What can we learn from history?
The 16th November was established as the UN International Day for Tolerance in 1995 in response to the racial and religious wars in Bosnia and Rwanda. It was designed to educate people about the need for tolerance in society and to help them understand the potentially devastating results if a society fosters and feeds off bigotry and intolerance.
|
This year we are looking at what lessons can be learned from history. Human behaviour changes but not human nature. Isn’t history then arguably the most reliable path to understanding the present and anticipating the problems of the future?
Around the world – Hungary, Italy, Brazil, Austria, The Philippines and the US – politicians have been elected by promising to put their country and its people first. Are there resonances with the language used by National Socialists in post- WW1 Germany?
Could learnings from the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, ending the devastating and highly complex 30 Years War provide a blueprint for peace in the Middle East? How did Nelson Mandela use truth and reconciliation to heal many of the wounds of Apartheid so that South Africa could rebuild?
Studying the rhythms of history, we can learn to recognise those patterns that can help us address the World’s most pressing social and geopolitical questions. The lessons of history are the perfect scaffold for building mutual dialogue and understanding and a more tolerant world.
The lessons that we've learned about the dangers of ignorance and 'otherisation' are critical parts of our history. As the quote goes 'those who forget history are doomed to repeat it'. Negative behaviors and beliefs are taught and learned, which only reinforces the importance of education.
By encouraging the teaching of tolerance, we encourage individuality and diversity while promoting peace and a civil society. Our success in the struggle against intolerance depends on the effort we make to educate ourselves and our children, working through hidden biases and trying to form their own understanding and perspectives.
Our partners include Cumberland Lodge and the Cambridge Forum on Geopolitics (COGGS).
Around the world – Hungary, Italy, Brazil, Austria, The Philippines and the US – politicians have been elected by promising to put their country and its people first. Are there resonances with the language used by National Socialists in post- WW1 Germany?
Could learnings from the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, ending the devastating and highly complex 30 Years War provide a blueprint for peace in the Middle East? How did Nelson Mandela use truth and reconciliation to heal many of the wounds of Apartheid so that South Africa could rebuild?
Studying the rhythms of history, we can learn to recognise those patterns that can help us address the World’s most pressing social and geopolitical questions. The lessons of history are the perfect scaffold for building mutual dialogue and understanding and a more tolerant world.
The lessons that we've learned about the dangers of ignorance and 'otherisation' are critical parts of our history. As the quote goes 'those who forget history are doomed to repeat it'. Negative behaviors and beliefs are taught and learned, which only reinforces the importance of education.
By encouraging the teaching of tolerance, we encourage individuality and diversity while promoting peace and a civil society. Our success in the struggle against intolerance depends on the effort we make to educate ourselves and our children, working through hidden biases and trying to form their own understanding and perspectives.
Our partners include Cumberland Lodge and the Cambridge Forum on Geopolitics (COGGS).