Organised by Körber-Stiftung, the EUSTORY Past Forward Festival brought together young people, professionals and practitioners from across Europe. The festival explored how we can engage with the past responsibly and how understanding history can help us build a better future.
EUSTORY is a European network of non-governmental organisations that organise research-based history competitions. Its goal is to encourage young people to look at history independently and critically and to ask questions about the past in order to better understand the present.
For the Timeout Foundation, the heart of the festival was above all about bringing people together and creating space for dialogue: listening to others, sharing experiences and engaging in intergenerational conversations.
Seven Timeout Dialogues on Peace and Conflict
As part of the festival, we organised a Timeout workshop and seven Timeout Dialogues. The dialogues were facilitated by Timeout facilitators trained by the Timeout Foundation who travelled to the event from across Europe. The conversations gave participants an opportunity to experience the Timeout method in practice.
In the dialogues, people of different ages and backgrounds paused to reflect on peace and conflict. They explored questions such as what peace means to each of us, what we can learn from history, and how we can contribute as individuals to building a more peaceful future.
I felt very safe during the conversation, to be vulnerable and share my own story. I felt listened to and I enjoyed listening to others. I’ve learned a lot from the others. It was a great experience.”
History is a good teacher. It is important to study and understand history to build a peaceful society.”
Listening Can Open Up New Perspectives
The dialogues highlighted the importance of making space to listen to people of different backgrounds and generations, and to experiences and perspectives that differ from our own.
One insight that emerged repeatedly in the feedback was that understanding does not require us to agree with one another. What matters in dialogue is curiosity about other people’s experiences and a willingness to understand where different perspectives come from.
I learned that it’s very important to listen to each other and understand the different perspectives and where we come from. Also how important it is to have a peaceful mind and talk in a peaceful atmosphere.”
The Timeout Foundation would like to thank Körber-Stiftung and the EUSTORY Network for the opportunity to be part of the EUSTORY Past Forward Festival once again. We were truly inspired by the festival’s thoughtful programme and by the people it brought together from across Europe. The experience offered many new perspectives on how we can build a better future by understanding the past – and by listening to one another.
We also took part in the 2024 EUSTORY event in Riga, which brought together more than 100 young people from over 20 countries. Read more about the experience and the workshop we organised here.
Try Timeout in Your Community
Timeout is a free and openly available dialogue method that helps people engage in constructive and equal conversations on a wide range of topics.
Learn more about the Timeout method and access the materials!
