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• 07 / 20 / 2007

«It is necessary to spread historical knowledge among young people all over the country in a more attractive and enjoyable fashion, » said Cubas minister of Culture and member of the Political Bureau, Abel Prieto Jimenez, at the sixth Congress of the National Union of Historians (UNHIC by its abbreviation in Spanish), which is being held at the Havana Convention Center.

The minister said that a more personalized study of history which highlights peoples experiences is needed, erasing old teaching dogmas and at the same time promoting local and regional history together with the national.

Prieto also said history teachers should identify with and feel passionate about the material.

Eliades Acosta, head of the Department of Culture of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and vice-president of the UNHIC, noted the importance of preserving Cuban history as the only guarantee of the present and the future, and as a wealth of great lessons on strengths and weaknesses.

«A nation without history is an aimless country that can be easily manipulated by its enemies. We must insist on deepening the knowledge of the next generation.

«Cubans must take into account that young people are increasingly sceptical and it is more difficult to answer to their questions from a simplistic perspective of history that does not show its origin from a more humanistic vantage point and closer to real life methodology, » said Acosta.

Source: By Mayte Maria Jimenez, Juventud Rebelde