The Jean Monnet House, the Istituto di Studi Federalisti Altiero Spinelli and EUROM - The European Observatory on Memories - in collaboration with JEF Europe organises the second edition of the Ventotene - Houjarray School on European Memories (8-11 May 2024) at the Jean Monnet House (Bazoches-sur-Guyonne, France).

This seminar on European memory will welcome 25 young participants from all over Europe.

The Jean Monnet House wishes to raise awareness among the youth about European memory and the history of democracy.

Through the organisation of conferences, workshops, debates and practical activities, participants will become familiar with the latest research on memory studies and will be able to contribute to raising awareness of Europe's past as a key to making informed choices for the present and future.

This year, the VHSEM will focus on the European elections and its history, in view of the next elections in 2024.

Programme

Wednesday May 8

4.00-4.30pm Visit of Europa Expérience, 28, Pl. de la Madeleine, 75008, Paris (European Parliament Liaison Office)

4.30-6.00pm Book Presentation 10Elections, at Europa Expérience, with the following authors: Michele Fiorillo, Inês Nauwelaers and Debora Righetti

7.30pm Welcome speech by the Jean Monnet House, EUROM, JEF Europe and the Istituto Altiero Spinelli connected online from Ventotene

9.30-10.30pm Screening of the movie “Alle origini dell'Europa unita. Un mondo nuovo” with English subtitles or "La voce di Ventotene" with English subtitles

Thursday May 9

9.15am Presentation of the school programme

9.30am Presentation on current memory policies - Oriol López (EUROM)

10.00-11.00am Visit of the Jean Monnet House and the EXPO58 (interactive, virtual reality exhibition of the European Coal and Steel Community’s pavilion at the 1958 World Expo in Brussels)

11.15am-1pm First session: Giulia Rossolillo, Professor of EU Law at University of Pavia and Vice-President of the UEF and Luca Lionello, Fellow in European Union law at the Cattolica University of Milan, “European Federalism: Historical perspective and future prospects” (Online)

2.15-3.45pm Second session: Dietmar J. Wetzel, Professor for Social Sciences at the Medical School of Hamburg, “European collective memories” and “Contested memories - Aspects of Collective Remembering and Forgetting” 

4.00-5.00pm Third session: Nataša Simeunović Bajić, University of Niš, Serbia “An insight into the beginning of pan-European transnational television: TV Eurikon and TV Europa” .

5.00-6.00pm Workshop for the creation of a clip on the vote for the EE24

6.00-7.00pm Presentation of the Book 10Elections open to the public and the exhibition Pioneer Women of the European Union with Christelle Savall, Michele Fiorillo, Debora Righetti and Oriol López. Copies of the book available for the public.

9.00pm Team-building activity (Eurovision Song Contest)

Friday May 10

9.00-10.00am Fourth session: Dieter Schlenker, Director of the Historical Archive of the European Union, “Preserving Europe's memory at the Historical Archives of the EU” (Online)

10.00-11.15am Fifth session: Alfredo De Feo, Former Official at EP Historical Archives, Michael Shackleton, Emeritus Professor at Maastricht University (Online)

11.30am-12.00 Debora Righetti, Presentation of the Documentary by the EP “Pass it on, a story about democracy” (Hero Movie)

1.30-2.30pm Walk in the forest on Jean Monnet’s footsteps

2.30-3.30pm Sixth session: Pier Virgilio Dastoli, President of the Movimento Europeo Italia, “First elections and Altiero Spinelli’s political brokering”

3.30-4.00pm Mario Leone, Director of the Istituto di Studi Federalisti Altiero Spinelli, “The EP political groups organization: a model for European Parties?”

4.15-5.00pm Antonio Argenziano

5.00-6.45pm Workshop for the creation of a clip on the vote for the EE24

Saturday May 11

9.30am Departure