Memory Education and Citizenship to Defend Democracy
On Friday 29th June, in collaboration with Espana en Libertad and the Ministry of Democratic Memory, Fundación CIVES launched an ambitious year long programme under the title ‘Memoria, Escuela y Democracia’, to celebrate 50 years of Spanish democracy but also to counter act growing revisionist narratives and increasing extremist sentiments in Spanish youth.
Hosted by the historic El Ateneo de Madrid , the event launched an intended year long plan of events and lectures to examine the past whilst looking to the future with speakers including Fundacion Cives President Victorino Mayoral Cortés, Director General of Democratic Memory Zoraida Hijosa Valdizán and Antonio Viñao Frago, author of La depuración y represión del profesorado , one of two monographs launched at the event.
Throughout the event the repression of freedoms for Professors under the Froncoist regime was covered but speakers expressed increasing concern that as the next generation have no lived experience or living memories of events, anti democratic attitudes may slip back into normalisation and there the importance of constantly being in the education space to counter-act revisionist narratives is vital.
“The culture war has not died; on the contrary, it is very much alive.” – Luis María Cifuentes
🎤Luis María Cifuentes examina el adoctrinamiento escolar. La escuela durante el franquismo funcionó como herramienta al servicio del “espíritu nacional”. #MemoriaEsDemocracia #EducarEnMemoria
Monografía : https://t.co/5tqnjbO0z5 pic.twitter.com/QPOIgmj5Mz
— Fundación Cives (@FundacionCives) June 27, 2025
Defending Pluralism
As part of his talk author of ‘La formación del espíritu nacional como enseñanza obligatoria’ Luis María Cifuentes was keen to stress that the only way to defend democracy today was to keep and defend pluralism in the social, moral and political sphere whilst Ana Rodriguez Penín spoke of how the education system under the dictatorship was designed to remove women from public life.
Although the event didn´t focus on the health of Spanish democracy and youth alienation that is seeing increasing numbers of young adults reject the political institutions of Spain for other alternatives, Fundacíon CIVES year long programme will be exploring all aspects of Spain´s democratic life.
All photos used are with the express permission of Fundación Cives.