The History Councils of New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia have jointly adopted a statement about the Value of History.
Studying our past and telling our stories is critical to our sense of belonging, to our communities and to our shared future.
We are excited about this statement as it can provide support for a wide range of endeavours in our community. For example, the concepts can be incorporated into government and institutional policies, projects, grant applications, mission statements, websites, marketing materials, and educational documents.
Photo Credit: The old and the new – Gold Melting Room, the Mint & Sydney Hospital. TWH Photography.
The four History Councils in Australia are independent membership associations. Each is the peak or coordinating body for history in its respective state. We work co-operatively to:
- Campaign for the recognition of history
- Share ideas about what makes the past relevant today
Click the button above to read our joint announcement about the Value of History Statement at the annual meeting of the Australian Historical Association on 11 July 2019.
We encourage all Australians to endorse the value of history. You can respond as an individual, or on behalf of an organisation.
Click the button below to endorse the Statement via the History Council of NSW.
Endorsements can also be made via the other History Councils: Victoria, South Australia, & Western Australia.
Our Australian Value of History Statement is adapted with permission from History Relevance, a campaign that started in the USA in 2012.
Teaching resources
Thanks to Ilja van Weringh from Wesley College, Melbourne, a series of free teaching resources about the Value of History have been created. You can view and edit the set via this link, or for a one-off PNG file, click the button below.