New technologies as a tool for reconciliation.

A central phase for the project ended very positively <<History is US!>>. This is because in the European partnership, between the young Italian non-profit association HUBITAPROJECT ETS and the expert enterprise Glafka based in Prague, we have always acted with loyalty, honesty and professionalism. Never any subterfuge, mystery or lie. A surprise even if it should be normal. Why?

Because lies are part of the human experience and their weight varies depending on the circumstances in which they are told. A lie told to protect oneself from an immediate danger, like that of Saint Peter who denied his Master, represents a moral dilemma that accompanies human beings throughout the entire journey of our lives, since the dawn of time.

The ability to understand the reasons for a lie, especially in vulnerable situations, is crucial to achieving full self-awareness and one's actions. It is about reconciliation firstly personal and then social.

The biblical narrative of Peter, who in a moment of fear denied knowing Jesus three times, offers us a decisive starting point to reflect on the link between telling falsehoods and the context in which we find ourselves. Faced with a concrete threat, such as the risk of being arrested or worse, Peter chose the path of lies. This episode reminds us that lying, although morally condemned, can become an act of survival when fear takes over. In short. It can be understood. There is. Of course, those who suffer it are at least uncomfortable.

In adulthood, the memory of similar moments can become a source of internal torment. However, recognizing the profound reasons that led us to lie can open the way to self-forgiveness. Awareness is the first step to transform a similar mistake into a life lesson to improve ourselves.

The denial of the truth.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, in his famous book The Confessions, recounts an episode from his youth in which he lied for fear of losing his job. At the time, he was working as an aspiring valet in a house of a so-called wealthy family and, fearing the consequences of his own failure, he chose to let the blame for the incident fall on another person. This gesture profoundly affected him to the point of confessing it years later as the lowest moment of his life.

Rousseau's confession is not just an act of repentance. It is also an attempt to understand his behavior, in light of the context and emotions, which led him to that wicked choice. His testimony invites us to look at lies, not only as acts to be condemned, but also as events that can be analysed, to grasp their profound motivations and thus guide us better and better on this daily journey, here, which is our existence .

We are therefore faced with a useful tool for conventional survival. Nothing more. Nothing to be shocked about. In many situations, especially when you are young or in a position of weakness, lying may seem like the only way out. However, in adulthood, it is important to come to terms with these choices and recognize them for what they were. Responses to a need for protection often dictated by fear. In a concise summary. This process of awareness allows you to accept your past, without denying it, while learning to distinguish between lies dictated by necessity and those driven by malicious intent.

Shared historical memory and multimedia technologies.

Thanks to multimedia technologies today we have the opportunity to preserve and share our historical memory with future generations. Recording personal experiences, including those related to moments of weakness or error, can become a powerful educational tool. Telling your stories, including lies told or suffered, can offer young people an example of how to deal with moral dilemmas and learn to forgive themselves.

Sharing these memories is not only a way to pass down personal stories but also a means to create a deeper connection between generations. Through the story of real life episodes we can help younger people to understand that error is part of the journey of the human being and that the true value lies only in the ability to learn from it. Certain. It would be better, if possible, to always directly contact the unfortunate person in question and ask for forgiveness. Furthermore, today with new technologies it is also possible to do it instantly. See for example WhatsApp

The fact is that according to Eurostat data from 2023, in Europe around 44% of adults participate in lifelong learning programmes, but Italy ranks well below the European average, with a rate of 10.8%! This gap underlines the need to promote initiatives that encourage learning even at an advanced age, especially in the field of digital skills. https://epale.ec.europa.eu/it/content/nuova-agenda-europea-lapprendimento-degli-adulti-2021-2030-neaal-primi-risultati

The European Commission, through the Action Plan for Digital Education (2021-2027), aims to improve citizens' technological knowledge to make them more active and aware in the use of digital tools https://education.ec.europa.eu/it/focus-topics/digital-education/action-plan

Forgiveness of self and others.

Recognizing that you have told a lie and understanding the reasons is an act of great maturity. This path not only allows us to free ourselves from the burden of guilt but also teaches us to be more forgiving towards others. Awareness of our own fragilities makes us more empathetic and understanding, creating the basis for more authentic human relationships.

Forgiveness does not mean justifying every mistake, but accepting that in certain circumstances we acted as best we could, given the conditions. This attitude helps us grow as individuals and offer an example of resilience and awareness to those around us. Our discomfort can thus be overcome.

Technologies and reconciliation.

Digital platforms today offer countless opportunities to reflect and share. Through videos, online diaries or simple messages, we can talk about significant episodes of our lives, including how we have dealt with mistakes and difficulties. This act of sharing can have a profound impact by transforming individual experiences into collective heritage.

Furthermore, technologies can act as a safe bridge to reconcile with people with whom we have misunderstood and who we have hurt. An apology message or a sincere video conversation can begin to heal wounds that have been open for years, allowing you to rebuild relationships that seemed lost. This is a gift worth spending.

In Italy, the Re-Generation Youth initiative has demonstrated the effectiveness of using digital tools to encourage intergenerational communication, underlining how technologies can be an ally in building authentic dialogues https://www.facebook.com/regenerationyouth13/

Conclusion.

Lies, while morally ambiguous, are part of the human experience. We have always lived among lies, lies and nonsense. Imagination often supports them and, in some cases, such as in fables, stories and reports, they can even be acceptable, entertaining and edifying. However, recognizing their meaning, understanding the reasons that led us to say them and learning to forgive ourselves is fundamental for a full and conscious life. Episodes such as those of Saint Peter and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, even thousands of years apart from each other, remind us that even venerated, famous and great individuals have faced moments of weakness and that true strength, lies in the ability to accept and transform the mistake committed into a moment of exponential experiential growth, useful to us and to those who have received the damage of the insult.

Thanks to multimedia technologies we today have the opportunity to make our memory an instrument of personal and collective growth. Sharing our stories, including those that include lies, told or received, can offer new generations a real example, to live with authenticity, learning from their mistakes and embracing the complexity of our current human condition, even with a smile.

Here you are. This is exactly the result expected from the project <<History is US!>>, especially now, when a central phase of the activities has concluded very positively, thanks to the European partnership, between the young Italian non-profit association HUBITAPROJECT ETS and the expert enterprise Glafka based in Prague.

If you also want more information on how to be the protagonist of your own story by participating in a training project linked to digital technologies in senior learning, contact us now at the email address info@historyisus.eu