calls for discrimination , and in so doing , to guard against the risk of history repeating itself . Memory is , without any doubt , a contemporary European value .
As important as it may be , however , this fact does not tell us anything about the actual capacity of memory policies to transmit and promote values beyond that of memory .
We face a paradox here : memory became a value because of its supposed capacity to transmit democratic principles such as tolerance and inclusiveness , but we have to admit that this alleged capacity is seriously challenged today .
Indeed , after more than twenty years of active European memory policies , the advance of terrorism , populism , hate crimes and discrimination in contemporary European societies forces us to look more closely into how these memory policies work and how we can improve them . The very idea that memory policies transmit and foster democratic values must be put into perspective and assessed in the light of empirical data and social sciences studies .
One of the major events of Europe ’ s shared history is with no doubt the First World War . Between 2014 and 2018 , the Centenary of the Great War gave rise to a large number of commemorations , exhibitions and other memory initiatives . In the European Union , most of the exhibitions tried to present the event from a European perspective , insisting on the necessity of understanding the feelings and views of the former enemies who became partners in building the Union . Between 2014 and 2015 , one of these exhibitions entitled “ 14- 18 , it is our history !” was held in Brussels . It aimed to tell the story of the war from an everyday life perspective and to reach visitors through their emotions . The curators based themselves on the idea that , when confronted with the impact of war on victims they can identify with , visitors will reject war and conflict today and in the future . Through the exhibition , its promoters wanted to reinforce citizens ’ commitment to peace and , in doing so , their adhesion to the European project . This exhibition was visited by almost 200,000 visitors .
A group of Belgian researchers specializing in social psychology and political science decided to study the impact this exhibition actually had on visitors . Visitors were asked to express their opinions on a number of issues as they entered and left the museum . In social psychology ,
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Observing Memories ISSUE 4