Remembrance Education is a joint Project of the Army Museum in Białystok, the Falstad Centre and Ksiaznica Podlaska of Lukasz Gornicki in Białystok, Its main aim is development of cooperation between Project Partners and adults inhabiting the areas with the limited access to culture, housing estates of Białystok and the village of Ekne in Norway. Cultural life of Białystok, the biggest city in north-eastern Poland, is concentrated in its downtown. Adults aged about 30-49 are not willing to engage in the cultural events, and even if, their participation seems to be very superficial. The Project aims at researching cultural needs of those people in relation to the military collection of the Museum.

The starting point for the innovative cultural activities will be, among others, the war history of Białystok. The idea of the Project is to abandon popular interpretation of museum collections, understood as the proof of military technology development. The stories of people involved in World War II will be told, as they are still barely known in the local dimension. Cooperation with the Falstad Centre will allow for comparison of war experiences of Białystok and Ekne, as well as contribute to work out universal content concerning the value of peace and consequences of wars.

The target recipients of the Project will be adult inhabitants of the housing estates of Białystok and Ekne. In order to design cultural activities dedicated to this group, a team of educators will be built. Its members will participate in the special training sessions, including the study visit in Norway. Next, they will develop a scenario of activities with the audience. These activities will be implemented in the period of May-August 2023 on the housing estates of Białystok. In September 2023 the activities will be implemented in Ekne. All conclusions will serve as the starting point to define the development strategy of Museum’s audience. This document will outline the next steps to be taken to build a community around the institutions and development of remembrance education. The Project final national conference for educators will allow for disseminating Project results, as well as building competences of professionals from around Poland.

The Project is based on the exchange of experiences and effective cooperation of three Partners. The Project Promoter is the Army Museum in Białystok. The role of the Falstad Centre will be to share knowledge in the area of remembrance education and the history of World War II, as well as actively participate in the whole project process. Ksiaznica Podlaska is the only institution in Białystok cooperating with the audience on the housing estates. Employees, including educators, will be involved in all project activities, sharing their experiences and competences.

The Project is financed by the EEA Financial Mechanism and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland. The Project is co-financed from the City of Białystok’s budget.