Biography
Mafalda Dâmaso is Part-time Professor at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies of the European University Institute, where she serves as work package leader in two Horizon Europe projects (2025–2028): ANIMA MUNDI, which understands the European animation industry ecosystem as a value-laden sector with untapped geopolitical potential, and StreamSCAPES, which examines how the cultural and creative industries can support the sustainable climate transition, with a particular emphasis on video-on-demand platforms. She was previously the Principal Investigator of another Horizon Europe project, REBOOT, which focused on the competitiveness of the European film industry (2023–2026).
Her research interests include cultural and audiovisual policy, cultural diplomacy and relations, the geopolitics of culture, and culture in sustainable development. Her work focuses primarily on the European Union and its external action. It has been cited in documents by and for the European Parliament, the European Council, and the European Commission. She has also addressed the European Parliament’s CULT Committee on the future of EU cultural diplomacy and on the status of cultural workers.
Beyond academia, Mafalda Dâmaso led Cultural Action Europe research and policy recommendations to support the European Parliament’s work on the status of artists and cultural workers. She was also the EU policy expert for the consortium implementing the Preparatory Action on Culture for Health. Previous collaborations include work with the Joint Research Centre, the German Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations, and the Foundation for European Progressive Studies.
She is a member of the European Expert Network on Culture, a member of the management committee of International Cultural Relations Research Alliance, an Associate Fellow of the British Foreign Policy Group, Senior Media Policy Advisor to the UK Coalition for Cultural Diversity, Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Fellow of the UK’s Higher Education Academy, and she co-chairs the Forum on EU-UK Cultural & Media Relations.
She has held academic positions at King’s College London, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Goldsmiths – University of London, the Catholic University of Paris, University of the Arts London, and the Centre on Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California.