The transnational HERA project is aimed at building partnerships among humanities researchers across Europe and enabling the widespread sharing of knowledge and expertise.

The research is expected to mobilise the wide range of multi-disciplinary perspectives necessary to understanding the relationships between ‘public space’ culture and other phenomena, such as European integration.

Chair of HERA, Professor Wojciech Sowa said: “This is the fourth joint research programme that we have launched: funding new and exciting humanities-centred projects and supporting transnational collaboration and interdisciplinarity. Each research project involves researchers from at least four of the participating 24 countries in the HERA network. The transnational knowledge exchange allows new insights and ideas to be generated – encompassing a wide range of perspectives, cultures and identities. 

“With the theme of ‘Public Spaces’ we hope that the research projects will deepen cultural understandings of public spaces in a European context and identify new insights that promote the full potential of citizens’ engagement with European public and cultural spaces.”

The HERA partnership consists of research councils from 24 countries in Europe, which are committed to the continued growth and development of collaborative and transnational humanities research across Europe. Key to this development is the support received through designated funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme

The 24 countries are: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.

Source: Newcastle University Press Office