LIVING MEMORIALS: {Re}vitalize Digital History!
The app was designed based on the outcomes of the project Living Memorials: {Re}vitalize Digital History!. The project is grounded in a long-term collaboration between André Bossuroy, General Coordinator of the project, and artist Roman Kroke, who is engaged as pedagogical and artistic director.
An artistic approach
The artistic approach developed in the app is based on the MATRIX – Metaphor X method developed by Roman Kroke and mobilizes art as a tool for critical analysis, historical reflection, and awareness-raising on contemporary issues, notably online hate speech. This artistic approach is extended through a documentary film by Belgian filmmaker André Bossuroy. The film builds on another key pillar of the pedagogical framework: the concept of the citizen reporter. Young people are involved as active participants in the audiovisual creation process through a guided co-creation approach, fostering active engagement with history, the development of critical thinking, and civic expression.
A tool aligned with current educational challenges
In Belgium, the app responds to the orientations of the Cultural and Artistic Education Pathway (PECA) and aligns with the objectives of the Common Core Curriculum, a key pillar of the Pact for Excellence in Education in the Federation Wallonia-Brussels. It offers teachers a concrete tool to integrate artistic and cultural approaches across disciplines, from early childhood education to the end of compulsory schooling.
In France, the Artistic and Cultural Education Pathway (PEAC) aims to ensure equal access to art and culture for all young people through encounters with artists and artworks, creative practices, and the development of cultural knowledge and critical thinking.
In Germany, arts and cultural education is supported through a range of school and extracurricular initiatives. It follows a decentralized approach, with no single national scheme comparable to the French PEAC.
Partners in Belgium, France and Germany
The development of the app was informed by activities carried out through local collaborations that enabled pedagogical experimentation and real-world implementation of the proposed tools. These activities involved students and their teachers at two pilot sites: the memorial to forced laborers of the Bayer company (IG Farben during the Second World War) in Leverkusen (Germany), and the Ascq-1944 Memorial in Villeneuve d’Ascq (France).
Associative partners
• Mediel non-profit association (Belgium)
• Opladener Geschichtsverein von 1979 e.V., Leverkusen (Germany)
• Société Historique de Villeneuve d’Ascq (France)
Partner schools
• Institute of Arts, Techniques, Sciences and Crafts (IATA), Namur (Belgium)
• Collège Camille Claudel and Lycée Raymond Queneau, Villeneuve d’Ascq (France)
• Lise-Meitner-Gymnasium and Marienschule, Leverkusen (Germany)
Contact
André Bossuroy (General Coordinator)
Roman Kroke (Pedagogic and Artistic Director)
Online Contact: André Bossuroy
