The event “The European Union between past, present and future” took place on 9 May 2024 at the Link University of Rome and was held on three main themes: past, present and future of the European Union, focusing on the historical evolution, current challenges and future prospects of the European Union. During the conference, academics and experts discussed economic, political and social issues related to the EU, analyzing in particular democracy and active citizenship, populism, the European Parliament elections and the European Resistance.

The morning opened with a look at the present thanks to the panel “The EU as a civic space of the present towards the European elections 2024”, in the presence of an audience composed largely of high school students. Speakers included: Prof. Giorgio Grimaldi, Prof. Filippo Maria Giordano and Prof. Tommaso Visone (all from the Link University), together with Dr. Elisabeth Alber (Eurac Research, Bolzano).
In the second part of the morning, Dr. Alber and Dr. Petra Malfertheiner (Eurac Research, Bolzano) led an interactive workshop dedicated to the themes of democracy and active citizenship, directly involving students in participatory activities.

The afternoon panel instead looked to the future, with the presentation of the volume “Populism, Twitter and the European Public Sphere – Social Media Communication in the EP Elections 2019” by Prof. Emilia Palonen (University of Helsinki). The recording of the event is available at the bottom of the news or on the YouTube channel of the Research Office of the University of Link: https://youtu.be/5Ii3fqfRyMU.

Among the discussants: Prof. Dario Quattromani (University of Link), Prof. Palonen herself, Prof. Roberto De Rosa (Niccolò Cusano University of Rome), Prof. Tommaso Visone and Dr. Federico Castiglioni (Institute of International Affairs).

The day ended with a reflection on the past, in particular on the European Resistance, through the screening of two short films: “Willy Jervis. Protestants and Freedom” and “Giovanna Pons. Protestants and Freedom”, by director Anna Giampiccoli, present in the room. The screening gave rise to a dialogue between the students, the director, Prof. Marco Fraschia (Collegio Valdese), Prof. Giordano and Prof. Grimaldi.

The proceedings were closed by the final comments of Prof. Maria Teresa Morelli (Università degli Studi Link) and Prof. Visone.

Published articles:

– Bleona Shlullaku, Dialoghi sull’Unione europea all’Università degli studi Link: riflessioni tra presente, passato e futuro durante la Festa dell’Europa, Euractiv Italia, 20 maggio 2024, https://euractiv.it/section/eu-link/news/dialoghi-sullunione-europea-alluniversita-degli-studi-link-riflessioni-tra-presente-passato-e-futuro-durante-la-festa-delleuropa/


Presentation Book: “Populism, Twitter and the European Public Sphere – Social Media Communication in the EP Elections 2019