Name: Narratives of Europe in Uncertain Times
Start: 2026-03-05T09:00:00+01:00
End: 2026-03-06T19:00:00+01:00
Location: Warsaw,Poland

❗️The Horizon Europe projects B-SHAPES and NARDIV invite scholars, PhD students, and stakeholders to the final international conference 'Narratives of Europe in Uncertain Times', taking place in Warsaw on 5–6 March 2026.
➡️ Register here: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=fcKXmj64lEazU1S9vxirW12slfeFST5Ans6K6rpVRI9URFVNWkc3OE9PWDhYUDJNU1VLSFhKS1pHOS4u
There will be a conference fee of 120 € for participants not affiliated with B-SHAPES or NARDIV.
🌍 Europe has recently been confronted with several crises. Brexit, migration, the pandemic, rising populism and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have all contributed to a resurgence in cultural and national stereotypes and divisions. These developments have deepened the divide between Eastern and Western Europe, leading to a growing sense of alienation from European identity and shared values. These challenges highlight the need to reconsider narratives about Europe and borders, in order to move beyond traditional national perspectives and foster a more inclusive European identity.
🤝 This conference is organized jointly by the Horizon Europe Research and Innovation actions Borders Shaping Perceptions of European Societies (B-SHAPES) and United in Narrative Diversity? (NARDIV).
💡 It addresses several crises facing Europe. Borders – both physical and symbolic – play a crucial role in this dynamic and influence attitudes towards the European project. In this context, topics such as exchanges on shared cultural heritage, Euroscepticism in border regions, the experiences of minorities living in border regions, and the cultural significance of border landscapes as cultural heritage have gained importance. The conference will also include colonial and postcolonial discourses in order to answer the question of whether the West and the East share the same understanding
of ‘Europeanism,’ ‘European values,’ and ‘European heritage.’
The conference offers an opportunity for scholars of different discipli- nes in European Studies, Regional Studies and Border Studies to join us in presenting and discussing the latest research in these fields. We also aim to attract policymakers and other stakeholders to ensure both scientific and societal impact.

📑 The theme of the conference will be centered around the empiric and theoretical work packages of B-SHAPES and NARDIV, but we also welcome relevant papers with a different focus/empiric base relating to our central research questions. Presentations should address the following topics/issues:
→ Euroscepticism in border regions
→ Minorities in border regions:
→ Border landscapes as heritage
→ Narratives as a methodological approach
in European-, Regional- and Border Studies
→ (Post)Colonial Narratives in Trans-European Relations
→ Border Studies and European integration theory
→ European, national and regional heritage policies and borders
→ From research to political and societal impact (with relation to borders, border regions)

For further information and questions contact the B-SHAPES coordinator Martin Klatt at [email protected]
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#BSHAPES #NARDIV #HorizonEurope
About the B-SHAPES Project:
B-SHAPES: Borders shaping European Societies investigates how borders affect our understanding of society, culture, heritage, and belonging in Europe, especially amid increasing re-bordering dynamics. The project brings a unique lens to policy development by connecting border studies with cultural and social research.