European Identity - Individual, Group and Society - HumanitarianNet

14 EUROPEAN IDENTITY. INDIVIDUAL, GROUP AND SOCIETYthey attribute to themselves, contain? What effects does it have? All ofit is contained in Section 3 (Block 1): Does a Rejection of the EuropeanModel Exist? Implications in the Educational Spheres; and in Sections 4and 5 in Block 2, entitled as follows: What makes us Europeans?Identity Construction in the School Framework and European Identity /Identities in a Plural World.Lastly, we believe that identities are not just given to us as such; theyare created and defined by us out of historic and social materialsallowing this construction. This fact raises many questions for educators.What materials should they use and place in the hands of theirstudents? What type of dynamics should they promote? Who will beincluded and who will remain excluded from this collective identity?How should we facilitate the construction of identities that acknowledgemultiple feelings of belonging and that develop throughout alifetime fearless of dissolution or personal fragmentation? It is in thecourse of Block 2, and particularly in its last Section, where the educationalchallenges (or goals) related to identity and European Identitydevelopment will be set out, and where we hope to give answers to allthese issues sharing possible models for European integration.Each author´s contribution with respect to the raised issues and tothe agreed prospective guidelines will now be specified.Rethinking European Identity and being educated on EuropeanIdentityThe work carried out jointly throughout this Seminar, most ofwhich is contained in this book, has led us to formulate the followingprogress guidelines and to specify some actions that will beimplemented with the collaboration of all the participants andinstitutions that wish to join our cause as well as of everyone who,after reading this book, would like to contact us. The workingguidelines are the following:—To make progress in thought construction.—To make progress in designing policies.—To make progress in providing significant experiences.Making progress in thought construction, “rethinking the concepts”,thinking about conceptual reference frameworks and establishingkaleidoscopes and groupsSome of the contents that were debated and which have beenhighlighted as progress guidelines for thought construction are: