Europe Canada Network
Description:
The Europe Canada Network (EUCAnet) is a transatlantic platform based at the Centre for Global Studies that connects Europe and Canada through research, dialogue, and public engagement. It brings together scholars, policymakers, and civil society actors to address key challenges shaping democratic societies, including migration, populism, and memory politics.
EUCAnet operates at the intersection of academic research and the public sphere. Through public events, media engagement, and a growing video archive of lectures and discussions, the network creates spaces where scholarly insight informs wider societal debate. A central feature of EUCAnet is its expert database, which connects journalists, policymakers, and institutions with specialists across a wide range of fields, strengthening access to evidence-based knowledge.
EUCAnet’s work focuses on three core areas. First, it examines the impact of populism on liberal democracy, exploring how political actors redefine “the people,” challenge institutional norms, and affect minority rights. Second, it investigates memory politics, analyzing how contested interpretations of the past shape contemporary political conflicts in Europe and processes of reconciliation and public history in Canada. Third, through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada-funded Partnership project Mnemonic Democracy: Collective Memory, Civic Education, and Democratic Engagement, EUCAnet advances a new framework for understanding how collective memory informs civic identities, democratic participation, and public discourse.
By linking research, public dialogue, and an international expert network, EUCAnet contributes to more inclusive, informed, and resilient democratic societies.
Partners and Collaborators:
EUCAnet’s memory politics work is supported by a transnational partnership linking universities, research institutes, museums, and civil society organizations across Canada and Europe.
Key partners include:
Adam Mickiewicz University (Poznań), Eötvös Loránd University (Budapest), University of Strasbourg (Sciences Po), University of Groningen, Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS, Berlin), Fundació Blanquerna (Barcelona), University of Warsaw, and University of Victoria.
Civic and museum partners include:
The Canadian Museum of Women’s History, International Association of Women’s Museums, Frauen in der Einen Welt (Germany), 3s Research & Consulting (Austria), and Fundacja dla Polski.
About EUCAnet and its current research, contact:
Contact: Beate Schmidtke, EUCAnet Co-Lead at - info@eucanet.org
or follow us on social media - Facebook & BlueSky
Funding:
EUCAnet is supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), including the Partnership Development Grant Mnemonic Democracy, as well as by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, Global Affairs Canada, and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. These funding sources enable EUCAnet’s transatlantic research, collaboration, and public engagement activities.