On Saturday, October 12, we celebrated the opening of the Changing Democracies Travelling Experience in Arnhem, The Netherlands. The Travelling Experience is an installation that is centred on the testimonies of witnesses who experienced democratic transitions throughout Europe. The testimonies were collected by EuroClio and its partners as part of the Changing Democracies project. In these testimonies, the witnesses discussed their experiences growing up in authoritarian regimes and living through democratic transitions and reflected on the challenges that we face in our democracies today.
The installation has been travelling across Europe over the past few months, spending a few weeks in each of the partner countries. It is made up of a variety of interactive elements that encourage people to think about what democracy means to them and what it might mean to people with different backgrounds. Quotes and clips from the witness testimonies inspire visitors to view democracy through a critical lens.
Combining Arnhem History Day and the launch of the Travelling Experience in The Netherlands, local project partners agreed to meet at the installation on October 12 and organised a series of short workshops for visitors to participate in. Located on the far end of the first floor of Rozet Cultural Centre’s library, the Travelling Experience was out of sight for most visitors to the centre. Most people passing by were heading for the book return machines, which were located directly behind the installation. Others in the vicinity were sitting at tables or on couches reading or working on their laptops. Some passersby were curious about the installation and occasionally stopped to read some of the quotes or the poster with the project description. Though it was generally quiet in our corner of the library, the installation gained life when the workshops began.
The theme of this year’s Arnhem History Day, “Fake or Real?”, was used as a basis for developing the workshop, which challenged people to think critically about news and propaganda. The design of the workshop was also based on a learning activity that was developed by a history teacher-in-training as part of the Local Experience portion of the project. The workshop began with the teacher-in-training asking participants to think about what words they associate with democracy. She proceeded with an exercise about the use of framing in newspaper articles to sway the opinion or perception of the reader. Participants were presented with newspaper articles and asked to work together to find examples of framing. The workshop ended with an exercise on propaganda in which historical propaganda posters were shown and participants discussed what the meaning behind them might be.
At a time when democracy is being challenged throughout Europe and beyond, the type of critical thinking encouraged by Changing Democracies and its Travelling Experience are crucial. The witness testimonies are a reminder not to take democracy for granted; it was not long ago that a big portion of the continent lived under non-democratic regimes. They are also a reminder that democracy is not perfect—life still has its challenges, especially for people from marginalised backgrounds. The Travelling Experience underscores that democracy is a flawed system, but one that we have the power to improve.
Thank you to the Rozet team and Tijl from Autres Directions for their efforts in making the Travelling Experience possible and doing a wonderful job setting it up in Arnhem. If you are interested in visiting the Travelling Experience, it is located at Rozet in Arnhem until the end of October.The Travelling Experience is part of the Changing Democracies project in partnership with the Association for History Education in Greece, Autres Directions, Borderland Foundation, Evens Foundation, Flemish Peace Institute, In Medias Res, Faculty of Arts at Charles University, Research Institute in Art, Design and Society at the University of Porto, Mediawise Society, Museum of Slavonia, Open Lithuania Foundation, and School for a Culture of Peace at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. You can learn more about the project by visiting its website here: https://www.changingdemocracies.eu/.
