Life-Stories of (Yu)-Migration: Using biographic narratives as (digital) educational resource in teaching in secondary schools

The aim of this Agora project is to familiarise secondary school pupils with the history of migration from the region of former Yugoslavia and the political history of this region (in particular, the wars in Yugoslavia) through the life-stories of young people. $

The communication concept foresees the creation of a digital educational platform, which will present life-stories of young people of different ethno-religious backgrounds (collected in the framework of the main applicant’s previous Ambizione project) in a multimedia form adapted to the target audience, and a didactic concept for the use of this platform in the classroom.

The didactic concept foresees workshops to be conducted in selected secondary schools (level I) in the canton of Zurich – in the city of Zurich and (rural/semi-urban) communities to extend the reach of the project beyond pupils living in urban locations. During these workshops pupils will be engaged into a dialogue with researchers on these issues.

Workshops will include a participatory element where pupils will conduct their own small research projects on migration history (with their families or friends, classmates, neighbours) and will be thus familiarized with the social science research methods. The life-stories of young people and their families are an excellent resource for communicating how migration has been experienced individually, while providing information about the wider historical, political and socio-economic contexts that have triggered, shaped and governed this migration.

By contextualising these migratory movements in the history of the region, the project will convey and explain the political, social and historical roots of the conflict in the former Yugoslavia, which has had repercussions for the whole region as well as for Switzerland. In this way, the project aims to broaden and diversify students' understanding of Swiss history and to raise their awareness of Switzerland's links with other regions.

By providing an understanding of migration in its historical and contemporary perspective, and of Switzerland's entanglement with the history of other regions, the project will promote social cohesion and participation not only at the level of young people, but of society as a whole.