The Chair of European Civilisation

« Il faut mettre les choses en doute, tout d’abord en posant le problème de l’histoire de la civilisation européenne. Parce que je crois, non seulement en tant qu’historien, mais aussi en tant qu’Européen, que le problème de l’Europe, de la civilisation européenne, et de l’identité européenne, touche au problème de la mémoire... »

The Chair of European Civilisation is centered within the College of Europe, and has been based at its Natolin campus in Warsaw, Poland for three years. The fruit of an agreement between the German Foundation Robert Bosch Stiftung (its founder) and the Foundation College of Europe, it was inaugurated on February 20th 2002, in the presence of former German President Richard von Weizsäcker.

It was created with the intention to foster a different perspective on the European integration, through infusing historical and philosophical dimensions in this decades-long process at work on the old continent.

« L’élargissement permet de penser l’intégration européenne en termes d’unification du continent. »

The activities of the Chair are therefore unfolding in two major directions. On the one hand, it fully participates in the academic programmes and activities of the College of Europe. The course delivered in French by Professor Bronislaw Geremek, « Civilisation Européenne, héritages et perspectives » is thus complementary to the other courses of the first semester, which encompass European law, policies and economics.

On the other hand, the Chair organizes conferences, debates and seminars for the College’s students at Natolin, throughout the year, as a complement to their annual cursus. Some conferences are as well opened to a larger invited audience.

These events mostly take place on the Natolin campus, sometimes elsewhere in Warsaw, and once a year abroad in the framework of Study trips (Ukraine, the Baltic States, Bosnia and Herzegovina). Besides, every year in May is held a major international conference on European issues, with the participation of prominent figures from the university, intellectual and political sectors.

The aims of the Chair are thus both intellectual and practical. Not only will it lead its audiences in search of a possible European civilisation through an in-depth reflection on the cultural heritages which we have received, but it also intends to offer the means to fully reflect on the horizons and prospects opened by the European integration process.

« L'identité de l’Europe est fondée sur l’histoire, sur des traditions dont nous avons hérité et sur l’adhésion à un ensemble de valeurs fondamentales. »