Europe experiences a relaunch of cultural and national stereotypes triggered by the migration crisis, Covid-19, democratic backslides, and the war against Ukraine. Four decades after the fall of the wall, Eastern and Western Europe seem increasingly alienated, each having different perceptions of Europe, the EU, and its principles. These trends manifest themselves in an alienation between Eastern and Western Europe, as well as in the perception of Europe in general. Intermittently they are, as we suggest, expressions of resilient post-colonial relationships within Europe.

With a focus on the (cliched binary) East-West confrontation, this project explore future possibilities of building and managing transnational relationships in the fields of culture and heritage, one of the mainstays of customary cultural diplomacy. Taking siy Euroean countries as the basis of our exploration - France, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, and Romania - we critically examine mutual perceptions in Eastern and Western Europe through the prism of intercultural exchange.

In the framework of the project, scholars, practitioners from culture-exchange institutes, artists, and creative industries players join forces to scrutinize current difficulties, from diverging historical developments and emotional investments to challenges of the digital media revolution.

The objective is to develop new strategies to conceptualize and revitalize cultural encounters and exchange between East and West to discuss mutual perceptions and ideas.

The findings of this collaboration aim at:

a) boosting the culture-diplomacy/exchange sector by strengthening their role as mediators of transnational European values;

b) laying bare best and worst practices in order to develop recommendations for new approaches and (media) strategies.

Thus, fostering a more inclusive concept of cultural diplomacy to counter populist, identity-based discourses and to promote the European narrative across different cultural heritages.

Project Facts 

NARDIV responds to the call “HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01: Research and innovation on cultural heritage and CCIs – 2022”.

Grant agreement ID: 101096809 Action: HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 

Start: 01.06.2023

End: 01.05.2026 

Total cost: 2,806,156.00 EUR

EU funding: 2,806,156.00 EUR