From 1 April 2023, the Centre of Border Region Studies will coordinate the collaborative research project Borders Shaping Perceptions of European Societies (B-SHAPES) granted 3 Mio € from the EU’s research program Horizon Europe. Martin Klatt (Coordinator) and Dorte Jagetic Andersen (PI) will be the two CBRS researchers involved in B-SHAPES, a consortium of eight universities and one research institute: SDU, Brunel University London (UK), European Academy Bozen (IT), Oulu University (FI), Eötvös Loránd University Budapest (HU), Halmstad University (SE), Technical University of Liberec (CZ), University of Wrocław (PL) and Université de Strasbourg (FR). Further participants are the National Museum of History (BG), the Association of European Border Regions (DE), The Foundation of European Network Remembrance and Solidarity (PL), Kreatus Consultancy (PL) and Lungomare Art Collective (IT).
B-SHAPES will refocus on the role of borders shaping perceptions of European societies in the 21st century, confronted with the challenge of re-borderings in Europe. Borders continue to play a key role in our perceptions of societies, culture, heritage and belonging. Three empiric working packages will scrutinize the role of borders shaping perceptions focusing on Euroscepticism in border regions, national minorities and border landscapes. B-SHAPES’ results will open for a reconfiguration of heritage policies, replacing national approaches with cross-border European approaches to heritage. These will empower citizens, but also economic sectors to contribute to the creation of more inclusive visions of culture and values, increasing the quality of life not only in border regions.