Subtitle: 25 Jahre Georg-Eckert-Institut für internationale Schulbuchforschung in Braunschweig
[International Understanding - 25 Years of the Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research in Braunschweig]
The title ‘International Understanding’ perfectly encapsulates the work behind international textbook research. Such work can never be considered complete and it requires constant dialogue with others in order to be understood. This requires a degree of self-awareness that is by no means automatic but rather requires constant reflection. In the process of international understanding, it soon becomes clear that it is not a question of homogenous world views that must be brought into alignment but that every society comprises manifold cultural traditions and even profound differences that must first be understood. International understanding in this context is therefore never reduced to quasi-diplomatic negotiations between the representatives of states; it is based on dialogue between cultures. The Institute’s horizons have expanded beyond mutual exchange within Europe to also include cultures from further afield. International understanding is more than a question of overcoming distance or foreignness.
