Changer le paradigme commémoratif en direction des plus jeunes : la voie internationale suivie par les commémorations du Centenaire de la Grande Guerre

Abstract

This paper presents the policy of commemoration with regard to young people and in particular schoolchildren during the Centenary of the Great War ; it shows how educational actions have led to international cooperation in response to the French conception of an "international" and "global" Centenary. Written by one of the actors in charge of the design and implementation of this policy, the paper discusses the multiple objectives assigned to this policy involving many stakeholders in France and elsewhere in Europe and around the world. It describes different modalities of international cooperation, illustrating both the educative and diplomatic stakes of the commemoration. Finally, it stresses the difficulties encountered in implementing international educational initiatives, underlining the fragility of the notion of "shared memory", given the domination of national or even nationalist approaches in war commemorations involving young people. Based on the author’s experience and observations as a pedagogical advisor in the board of the "Mission du Centenaire", the French State Office for the Centenary, the paper presents a vision of this policy from the inside.

Keywords

• Centenary of the Great War
• international cooperation
• educational initiatives
• cultural diplomacy
• youth