Moving Memories 

Stories of Crises and Migration

Whenever a crisis has hit Europe, people have migrated, bringing their memories with them. For many centuries people have been telling their stories of migration. What can we learn from the stories of others when we look to the future of our own country? 

This two-year project funded by the European Union (EU) supports the evolution of European democracy through new methods of adult learning. In Finland, it focuses on the recent past.

In this EU/Erasmus+ project, adult education organisations in Finland, Germany, Greece, Poland, Serbia and Spain work on a multi-lingual learning platform about transitional periods in the history of each of those countries and how we talk about history today. The Moving Memories (MoMem) project is coordinated by Weltgewandt – Institut fur interkulturelle politische Bildung.

The first topic looked at by the Helinä Rautavaara Museum for this project occurred in the 1940s, when more than 500,000 Finns, who were living in the eastern part of the country, had to leave their homes due to Soviet occupation. People were offered land to farm by sharing common land as well as private property. Many faced harsh discrimination.

A second topic is the period of transition in Finnish history during the 1990s, when the first Somali refugees came to Finland. Methods of teaching history and their results are tested through separate hands-on workshops. The project continually develops the Museum’s skills in adult education. The teaching materials are available for general use on the project website. The project was realised throughout 2020–2022.

Read more: Moving Memories website