Connecting stories, young and old promote inclusive European identity through documentaries

The best inclusive short documentaries of Linkin' Histories, made by young people aged 14 to 20 from Spain, Latvia and Croatia, have received recognition

A didactic guide with resources and a book with all the historical research is published for free download to facilitate the replication of the training process

The short documentary 'The most powerful weapon', made by students of the Comenius Centre Educatiu de València, wins the Jury Award at the Linkin' Histories Festival.

The town of Benicàssim in Castellón has hosted the European social documentary film festival Linkin' Histories, an initiative that has brought together 45 young people between 18 and 25 years of age from Spain, Latvia and Croatia within the framework of the Erasmus+ project of the same name. The program, promoted by Jovesólides, MIHI and Eutopia, focuses on the promotion of European identity and the promotion of inclusion and non-discrimination among the youth of the three countries, using a historical approach through documentary film.

The festival presented fifteen short films made by the youth through different training workshops developed in each country. The films address key issues for European identity such as human rights, migration, education, democracy and women's rights from a historical perspective.

During the elaboration process, the young filmmakers have relied on interviews with older people for their research, thus enriching the content of their audiovisual works. Through historical, oral and documentary research, they have been able to identify the contributions of the common European project in various areas such as human rights, education, student mobility, territorial structuring, political barriers, equality or democratic quality. In addition, they have understood migration as a human, natural and enriching process.

The event in Benicàssim has also served to award the teams that have developed the best film productions committed to the founding European values. The short film 'The most powerful weapon' has won the Jury Award while 'The fight for equality' has won the Audience Award. Both productions were made by students of the Centre Educatiu Comenius de València. In addition, a special mention has been given to the Latvian team of 'Cilvektiesibas', for their outstanding work.

The short documentary 'The fight for equality', made by students of the Comenius Centre Educatiu de València, wins the Audience Award at the Linkin' Histories Festival.

A didactic guide to replicate values education

The Linkin' Histories social documentary film festival, which brought the project to a close, highlighted the collaborative work between young Europeans to promote the values of inclusion and respect for intercultural diversity, the cornerstones of the European Union's common identity.

As a result of this joint effort, a didactic guide has been published that compiles all the methodologies and materials used, a valuable resource for replicating future educational workshops throughout Europe consolidating the achievements and learnings of Linkin' Histories. The guide can be freely downloaded in English, Spanish, Latvian and Croatian.

In addition, a research book has been published compiling all the research work carried out by the young people from Spain, Latvia and Croatia with a photographic record of the development of the project and its participants, which can be downloaded here.

Linkin' Histories is a European project led by Jovesólides Spain together with MIHI (Latvia) and Eutopia (Croatia), funded by the European Union through the Erasmus+ KA2 program.

Have you been left wanting to know more about #Linkin_Histoires?

Don't miss this video summary of the project!