Juan Carlos

OK. We will drink a toast to Henry VIII and Catalina de Aragón.

Welcome to the Forum Dino. Some years ago I read Norberto Bobbio's book "Destra e Sinistra" (Right and Left) and I was impressed by what you affirm about his definition of democracy: "the seeming banality". However, his simplicity is profound. Bobbio confirmed me that too many thinkers and writers tend to turn easy things into difficult ones. I would add other point that I consider that should be an important topic in a future project. A democratic system is obviously based on a "Demos". A clearly defined people, nation, country... However, different changes: massive immigration flows, globalisation, devolution to regions, European integration process are blurring the old distinct outlines of what is it to be an Italian, a Spaniard... The integration of the growing immigrant population is probably the most tricky challenge. In my view, the other great point of debate is: Does a European Demos exist? What does European Citizenship means? What should we do to overcome old and new European (Irish, Spanish, Basque, German, Padanian?) nationalisms?

I am afraid that the fight for establishing a true democratic system will never come to an end. On one hand, citizens have to keep watch on any attempt of undermining civic rights (current debate in Britain about anti-terrorist measures is a good example), but, on the other hand, we have to be conscious that we (West) live in the countries where the most democratic systems ever have been established. I agree with John that big money and media can jeopardise democracy (Lobbies, Murdoch, Berlusconi...), but, at the same time, I am not so confident in the state. So far we have too many examples of how (democratic, not to mention the rest) governments use their authority in an antidemocratic way. In my view, "first-past-the-post" voting system in Britain blocks and adultarate public opinion (It is a great problem now with a Conservative Party that does not know how to oppose Blair's New Labour government). What to say about "gerrymandering" in the US? Representative democracy has serious faults, but, what sort of antiterrorist measuses would have been passed in Britain if they had been approved by the public direct vote?

Arriving at Gatwick Flight Number : BA2467 Thursday 1 September 2005 20:10 Hopefully I will get the 20:50 train and arrive in Worthing at 21:51 Otherwise, I will get the 21:36 train and arrive in Worthing at 22:39 Leaving from Gatwick Flight Number : BA2466 Sunday 4 September 2005 14:50

Good news from Spain. I have just spoken on the phone with my National Socrates Agency and the person in charge confirmed that I am getting funding for the visit to Worthing. What about the rest of the partners?

Yesterday I spoke again on the phone with my Sccrates National Agency. They are willing to fund my visit but so far, they only know about our Italian partners. What about our other colleagues. Did you get in touch with your Socrates Agencies? July and August are not the best months to bureaucratic proceedings, maybe we need to push a bit by phoning and asking the civil servants. John, my headteacher and I received your invitation. Finally, the Group DHIGES (Didactics of Geography and History in the Secondary Education) from University of Barcelona are willing to join our project.

21st Century Citizen: the online resource for Citizenship http://www.bl.uk/citizenship 'This is a very interesting site and supports the new subject of Citizenship most appropriately. The designers have drawn on the vast resources of the British Library to provide many fascinating antique documents, books and maps and have presented them in a fresh and interesting way.

I have just phoned my Socrates Agency and they told me that so far they have no received any news from other Socrates Agencies. Probably, the main problem is that a lot of civil servants are on holidays. However, the person in charge was quite optimistic and told me that if there are more institutions which are going to be funded for the visit, I will get the money as well. So, please, let your National Agencies know that they need to communicate among them. In that case, we will get the money. I will phone again next week and I will keep you updated.

myEUROPE http://myeurope.eun.org myEUROPE is a web-based project developed by European Schoolnet ( http://www.eun.org). It aims at helping teachers raise their pupils’ awareness of what it means to be a young citizen in Europe. It is a network of more than 4000 schools that work together, exchange and share information relating to European themes. In this way they bring the diversity of Europe into the classroom via the Internet, proving that the path to living together in Europe starts at school. Launch Since its launch in May 2000, the project has focused on European citizenship and intercultural education through online activities and classroom practice examples at primary and secondary level. During the past five years, myEUROPE has become one of the largest networks of schools in Europe. It has encouraged contacts between teachers and their classes from Member States, new Member States and Candidate Countries, involving students in collaborative educational projects and activities. Languages The myEUROPE website provides content in three languages (English, French and German), but contributions to the activities are available in all European languages. The project audience are classes with students from 5 to 20 years old. Petru Dumitru from the European Schoolnet staff in Brussels is in charge of the project.

http://www.democracy-international.org Parallel to the making of this newsletter, a number of referenda were being held on the European constitution. The Spanish have spoken out in favour of the European constitution, the French and the Dutch have rejected it. An interesting website to keep up-to-date on the progress of ratification of the EU constitution in all the member states is www.democracy-international.org. Per country one can find information on the current position and the status of a referendum. This newly founded Democracy network advocates a more democratic Europe, starting with as many referenda as possible in the European states. They have an ambitious agenda for the future however, you can read in the founding statement that the network has expansion plans to promote world democracy at the UN level. http://www.sociumi.be Sociumi, the Flemish Centre for active Citizenship, has a new website. The people of Sociumi have set as their goal to let citizens participate in society and politics. They argue that participation is the building brick of democracy. Since 2003 they have transformed into a ‘movement’ working on different themes: active citizenship, European citizenship, voluntary work and lifelong learning. Sociumi is a very locally based organisation, focusing exclusively on small projects in Flanders and Brussels. The website is in Dutch, but you can also contact the staff for more information on their projects. http://www.opendemocracy.net Open Democracy wants to use the full potential of the Internet to create an open debate between everyone in the world who wants to participate. Free thinking and debating in a democratic space is their mission. The topics dealt with on the website are related to politics or culture and are organised by theme ranging from art or conflicts to media and power politics. There is a wealth of information on any topic. The strength of the website is that it can utilise a vast database of gifted and knowledgeable writers and pundits, coming from different fields (e.g. journalists, scholars, artists, politicians), but also has a debate function so that anyone can participate. Use the search function at the top to find relevant articles and debates on for example citizenship or empowerment. http://www.politeia.net Currently we are revising, updating and improving the Politeia website. Especially when the printed newsletter will no longer be published it is essential to the Politeia network to use the opportunities of the Internet more than at the present. The layout will stay similar, but more functions will be added such as the possibility to post reactions to articles or to post news facts (e.g. events or projects your organisation is working on). Also, the content will be revised with a clearer outline of what Politeia is about and what its goals are. The news page will be updated more regularly to keep our readers updated with interesting websites or articles. So please come and visit us more often!

I have just phoned my Socrates Agency and they told me that so far they have no received any news from other Socrates Agencies. Probably, the main problem is that a lot of civil servants are on holidays. However, the person in charge was quite optimistic and told me that if there are more institutions which are going to be funded for the visit, I will get the money as well. So, please, let your National Agencies know that they need to communicate among them. In that case, we will get the money. I will phone again next week and I will keep you updated.

After discussing over and over the topic, I have to admit that I am a bit puzzled. However, some points seem to be clear: 1. There are evident links between terrorist attacks and the invasion of Irak. Mr. Bush and Blair's adventure (and the pathetic support given by Mr. Aznar or Berlusconi) has provoked a more dangerous situation. At least in Europe. I wonder if the American administration would have launched a military campaign against Mexico or other big Latin American country. I am sure that Mr.Bush would have taken into account the existence of large Hispanic communities in the US. "Londonistan" and a lot of European cities have huge Muslim communities. 2. We have to read what terrorists claim and try not to filter their words through our (Western) mental framework. After Afghanistan war (against USSR invasion) and Algerian cruel civil war there are thousands of islamist militants spread all over Europe, Middle East and North Africa. They don't complain about "Western Imperialism" or "the growing gap between poor and rich countries". They complain about the "Not believers" and they include in this term the current authorities of most of the Muslim countries (as Egyptian ambassador to Irak), the "Rai" (a youngsters music very popular among Muslim European youth) singers who were murdered one after one in Algeria , the Shiite communities who are being attacked cruelly in Irak and other Muslim countries ... and Western countries. They fight for building up a new "Caliphate", they are not waging a war against capitalist powers. In this sense, I agree with Christopher that the main aim of Al-Qaeda is to unseat Muslim governments. 3. Who on the hell advised Mr. Bush that invading Irak (a cruel, fascist regime but not an islamist fundamentalist government) was a good idea? Had the oil something to do with it?

First of all, I want to send my condolences to all my British colleagues. As a Spaniard from Madrid, I can understand quite well what you feel now. Actually, here in Madrid and Spain everybody is really shocked and sorry for Londoners. Yesterday there were rallies at every Town Hall in Spain and people kept five minutes in silence for the British people who were so awfully murdered. John, Christopher and Andy have brought up an interesting debate on the causes of the terrorist attacks on London and other places. I will try to come back later on that. Just let me reply to one of John's sentences. After the terrorist attacks, people spend several weeks in awe and frightened when entering the underground, then you forget it. You have to forget it, although what happened in London makes everybody remember the horror. John, I am not so sure that these terrorist attacks won't happen in France or Germany. Actually, people in Spain don't feel more secure after our government's pulling out the troops of Irak.

A better sort of news: I was phoned last Monday a bit later by Jose Luis de la Torre (www.educahistoria.com) and he told me that University of Barcelona (Grupo DIGHES) is willing to join the project.

Last Monday, while I was driving towards Asturias in Northern Spain, I received a phone call from the civil servant in charge of Comenius 2.1 in Socrates Agency in Spain. It was a quite dissapointing talk. She told me that "Citizenship" has been a very fashionable topic for years and that there were a lot of already finished Comenius projects on that issue. As a consequence, she thought that it was going to be quite difficult to get funding from the EU. She believed that giving me money for a visit to prepare a project that has few chances of being funded. As my school (and myself) will start teaching History (and other subjects) in English next year, she proposed me to fund my attendance at a Comenius 2.1. Seminar (a meeting from practitioners and teachers from all over Europe to start up new Comenius and Lingua projects) that will take place in late September in Ávila, near Madrid, focused on Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). I confess that I am a bit puzzled. On the phone, she sounds like not willing at all of funding my visit to Worthing. At the same time, I do like to join the project. In any case, I can join without attending to the preparatory visit. Next week, after returning to Madrid, I will phone her and I will post to the forum again.

EuroGeo Promoting the European Dimension through Geography teaching http://www.eurogeo.org/eurogeo_project/index_project.htm Teaching European citizenship is about establishing a curriculum that will encourage an awareness of: the geographical diversity of Europe and its regions. In particular with its natural, social and economic features, the political and social structures in Europe, the forces that shaped Europe and the patterns of development and characteristic features of European culture in its unity and diversity. In the Teaching Citizenship section a ‘Teachers Handbook’ is available to help guide you through teaching citizenship through Geography, therefore giving you a guided experience. Within the teachers Handbook a number of topics are further developed as case studies, providing additional ideas and useful Web sites which are gathered for you to use within the classroom Citizenship materials can take many forms online, teachers can use Teaching Resources on the Euro.Geo Web site to search for and enrich the Geography curriculum with lesson materials and online information on the European Dimension.

This is what I am going to do.

John, Excellent simulation. As far as I know, simulations are not very used in history teaching in the rest of Europe. At least, not in Spain and other countries I know. It is a fine Made in Britain product to export.

This sort of lists are a crazy thing. If I had to think of a 20 top Spaniards or Europeans list, I would probably give up. I wonder why Franklin and Washington are in the list and Thomas Jefferson is not.

Dan, no need of apologies. The novel "Cabo de Trafalgar" by Antonio Pérez Reverte has been recently published in Spain. This writer is quite celebrated in Spain and it is widely acknowledged that he is quite accurate using historical data. Last month I watched him on the TV and it shocked me how he accused "those sons of a bitch that take poor young people to the slaughterhouse". Trafalgar is a good example of a battle that everybody knew who was going to win. The case of the Spanish sailor captured after the battle and still dressed in the clown's outfit shows the real situation in Cádiz in 1805. I understand that Cristopher, as a military historian, can extract a lot of interesting lessons in Trafalgar, but, from my point of view, the best commemoration we can do as history teachers is to remember that most often war has no glory, that La Somme, Trafalgar, Gettysburg... were basically nothing but carnages.

Caterina, I have been visiting ISUC's web site and it looks excellent. This institution can be an excellent partner. On top of that it is a teacher training organization. Agenzia di formazione per insegnanti sulla storia del Novecento realizza corsi e seminari in collaborazione con la Direzione generale dell’Ufficio scolastico regionale per l’Umbria (Miur) e con le scuole. It could be interesting for EHELP project as well. ISUC is associated with Istituto nazionale per la storia del movimento di Liberazione in Italia and runs a project related to Italian Resistance in WWII.

Why? I am a Spaniard Is there any point in commerating these old, old battles?

Next Tuesday, hopefully I will know about University of Barcelona (Education Sciences Institute) joining or not our project. If they do not join, I wil try some other training techers' institution.

So, we have to search for at least one eligible institution involved in the initial and/or in-service training of teachers or other categories of school education staff in each of at least three participating countries As far as I know we already have two (David Richardson's and Andy Davies's) institutions involved in teachers' training. We need at least three. I will try to bring some Spanish University or teachers' training centre in the project. I propose you all to do the same and, hopefully, we will fulfil the Socrates agencies requirements.

European Citizen action service http://www.ecas.org/ ECAS was created in 1990 as an international non-profit organization, independent of political parties, commercial interests and the EU Institutions. The association’s mission is to enable NGOs and individuals to make their voice heard with the EU. What are its objectives? 1. To strengthen the European Strategy of NGOs in member states and applicant countries of the EU. 2. To defend free movement rights and promote a more inclusive European citizenship 3. To campaign for transparency and reform of the EU Institutions