UNLOCK THE POWER OF HISTORY FOR THE FUTURE OF DEMOCRACY
We believe history learning should be inspiring, engaging, and lasting. Education that prepares all young people to thrive and contribute to a rapidly changing world. A world that values freedom, equity, and opportunity for all. Help us make this the norm.
OUR MISSION.
To ensure that all young people can engage with history and education in a way that helps them advance the wellbeing of themselves, society, and the planet.
WHAT WE DO.
We act as a field-builder and innovation incubator to transform how young people experience history.
We activate cultural institutions as hubs and partners of inspired learning, partnering with organizations that specialize in play and learning science to bring their power to the teaching of history.
We craft local ecosystems, creating the infrastructure and relationships to allow inspired, place-based learning to become the norm.
We incubate youth action through a podcast (UnTextbooked) and a youth council.
Finally, we collaborate closely with democracy education partnerships in Europe (EuroClio) and in the US (Educating for American Democracy) so as to accelerate learning and co-creation.
The History Co:Lab is a catalyst of innovations advancing youth-centered, community-based, learning-science backed real history education so that democracy can thrive.
How we teach history in schools has created a world full of division, misunderstanding, and grief, and it is stretching the fabric of our democracy thin. Now is the moment when we must commit to updating our practices of teaching history so we can heal and create a democracy that deserves the name.
The challenge is not only what we teach, but why and how we engage with history. The solution lies in creating a movement to make sure that history education serves the purpose of advancing wellbeing: for individuals, for communities, for society, and for the planet. It lies in enabling youth voice, fostering collaboration between teachers and community organizations, enabling learning experiences for teachers, and capturing data. The History Co:Lab is setting out to do just that.
The real history our young people need is not the canned narratives of textbooks. It is not history that is disconnected from the needs and challenges of today. Real history is a deep inquiry into the sources of our problems, and into sources of optimism for the future. Real history can foster inspired civic engagement and develop the skills and mindsets we need to tackle the challenges of today.
OUR PRINCIPLES.
YOU MATTER
We recognize that people come to the study of history with varied, overlapping identities. By working to mainstream an intersectional lens on history, we hope to create a richer narrative in which everyone can find themselves.
YOU HAVE POWER
We are committed to helping everyone find in historical narratives the inspiration to be an agent of change and an engaged member of the community. Democracy depends on informed and empowered people.
IDEAS MATTER
We believe in the fundamental importance of the values of freedom, justice and equality, and see engaging with history as a necessary process to solve the practical complexities of making these values a reality for all.
CONNECTIONS COUNT
Bridging across differences is critical to building a functioning community. We are committed to ensuring that history serves to promote empathy and understanding across cultural and historical differences so we all can embrace and nurture our shared humanity.
FACTS MATTER
We are committed to factual accuracy and recognize that while there will always be myriad subjective interpretations of events, we must construct narratives with careful attention to historical records.
WE ARE A COMMUNITY
We want to engage individuals from different parts of communities in conversations that will allow us to heal wounds of the past, and to explore questions of values and vision that can unite us in our actions and inform our habits.
OUR VISION.
2025 GOALS
5 MILLION STUDENTS learning history primarily without textbooks
50,000 YOUNG PEOPLE engaged in a youth movement helping to change the curriculum across all states
15 COMMUNITIES + transformed into Civic Learning Collaboratives
We changed our name.