Project: Czech-Nordic Memorabilia II – Democracy and Active Citizenship in Higher
Education

Czech partner: Charles University, Scandinavian Studies

Norwegian partner: NTNU (Department of Modern History and Dept. of Teacher Education)

Period of realization: 2022-2024

Research area: Czech—Norwegian war relations, forced labour of foreigners in Norway

Project activity:

• Innovation of course curricula: Scandinavian History; Scandinavian Society, Culture and Politics
• On-line interactive map about Scandinavian encounters in Czech lands
• Teaching support for early stage postdocs. and  scholars
• New teaching materials about Czech forced labour in history curricula at NTNU
• Peer-learning meetings in Trondhiem and Praha
  • Sept. 2022: Praha: Grey zones in WWII history – good practice sharing
  • Spring 2023: Trondheim:  Democracy and Active Citizenship in university teaching – examples from
    Norway)
  • August 2023: Trondheim: Roundtable on Forced labour and historical sources in Norway
  • Autumn 2023: Praha: Roundtable onForced labour and historical sources in the Czech Republic
• Peer-learning activities in Czech Republic and Norway (2019-2020)
• Exhibition about Danes in Terezin concentration camp during WWII

Project team members:

• Vendula V. Hingarová, Charles University, project leader and researcher
• Helena Březinová, Charles University
• Zdeněk Hojda, Charles University
• Zdenko Maršálek, Institute of Contemporary History, Czech Academy of Science
• Hans Otto Frøland Institutt for modern history, NTNU
• Lars Busterud Department of Teacher Education, NTNU
• M.A. research asistent

Project summary

The project “Czech-Nordic Memorabilia II – Democracy and Active Citizenship in University Teaching”
deepens the cooperation with the Faculty of Humanities at NTNU and newly establishes the
cooperation with the Faculty of Education at NTNU. The project innovates existing obligatory courses
on Scandinavian history and society and, as for the Norwegian side, incorporates new findings from
research on forced labour of Czechs in Norway into the study materials. The project offers an
opportunity for the early stage scholars of Scandinavian studies to enrol on new academic courses. A
new practical course with field experience will be created for the students of the last classes, which
aims to improve the employability of graduates of minor disciplines.
The project works with the themes of democratisation and active citizenship in the teaching of history
and develops bilateral cooperation in exploring common historical milestones. The project will

organise four round tables on active citizenship in university teaching and on Czech and Norwegian
war history. The popularisation outcome is an exhibition project on the Holocaust in Scandinavia.

Project supported by EEA Grants – Institutional cooperation project, EHP-CZ-ICP-4-009

More information about EEA Grants here