United in Narrative Diversity? Cultural (Ex-)Change and Mutual Perceptions in Eastern and Western Europe at the threshold of the digital age

ongoing

Europe experiences a relaunch of cultural and national stereotypes triggered by the migration crisis, Covid-19, democratic backslides and war against Ukraine. Four decades after the fall of the war, Eastern and Western Europe seem increasingly alienated, each having different perceptions on Europe, the EU and its principles. These trends manifest themselves in an alienation between Eastern and Western Europe, as well as in the perception of Europe in general. Intermittently they are, as we suggest, expressions of resilient post-colonial relationships within Europe. With a focus on the (clichéd binary) East-West confrontation, this project explores the future possibilities of building and managing transnational relationships in the fields of culture and heritage, one of the mainstays of customary cultural diplomacy. Taking six European countries as the basis of our exploration – France, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Slovakia and Romania – we critically examine mutual perceptions in Eastern and Western Europe through the prism of intercultural exchange. In the framework of the project, scholars, practitioners from culture-exchange institutes, artists and creative industries players join forces to scrutinise current difficulties, from diverging historical developments, emotional investments, to challenges of the digital media revolution. The objective is to develop new strategies to conceptualise and revitalise cultural encounters and exchange between East and West to discuss mutual perceptions and ideas. The findings of this collaboration aim at a) boosting the culture-diplomacy / exchange sector by strengthening their role as mediators of transnational European values; b) lay bare best and worst practices in order to develop recommendations for new approaches and (media) strategies. Thus, fostering a more inclusive concept of cultural diplomacy to counter populist, identity-based discourses and to promote the European narrative across different cultural heritages.