Citizenship: Borders and Boundaries in Cluj, Romania
During 16th-17th January 2020, Babeș-Bolyai University organized and hosted the international workshop Citizenship: Borders and Boundaries, as part of the collaboration with partners from the InclusU alliance.
The event was meant to promote and strengthen the academic cooperation and the friendship tied between all eight members of the InclusU alliance, promising to further enhance such ties in the future, in order to better understand and address the migration challenges. Migration and borders are central in European public debate nowadays. The contribution of scientific knowledge is of major importance to go beyond rejection and exclusion, and to promote more inclusive European societies and strengthen Europe belonging and citizenship.
Borders and boundaries issues are at the heart of InclusU research activities. Different projects of excellence are developing knowledge on these questions and trying to respond to the rising social challenges besetting the European societies which have been particularly affected by the “migration” and its consequences.
Moreover, some of the InclusU universities, including BBU, work together on an Erasmus Mundus Program called “intercultural mediation: identities, mobilities, and conflicts” (MITRA) launched in 2012. MITRA teaching staff have acknowledged this changing context thanks to complementary disciplinary approaches in order to respond to this crisis as exacerbated political tensions at both national and international levels due to diverging approaches to migration issues.
The workshop was animated by the interesting presentations held by BBU professors who took part in it, as well as professors and researchers from the partner universities. Talks following each presentation guaranteed the success of a further collaboration between the experts in the fields of social inclusion, diversity and civic mindedness. The workshop was also an occasion for InclusU technical team to meet up and develop the purpose of the alliance.
About the host institution: The Faculty of European Studies hosted this event. The faculty began its activity as the School for Advanced Comparative European Studies, in the 1993- 1994 academic year, and received its current official name in May 1995. The faculty awards B.A. degrees in International Relations and European Studies – in the field of Political Science, European Administration – in the field of Public Administration and in Management – in the field of Economics. The MA study programmes include international relations, foreign policy, crisis management, compared European political studies, cultural diplomacy, transatlantic studies and global economy. Starting with 2001, Romania became eligible for the Jean Monnet European Programme. In this context, the European Commission selected the Faculty of European Studies for a Jean Monnet Chair.
