Abstract

Using archives and memorabilia of European exiled populations, ECOS aims to understand how bibliographical accounts and narratives of exile contribute to the making of a European memory. The construction of memory has become a crucial issue within the European integration process, as shown by the increasing number of cultural activities aiming at strengthening the European feeling of co-belonging. ECOS intends enhancing the relevance of exile narratives to the constitution of a European memory by: 1) gathering and ordering information related to lives in exile and questioning how transnationality challenges official and national accounts/archives; and 2) promoting a public debate on how exile narratives affect the construction of a transnational memory through several pedagogical activities.The project partners from Portugal, France, and Denmark will develop an “#ECOS Pedagogical Package” with two prime objectives: first, materials and activities for classroom use that include objects (e.g. institutional documents, fake passports, family pictures, domestic items, militant iconography), as well as information on places of memory (e.g. housings, streets, associative headquarters); second, itinerant activities (e.g., exhibition, a documentary on the exile routes and a theatrical production within a participatory workshop). These events will bring together around 10 000 students, teachers and additional community members, and will reach other individuals by using event hashtags on the social media and online platform.Processes and outcomes will be presented at an interdisciplinary and international conference (“Exiles, to Counter Silence”) of approximately 100-150 academic and non-academic professionals. During the event, we plan to launch a European Platform on Exile, which intends to reach a broader audience and encourage ongoing transnational debates on exile processes.

Team