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PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The '50+30' project refers to the remembrance of 80 passing since the beginning of WW2, The end of WW2 has led to 50 years of authoritarian regimes in many central and eastern European countries, culminating with the democratic revolutions of 1989.

30 years went on since then, and many citizens, especially youth, have a limited understanding of the implications of WW2 on Europe and in building a democratic EU. Also, European youth of less than 30, have never lived under authoritarianism, taking for granted the struggle that their close ascendants have faced. It’s hence, in our duty to pay tribute to those who sacrificed themselves for our well-being, not only through re-education of youth but also through remembrance. The latter is particularly important in acting against the rise of populism, and hate speech, which could generate a climate comparable to the one that has preceded WW2.

The project was funded with the support of the European Union under the "Europe for Citizens" programme.

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT

1. Raise mass awareness on the key-dates of historical events using retrospective social media posts to commemorate the struggle during WW2 and against authoritarianism (365 posts, daily, for one year) reaching more than 30.000 active users.

2. Vivify the remembrance of the WW2 history and monuments by setting up 10 different memorial walks in 10 countries involving a minimum of 200 participants.

3. Counter the rising populism in Europe by fostering remembrance with innovative digital tools, published as guidelines to target educational institutions.

PROJECT ACTIVITIES

EUROPEAN ACTIVITIES

EVENT 1 - Kick-off meeting in Cabris (Nice region, France) from 24 to 25 November 2019, gathering 16 representatives of the partner organisations.

The event gathered project managers from France, Spain, Romania, Germany, Italy, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, and Poland.

The meeting was held to fine-tune the implementation roadmap at all project management levels. We also designed a survey aimed at outlining the citizens' differences in remembrance thoughts across the participating countries. The results and findings were presented during the conference.

EVENT 2 - Online seminar of practitioners in the field of human rights education and remembrance - Asynchronous activities from 2 to 5 November 2021 and roundtable with experts on 9-10 November 2021

The online seminar brought together 75 citizens and human rights experts from France, Spain, Romania, Germany, Italy, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Poland, Lithuania, and Czech Republic. It built on the findings of a survey conducted in all partner countries in 2020–2021, exploring young people's understanding of how WWII and post-war authoritarian regimes continue to shape European democracy today.

Held from 2nd to 11th November 2021, the seminar included individual asynchronous tasks (2–5 November) and four live video sessions. By the end, participants had co-created a set of digital remembrance guidelines for stakeholders.

EVENT 3 - Online conference: 10-17 December 2021

The online conference aimed to explore how remembrance can catalyze revitalizing democracy. To do so, we curated a week of engaging activities, kicking off on December 10th to mark International Human Rights Day.

10–15 December 2021: Asynchronous activities structured around four thematic guides: Networking, Totalitarian Regimes, Transition to Democracy, Democracy Now – Reflections on the Future of Europe, Euroscepticism, and Populism.
16–17 December 2021: Live workshops and discussions

16 December: Workshop on the Timeline of Human Rights
17 December:
- Workshop: Transition to Democracy – Collective Memories of Totalitarian Regimes
- Live panels featuring human rights education practitioners and experts, focusing on: Totalitarian Regimes and Democratic Transition, Democracy Now.

The online conference gathered 155 citizens and human rights experts from the following countries: 10 from France, 6 from Spain, 88 from Romania, 3 from Germany, 8 from Italy, 7 from Slovakia, 3 from Czech Republic, 7 from Bulgaria, 12 from Poland, and 11 from Lithuania.

LOCAL ACTIVITIES

The international activities will be preceded and followed by several local activities that the partner organizations will lead in their countries. The main ones are:

Social media posts that commemorate the date of an event related to WW2 or the end of communism: 30 to 50 posts.
A remembrance walk in a chosen part of the city in the country of the organization.
A survey aiming to gather thoughts about WW2 and the democratic revolutions.
Participation in elaborating the guidelines and at least 1 local informative workshop aiming to disseminate the project outcomes.

SOCIAL MEDIA FOR REMEMBRANCE

As part of the project, a long-term social media campaign was launched to raise awareness about key historical events tied to WWII and the 1989 revolutions. Each partner organization was assigned a 36-day time slot during which they conducted historical research and published retrospective posts on significant dates related to their period. These posts were shared through the official 5030Remember Instagram page, offering educational content and reflections on the importance of remembrance.

Originally planned to run for one year (from 01/11/2019 to 31/10/2020) the initiative was extended beyond its initial scope. After the first year, Coconutwork continued to maintain and publish posts. In total, this social media effort spanned over four years, creating a sustained digital archive of memory, education, and civic reflection.

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