Historians without Borders

In June 2015, Erkki Tuomioja convened a number of historians and policy makers to a meeting, which led to the founding of HWB. First board was appointed, which included names like Finnish politician and historian Pilvi Torsti, former editor-in-chief of Helsingin Sanomat Janne Virkkunen and executive director of CMI Tuija Talvitie. Erkki Tuomioja has acted as Chairman of the Board since the founding meeting. Behind the initiative was Tuomioja's concern, that history is often used and abused for personal or political purposes. Inadequate knowledge of history makes people more vulnerable to manipulation of politicians, who can use historical myths and propaganda to their advantage easier. HWB aims to prevent the abuse of history by bringing historians and their knowledge to society and conflict-resolution. == Aims ==

• promote and deepen general and comprehensive knowledge and understanding of history • promote open and free access to historical material and archives • promote interactive dialogue between different views and interpretations of history to bring closer diverging views of the course of historical events • support efforts to impede the abuse of history to foster conflicts or to sustain enemy images and distorted myths, and to contribute to the use of history in defusing and resolving conflicts. == References ==