“Telling Our Stories” 1989 Anniversary

As a high school student from Hungary, Eszter Eva Kovacs took part in the “Telling Our Stories” 1989 Anniversary exchange, which brought together educators and students from Central and Eastern Europe and aimed to emphasize progress and accomplishments in post-communist societies. During the outbound portion in August 2019, participants traveled across Central and Eastern Europe to engage with the history and legacy of communism in these countries, and in October 2019, fellows traveled to the U.S. to learn about the history of activism and develop tools for promoting youth engagement. 

Through the exchange, Eszter Eva experienced firsthand the power and value of personal storytelling in learning about history and understanding the past. She credits her program participation in helping her to become more conscious about present political realities, and during her time on program, she gained insight into the similarities of her fellow participants’ backgrounds and stories, particularly as they reflected on life in their countries 10-15 years prior, and the way in which shared history can provide a unifying identity across languages and cultures. After returning home to Budapest following the outbound exchange in Europe, Eszter Eva began working on a historical and cultural project with her mother about Jews and the Holocaust in her hometown, which they presented at an annual conference in Germany in December 2019. Although Eszter Eva had presented at this conference before, she used the lessons she learned during her exchange on effective storytelling to enhance her presentation with a 10-minute video she created by combining photos and videos to tell the story of a Holocaust survivor.