Ukraine calls on Europe to invest in history education as a tool of democracy: the Ministry of Education and Science at the 5th OHTE Annual Conference
On 16–17 October, the 5th Annual Conference of the Observatory on History Teaching in Europe (OHTE) of the Council of Europe, “History at All Costs,” is taking place in Strasbourg. The event brings together government representatives, scholars, teachers and students; it was opened by Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe Bjørn Berge, and the opening panel was joined online by Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Mykola Trofymenko.
In his address, he set out a practical agenda for European partners: to treat quality history teaching as a “vaccine against manipulation,” to invest systematically in academic freedom, digital archives, and support for researchers and teachers, and to expand joint Ukrainian–European projects to counter disinformation. “For Ukraine, history is the pulse of identity. Even during the war, we document the truth, restore memory, and teach young people to think critically. This is part of our national defence,” Mykola Trofymenko underlined.
His key call in Strasbourg was addressed to Council of Europe Member States: to continue and expand solidarity with Ukraine within OHTE activities, to open data and materials more actively for joint reports and expert work, and for university and school communities to launch partnerships with Ukrainian education institutions to create centres for the study of European history, joint courses, and fact-based approaches to history teaching.
The Deputy Minister also thanked the Council of Europe for the Budget Committee decision of 9 October 2025, which—on an exceptional basis—extends the mechanism allowing other Member States to voluntarily cover Ukraine’s obligatory contributions to the OHTE budget for 2026–2027. According to Mykola Trofymenko, this is “a strong shoulder of support for democracy at a time when truth is under constant pressure from propaganda.”
Ukraine has been a full member of OHTE since 2024. The Ministry of Education and Science consistently integrates Ukrainian academic and educational communities into the European network of history education. Mykola Trofymenko’s speech in Strasbourg reaffirmed the Ministry’s clear focus: to scale up partnerships around honest, fact-based history teaching, joint textbook research and open archives—so that history unites societies and strengthens democratic culture across the continent.