ForumZ

The Forum Z on Visualising History in the 1535 Creative Hub in Differdange opened up different perspectives to the challenges of visualising history in accessible, entertaining and interesting ways. With the musical support of C²DHs Douglas Lambert and a live translation into English and German the Forum Z covered a lot of ground, from history paintings to different forms of virtual reconstructions up to building a time machine.

A Forum Z on history paintings, 3D reconstructions, virtual worlds and time machines.

Who’s afraid of the Digital? This was the leading question of C²DH’s first Forum Z in 2019, organised by the Digital History Unit of the centre. Museum curators, schoolteachers, researchers and professional educators presented their projects in the House of Startups in Luxembourg City in the form of hands-on workstations followed by an round table discussing the merits of new digital projects with the audience in a casual atmosphere.

From walking around in a museum to surfing a virtual exhibition online? From using “old-fashioned” school books to learning with iPads?

Le 11 novembre 2018 a eu lieu la commémoration du centenaire de l’armistice qui a mis fin à la Première Guerre mondiale. Quelle mémoire garde-t-on aujourd’hui des événements, des victimes et des traumatismes d’une guerre qui a ravagé l’Europe de 1914 à 1918 ? De quoi se souvient-on et qu’est ce qui a été réprimé et perdu ?

Organisée par le C²DH en collaboration avec la Radio 100,7, l’OGBL et l’« Uelzechtkanal » cette nouvelle édition du Forum Z qui a eu lieu le 2 octobre 2018 à la « Maison du Peuple » à Esch-sur-Alzette, s’est penchée sur la question des inégalités sociales au Luxembourg.

This Forum Z looks at the concept of social inequality and how social status affects the realities of life in Luxembourg. Alongside a panel of experts, social education and pedagogy students will develop unorthodox suggestions to tackle these issues and encourage thinking outside the box.

Organisé par le C²DH et Neimënster, un Forum Z consacré à «Mai 68 – Entre mythe et fait social total», qui a eu lieu le 9 mai 2018 à l’Abbaye de Neumünster, a thématisé la manière dont le Luxembourg a participé à ces processus souvent qualifiés de «révolutionnaires», mais aussi les effets que ce mouvement a laissés dans la société du Grand-Duché.

This edition of Forum Z combined a public collection of photos, pictures and objects on industrial heritage with presentations by Luxembourg and international experts.

What was the impact of “May 68” in Europe and on Luxembourg society in particular? The tensions between myth and reality will be discussed at this Forum Z.

The fifth Forum Z focused on those who tell the story of Europe. Professors and researchers gathered to share their thoughts and discuss with the public about the challenges of developing a new narrative for Europe in the digital age.

How do historians investigate the past? What methods and tools do they employ, what are they trying to understand, and how do they transfer their findings to society?

How can historians tell the story of European integration – the story of Europe – in the digital age?

The fourth and final ForumZ of this academic year took place on 6 July at the Banque de Luxembourg. In an effort to provide a platform for “the critical discussion and academic study of questions related to the contemporary history of Luxembourg from a transnational perspective,”(1) the C²DH had invited five panellists along with moderator Bernard Thomas to discuss the ‘glocal’ history of the Luxembourg financial centre.

The fourth ForumZ will focus on the history of the financial sector in Luxembourg. Which stories should be told and which archives can be used?

The third ForumZ focused on the future of storytelling and explored how the emergence of the digital era affected the age-old art of telling tales.

The history of archives and archiving practices needs to be seen as closely related to trends and fashions in historical research, its methodological underpinnings and its definitions of culture.

When the first ForumZ with the topic Archives for the digital era, organized by the Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C²DH), took place on 11 February, many interested people found their way to the Casino – Forum d’art contemporain in Luxembourg City on that Saturday morning. Thanks to the hashtags #ForumZLu and #archivesforthefuture, they could also actively participate in the debates over the Twittersphere.

The ForumZ series started with an event on “Archives for the digital age. Challenges and opportunities” at the Casino Luxembourg - Forum d'art contemporain.

On 25th March, the C²DH organised another successful ForumZ, this time on the Second World War and research perspectives in this area. The format chosen for the event promoted an interactive exchange between the public and the guest speakers.