The June 2026 edition of the ValEUs Newsletter brings together recent events, resources from across the network, upcoming activities, and the latest accomplishments and publications from ValEUs partners.

The newsletter looks back at the Civil Society Debate “EU Foreign Policy, Democratic Resilience, Citizen Participation in Wartime Ukraine,” hosted by the Kyiv School of Economics on 13 May 2026. Bringing together scholars and civil society representatives, the discussion explored how the challenges of defending European values and democracy during wartime affect EU support for Ukraine and translate into concrete foreign policy actions.

Another recent highlight is the twenty-third installment of the ValEUs Lecture Series, “Europe and the Mediterranean Challenge.” The workshop brought together scholars from Europe, the United States, and Turkey to examine the conceptual, artistic, political, transcultural, and interdisciplinary challenges that the Mediterranean poses to Europe. The full recording is available to watch on the ValEUs website.

Looking ahead, the newsletter highlights the Global Disinformation Conference Kharkiv, taking place on 21 October 2026. The conference will bring together international scholars, policy experts, media professionals, and technologists to examine disinformation as a systemic global phenomenon, with particular attention to hybrid threats, platform power, governance responses, and the resilience of democratic systems.

The June issue also invites readers to revisit a selection of ValEUs resources over the summer. These include highlights and teaching materials from the ValEUs Summer Schools 2025 in Denmark, Turkey, and Mexico; newly published student presentations and position papers from EU Talks; selected lectures from the ValEUs Massive Open Online Course (MOOC); and recordings from the ValEUs Lecture Series and Civil Society Debates.

Readers will also find updates on recent activities across the network, including the ValEUs Co-Teaching Program at the Kyiv School of Economics, Prof. Mariangela Rueda Fiorentino’s visit to Adam Mickiewicz University, and the Path of Return Forum hosted by V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University.

In addition, the newsletter features a new open-access publication by Andrea Apollonio, Politiche della memoria e narrazioni sulla storia nel Parlamento europeo, published by Firenze University Press in 2026.

Read the full June 2026 edition of the ValEUs Newsletter for more events, resources, publications, and activities from across the network.

The April 2026 edition of the ValEUs Newsletter brings together recent project activities, events across the network, new publications, and highlights from ValEUs partner institutions.

One of the central features of this issue is the sixth edition of EU Talks — Dialogues on the Future of Europe, hosted by the University of Florence from 13 to 17 April 2026. The programme brought together students from universities across Europe and beyond to discuss EU enlargement, ongoing conflicts, and the transformation of transatlantic relations through a series of online roundtables and in-person discussions in Florence.

The newsletter also highlights the Civil Society Debate “EU Foreign Policy, Democratic Resilience, and Citizen Participation in Wartime Ukraine,” hosted by the Kyiv School of Economics on 13 May 2026. The hybrid event explored how democratic resilience and civic participation shape the relationship between Ukraine and the European Union during wartime.

The April issue further features updates on the Interdisciplinary Review of ValEUs (IRV), the ValEUs MOOC platform, the latest episodes of the Beyond Borders podcast, and the twentieth installment of the ValEUs Lecture Series.

In addition, readers will find recent accomplishments and publications from across the ValEUs network, including workshops, conferences, books, and journal articles contributed by partner institutions and researchers.

Read the full April 2026 edition of the ValEUs Newsletter for more updates, publications, and activities across the network.

The February 2026 edition of the ValEUs Newsletter brings together upcoming events, recent activities across the network, and the latest publications from ValEUs researchers.

Looking ahead, the newsletter highlights the Online Graduate Student Conference “Youth, Politics, and Public Sphere,” hosted by Al Akhawayn University (Morocco) on 29–30 May 2026. The conference will explore how young people engage with politics across both physical public spaces and digital environments, examining youth participation in public debates and responses to social and political transformations across Europe and the MENA region. The event is open to Master’s and PhD students in the social sciences and humanities, with presentations possible in Arabic, French, or English. Abstracts are due 15 March 2026.

Another upcoming initiative is the EU Talks – A Transnational Dialogue on Europe’s Global Role, hosted by the University of Florence. Bringing together students from across Europe, the programme includes a series of online roundtables (January–March 2026) followed by an in-person event in Florence (13–17 April 2026). Discussions will focus on EU enlargement, ongoing conflicts, and the transformation of transatlantic relations.

The newsletter also looks back at the Hybrid Students’ ValEUs Debating Hub, organised by V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University on 20 February 2026. The event gathered more than 50 students from universities across Europe, Ukraine, the Americas, and Asia in a hybrid format to debate key questions concerning European values, democracy, and contemporary societal challenges.

In addition, the February issue features the launch of the Interdisciplinary Review of ValEUs (IRV) — a new open-access journal publishing working papers, research articles, reviews, and discussion forums from across the ValEUs network.

Readers will also find updates on the ValEUs MOOC platform, the latest episode of the Beyond Borders podcast, and new contributions to the Young Generation Policy Briefs series, including policy briefs by Daniel Sinani and Febe Peña García.

Read the full February 2026 edition of the ValEUs Newsletter for more updates, publications, and upcoming activities across the network.

The December 2025 edition of the ValEUs Newsletter closes the year with a mix of upcoming events, newly launched initiatives, and recent accomplishments across the ValEUs network.

Looking ahead, join us on 19 January 2026 for the upcoming ValEUs Lecture “In the Spirit of the European Values—Bulgarian-North Macedonia’s Dispute over History and Memory” with Dr. Naum Trajanovski, hosted at the European University Viadrina and available via live stream. The lecture explores how disputes over history and memory shape societal and ontological security in the context of the Bulgaria–North Macedonia relationship.

The newsletter also highlights the next edition of EU Talks – A Transnational Dialogue on Europe’s Global Role, hosted by the University of Florence. Bringing together students from across Europe, EU Talks will combine online roundtables (January–March 2026) with an in-person event in Florence in April 2026, focusing on enlargement, ongoing conflicts, and the transformation of transatlantic relations.

A major milestone featured in this edition is the launch of the Interdisciplinary Review of ValEUs (IRV), a new open-access journal publishing peer-reviewed research, working papers, and review essays from across the ValEUs network and beyond. The first issue is now available online.

The December newsletter further spotlights recent additions to ValEUs initiatives, including new episodes of the Beyond Borders: Navigating EU Foreign Policy podcast, updates on the ValEUs MOOC, and the latest Young Generation Policy Brief, in which Matthias Vollmer examines Ukraine’s EU accession process and the risks posed by internal obstruction.

Finally, this edition reflects on recent accomplishments across the network — from the Congress of the Sociological Association of Ukraine to high-level visits and expert discussions hosted by partner institutions.

Read the full December edition of the newsletter for more updates and upcoming ValEUs activities:

The October 2025 edition of the ValEUs Newsletter highlights a month rich in activities and collaborations across the network — from the Policy Writing Workshop in Banja Luka and the Second Annual ValEUs Conference in Zagreb to the upcoming Civil Society Debate in Poznań.

Hosted by Libertas International University and the University of Zagreb, the Second Annual ValEUs Conference “State (In)Stability and EU Foreign Policy” (2–4 October) brought together over 40 scholars from around the world. The conference opened with a keynote discussion between Ivo Josipović and Mykhailo Minakov, combining academic insight and political practice in a compelling reflection on Europe’s current challenges.

Just days earlier, the ValEUs Policy Writing Workshop in Banja Luka (29 September – 1 October) gathered students and researchers for hands-on sessions on policy brief writing, featuring expert input from Professor Müge Kökten Finkel (University of Pittsburgh).

Looking ahead, join the ValEUs Civil Society Debate “Strengthening Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe: Democratic Innovations as a Response to Contestations of EU Values” on 6 November 2025, 13:15 (CET), hosted by Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań — both onsite and via live stream.

Read the full October edition of the newsletter for more updates and upcoming ValEUs activities:

The June 2025 edition of the ValEUs newsletter highlights upcoming ValEUs streams and videos, new channels and initiatives, upcoming events and recent accomplishments. 

Discover our latest panel discussion on the state of higher education in current US politics, now available to stream, and catch up on the most recent ValEUs Lecture on the EU’s diplomatic system. Learn more about our growing initiatives, including the call for proposals for the upcoming Lecture Series (Autumn 2025), our Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), the Beyond Borders podcast, and the Young Generation Policy Briefs series.

This issue also features important contributions from our partners, including Ukrainian research on child abduction under Russian occupation, new academic programs and partnerships at the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE), and vibrant community events such as the KSE-Obolon Open Picnic. Dive into the full newsletter for detailed updates, recent publications, and more ways ValEUs continues to foster critical conversations on European values and foreign policy.

The April 2025 edition of the ValEUs newsletter highlights upcoming ValEUs streams and videos, new channels and initiatives, upcoming events and recent accomplishments. 

New initiatives include a free online MOOC, the ValEUs podcast on EU foreign policy, and a Young Generation Policy Briefs series offering fresh student perspectives on European values.  Read about the ValEUs Lecture on “The diplomatic system of the EU: a state in the making or a toothless international organisation?” with Federica Bicchi at the University of Florence and the Civil Society Debates focusing on environmental issues and trade agreements that take place in Columbia and Mexico.

The February 2025 edition of the ValEUs newsletter highlights upcoming ValEUs streams and videos, new channels and initiatives, upcoming events and recent accomplishments.