a chance to study new ways in learning history, and more importantly, it is the perfect location to find professors who are interested in developing new ways to learn history based on a great range of pedagogies.”
The new Association’s commitment in the following years will be to provide teachers with high quality training in geography, history and art history. Second of all, the new board will aim to modernize history studies in Spain based on the following focal points: firstly, studying history with objectivity (but keeping multi-perspectivity in mind). Secondly, designing history classes without historical myths and stereotypes. Thirdly, studying controversial topics in history without political viewpoints on the past. As professionals we must encourage history as a method of reconciliation to promote responsibility, motivation and critical thinking in our students.
After the general assembly, where Judith Geerling shortly presented the work of EuroClio, a meeting was organized between the new board, Harri Beobide from EuroClio member association Ikastolen Elkartera (Basque Network of Schools), and Judith Geerling, about the Annual Conference of 2017 in San Sebastian. The 2017 Annual Conference will be co-organized by the Spanish Association of History and Geography Teachers and Ikastolen Elkartera.
