Official opening of the Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History

In his opening address, the Director of the C²DH, Prof. Dr Andreas Fickers, set out the missions of the centre, which will focus its work on the history of Luxembourg and Europe but also

“reflect on the tensions, challenges and opportunities afforded by digital tools and methods for the practice of history in the 21st century – a practice that is largely characterised by a hybrid approach combining established scientific and disciplinary traditions with heuristic exploration and empirical experimentation using new digital technologies and methods.”

The interdisciplinary centre is a key player in three interlinked fields of interest:

• As a national platform for critical debate and academic research on issues related to the contemporary history of Luxembourg from a transnational perspective;
• As a centre for reflection on the methodological and epistemological challenges raised by history in the digital age;
• As a local mediator in the promotion of a multimodal, digital approach to academic research and teaching at the University of Luxembourg.

The centre places particular emphasis on the use of digital methods and tools in innovative historical research; it is a catalyst for creative teaching, new forms of public dissemination and societal engagement with history in Luxembourg.

The opening ceremony was followed by a tour of the C²DH premises, giving those present an opportunity to find out more about ongoing projects and activities at first hand. The guests were invited to take part in a number of demonstrations: using an automatic book scanner, discovering the potential of a 3D printer for history, and experimenting with various virtual reality tools.

This was also an opportunity to present the centre’s brand new website, designed to serve as a platform for the publication of research results and also as a forum to encourage dialogue with users, with the aim of creating a user community via calls for participation and invitations.