History is often invoked to justify the European project, yet sometimes it is hard to see where learning about that history fits into the project. “There is an education policy which talks about employability and entrepreneurship, but where does history come in?” asks Blandine Smilansky. “There is a neighbourhood policy and an enlargement policy, but where does education feature?”

Smilansky’s job as the Brussels representative of the European Association of History Educators (Euroclio) is to find these obscure opportunities for promoting history through EU programmes and to convince policymakers to do more. Born and educated in France, she chose to study history because of an inspiring teacher. But after a master’s degree she paused. “Although I had this strong interest in history, I didn’t see myself becoming a teacher or going into research, at least not immediately,” she says.

An interest in the role that history plays in society led to another master’s degree, in cultural management, at Sciences Po in Paris. Then, after a short period working for a children’s literature festival, she moved to the Netherlands and discovered Euroclio, which is based in The Hague. “It looked like a perfect way to combine my fields of interest and the aspects of project management in which I was looking for experience.”

Founded in 1992, Euroclio is an umbrella body for national history education organisations. It covers the whole profession, from school and university teachers to textbook authors and teacher trainers. Its goal is to enhance the quality of history teaching by helping educators come together as an international community and to develop as professionals. It does this through activities such as training events and sharing teaching resources though its Historiana website.

But a major theme of its work is the way teaching can help build democracy and respond to contested historical narratives, for example in the Western Balkans or Black Sea region. It was in this area that Smilansky started working as a project manager in 2008, beginning with a meeting in Nicosia that brought together Greek and Turkish Cypriot teachers.

She then managed a three-year project on multicultural history in Georgia, helping teachers from different communities to develop more inclusive approaches to the national story. “It is very important for us that teachers work on materials themselves that they can then use in the classroom,” she says.

Move to Brussels

After several years of project management, Smilansky started to think of moving. Brussels appealed because it would develop the European side of her work, but it would break new ground for the association. “I discussed this with my colleagues and we found that it would be good for Euroclio,” she says.

She began work in 2012, in time to follow the final planning phase of the new EU programmes.

The education programme has naturally been a priority, but so have lower-profile initiatives such as the remembrance strand of the Europe for Citizens programme. She has also been busy in the European Parliament and lobbying in other policy areas such as entrepreneurship.

Her role draws directly on her previous experience. “What I do now, which is more public relations and advocacy, is only possible because I started as a project manager,” she says. At the same time, representing and reflecting on Euroclio’s mission has given her greater perspective. “I like the way that it adds depth to my work.”

Smilansky has no plans to move on, but she can see a number of career options opening up. Teaching is the one that looms largest. “Education has become such an important subject for me, and I am thinking about it constantly. At some point I might say: OK, now let’s see how I can put all of these ideas into practice.”

Ian Mundell is a freelance journalist based in Brussels.