Following the official start of ValEUs in January 2024, the partners of the Jean Monnet Policy Network met online for the project’s Kick-off event. Focusing on organisational aspects and information necessary to implement the project’s ambitious goals at first, the Kick-off meeting(s) concluded with an exciting exchange of academic insights and perspectives on the various contestations of EU foreign policy across the globe.

The organisational element of the Kick-off event was split up into two meetings with similar content to tackle the challenge of multiple time zones among the ValEUs network, which comprises 20 partner universities from five continents.

In both meetings, the coordinating institution (European University Viadrina) provided general information on administrative requirements and other organisational aspects, which was accompanied by a fruitful dialogue on the specific implementation of the ValEUs’ activities described in the original funding application (submitted almost one year prior). Ultimately, the organisational Kick-off allowed all partners to share their ideas and expectations, thus providing a great foundation on which to move forward with the practical implementation of ValEUs.

After (bravely) enduring the administrative rulebook of the EU grant and further organisational aspects, the ValEUs partners commenced their scholarly debate with the first event of the ValEUs “Provocation” series. The online series is designed to enable a constant academic exchange on the various contestations of EU foreign policy, drawing from the rich portfolio of interdisciplinary and regional perspectives represented within the global research and education network.

In the first act, Prof. Timm Beichelt (European University Viadrina), Prof. Driss Maghraoui (Al Akhawayn University), and Prof. Nina Sajić (University of Banja Luka) assumed their role as “provocateurs”, fuelling a thoughtful debate on whether the EU’s efforts to diffuse values and human rights through its foreign policy can be considered a success or failure.

The event concluded with an insightful and inspiring keynote address by Prof. Tymofii Brik (Kyiv School of Economics), who shared his research insights on civil society engagement and attitudes in the face of continued Russian aggression.

In conclusion, the ValEUs Kick-off represented a very energetic and promising start to the various activities planned for the three years ahead.