A cross-border project week on the theme of ‘The German-Dutch border: past and present’, involving 30 students from the border region, will take place at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences from 18 to 22 June 2018.
How does the border affect people? This is the focus of the first edition of the ‘Werkstatt an der Grenze’ during a cross-border project week. The focus is not on the border as an abstract concept, but as an everyday reality that has both divided and united the communities and citizens of the border region between Gelderland and North Rhine-Westphalia for centuries. Organised as a collaboration between Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences, the University of Duisburg-Essen, Radboud University in Nijmegen and the Hogeschool van Arnhem en Nijmegen (HAN), 30 students from these institutions will meet from 18 to 22 June 2018 at the Kleve campus of Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences to conduct joint research into the German-Dutch border and its historical and political significance.
During the project week, the students will focus their research on various border-related topics from modern history or the present day, such as ‘The abolition of border controls and its consequences’, ‘The Dutch occupation of German border areas after the Second World War’, ‘Transnational experiences of the “Second World War” in school lessons’, ‘Football on both sides of the border: transnational mobility versus binational rivalry’ and ‘Transnational protests against wind turbines’. The project week will be complemented by engaging guest lectures for the students.
At the end of the event, the students will present their findings in the form of a contribution to the project website, as well as a public presentation – for example, a talk, video or poster – in German, Dutch or English. In addition, they must write an essay, which will be included in a publication by the Province of Gelderland. The public presentation is open to anyone interested. It will take place on 22 June 2018, from 1.30 pm to 6.00 pm, at the Kleve campus of Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, Marie-Curie-Straße 1, Building 5A, ground floor, Room 001. No registration is required.
The project week is supported by the Province of Gelderland, the Erfgoed Festival 2018 ‘Over Grenzen van Gelderland’, the Euregio Rhine-Waal, and the INTERREG programme. Further information is available at https://www.ru.nl/geschiedenis/werkstatt/werkstatt/. The information sheet listing the topics can be found here.
