Dr Elena Danescu, Research Scientist at the Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C²DH), member of the research group “Contemporary History of Europe” (EHI), has been awarded a competitive Jean Monnet Fellowship at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies (RSCS), European University Institute, Florence (EUI) for the research project “The female face of the EU”, which will be developed over a 12 month period (September 2024 – September 2025).
By adopting an interdisciplinary approach, a comparative perspective, and exploring a wide range of existing archives, new multimedia primary sources and digital methods and tools, this project is aiming at generating and disseminating new knowledge focused the representation and influence of women in shaping the European integration history and democracy, through the lens of their individual trajectories, personal narratives and transnational networks. This research will enable specific synergies with the Historical Archives of the European Union (HAEU) (which are based at the EUI Florence) and with the archival collections of other European institutions, will generate innovative content for research and teaching, including through links with the ongoing oral history project at the C²DH, in cooperation with the Media Centre of the University of Luxembourg (UL), titled “The role of women in European and international relations in Luxembourg” (2022-2025), and will stimulate the debate and the sharing of knowledge with academia and general public.