EDIC University of Luxembourg

In 2021, EDUNILU organised several major events:

• The introduction of the “Robert Schuman Lecture Series (2021-2025)”, a high-level annual public history event associating the University of Luxembourg with the European institutions in Luxembourg and other local organisations and associations related to Europe, with the aim of exploring questions about Luxembourg’s role in the history of European integration via public lectures given by leading figures from Luxembourg and Europe. The inaugural Robert Schuman Lecture, entitled “Luxembourg, the first capital of a united Europe”, took place online on 6 May 2021 and was attended by a large number of partners from Luxembourg and abroad. The event included a message from Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, a lecture by Prof. Sylvain Schirmann (Honorary Director of Sciences Po Strasbourg, University of Strasbourg; Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Robert Schuman House in Scy-Chazelles), a presentation by Dr Dieter Schlenker (Director of the Historical Archives of the European Union in Florence), a virtual exhibition on the Schuman Declaration (presented by the European Parliamentary Research Service) and a public debate with MEP Charles Goerens.
• Participation in the multi-year international project for pan-European citizenship education, the European Citizens’ Initiative (2020-2024), co-funded by the EU’s Erasmus+ programme in partnership with the University of Iasi (Romania), the University of Coimbra (Portugal), the University of Göttingen (Germany), the University of Vigo (Spain) and Europe Direct at the University of Luxembourg. Dr Elena Danescu gave lectures on the origins of the European idea on 22 and 29 May 2021 (2021 Introductory Online Sessions).
•  As part of the Conference on the Future of Europe, in cooperation with the Europe Direct centres in Saarbrücken (Germany) and the Grand Est (France), we organised the cross-border event “FutureLabEU – Let’s share our ideas for Europe!” from 24 to 26 November 2021. EDUNILU led the workshop “Work, employment and training in the digital age” (moderated by Dr Franz Clément, LISER), involving 25 students from Luxembourg and the Greater Region, on 24 November. The students’ ideas were discussed at the plenary session on 26 November, with the participation of Martine Reicherts, Chair of the FNR Board, and Uwe Conradt, Mayor of Saarbrücken, and then sent to the European Commission.
• The Winter Online Lecture Series on Europe (December 2021), organised in connection with the “History of European integration (1919-1993)” and “Economic and social history of Europe after 1945” courses from the Master in European Contemporary History, and the “Democratic transitions in Central and Eastern Europe” course from the Bachelor in European Cultures. The idea was to give students and the wider academic community the opportunity to find out about the history and workings of the European institutions in Luxembourg from new and unconventional angles (7, 13 and 14 December 2021).
• “Brexit Reality Portraits”, held on 8 December 2021 and organised by the C²DH, the Young European Movement UK, the European Movement Luxembourg and the European Parliament, which explored the international repercussions of Brexit over the long term with the aim of constructing a new narrative via a bottom-up approach involving an original oral history project.

Press articles:

• “Le genre et l’Europe: Quo vadis?” (Luxemburger Wort, 13-14 March 2021) and “Quand l’Europe emménageait au Luxembourg” (Luxemburger Wort, 17-18 April 2021), written by Dr Elena Danescu.
• Publications and campaigns on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter): “Milestones in European History” and “This day in European History” (both January-February 2021); and “Women in the construction of Europe”, a series highlighting the biographies of women with a pioneering role in European integration (March 2021) (written by Sonia Golini).