This special event celebrates the public opening of the European Cultural Foundation’s (ECF) archives at the Historical Archives of the European Union. The exhibition "Building European Belonging: Inside the Archives of the European Cultural Foundation" will accompany the event in Villa Salviati.
Bringing together academics, public intellectuals, policymakers, and cultural practitioners, the event examines how culture has shaped European imaginaries and forms of belonging, while also offering critical perspectives on the notions of both ‘culture’ and ‘Europe’.
The first part of the programme provides a historical perspective, exploring how cultural visions of Europe became embedded in postwar institutions, networks, and policies, while also examining the possibilities, limitations, and challenges for culture within the European project.
The second part turns to the geopolitical, technological, and societal transformations reshaping Europe, and considers how Europe can proactively embrace these changes and what new cultural initiatives should be initiated, supported, and promoted to foster a European sentiment, and sense of belonging. At a time of increasing polarisation and competing visions of Europe, the seminar asks whether culture can still provide a space for democratic imagination, connection, and shared futures, and what the EU, foundations, and civil society can do to strengthen Europe through culture.
This special event is organised on the occasion of the public opening of the European Cultural Foundation’s archives at the Historical Archives of the European Union, and is followed by a visit to the exhibition "Building European Belonging: Inside the Archives of the European Cultural Foundation", which highlights both the Foundation’s pioneering work — often anticipating major transitions across the continent — and the enduring relevance of its legacy today.
Photo: First congress organised by the European Cultural Foundation organised on the theme, ‘Cultural and Intellectual Unity of Europe’, Amsterdam, 1957. From left to right: Robert Schuman, Dr. Konrad Adenauer, HRH Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, and Paul-Henri Spaak.
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