RESTORY
Recovering Past Stories for the Future: A Synergistic Approach to Textual and Oral Heritage of Small Communities
Premiere Orizont Europa – Instituții
PN-IV-P8-8.1-PRE-HE-ORG-2024-0170
1.07.2024 – 31.12.2026
Project Description Objectives H.U.B. Team Activities and Outputs Contact
Key development axes supported by the funding:
1. Accelerated development of human resources. This axis focuses on advancing the tools and skills available to young researchers. The objective is to enhance the capacity to generate competitive project proposals, especially for international funding opportunities. Specific directions include:
(a) Participation in advanced specialization internships. Young researchers will engage in internships at leading global institutions, such as: Columbia University (Columbia Center for Oral History Research), StoryCorps, New York, University of Iceland (Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies), University of Fribourg (Fragmentarium: Digital Research Lab), Istituto Centrale per la Patologia degli Archivi e del Libro (Rome), etc.
(b) Enhancement of academic management skills. Researchers will participate in training programs focused on writing and managing international projects. These will include mentoring for prestigious project development opportunities such as: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships, ERC-Starting Grants, Max-Planck-Stiftung, Gerda-Henkel-Stiftung, etc.
(c) Recruitment of two additional postdoctoral researchers, with an estimated 12 months of individual effort each. Their research will focus on:
- Ancient History: Evaluating circular and sustainable economy practices in classical antiquity. This researcher will receive dedicated mentoring from a BBU teaching and research specialist.
- Gender Studies and Equal Opportunity: Exploring themes of gender and equality within historical contexts. Mentoring will be provided by current project researchers with expertise in this field.
2. Increasing the international visibility of project results. BBU aims to broaden and enhance the dissemination of RESTORY’s results within key international academic and professional environments that were not fully addressed in the projec’s initial scope. This objective is structured into three levels:
(a) Establishing strategic partnerships in Germany and Austria. Despite RESTORY’s focus on the historical contexts of the Transylvanian Saxons and their Romanian, Hungarian, and Roma cohabitants, BUB has been unable to attract academic entities, public-private foundations, or civic groups from Germany or Austria to the consortium. This gap presents an opportunity for strategic remediation through partnerships with major institutions such as: The Institute for the Culture and History of the Germans of Southeast Europe (IKGS) in Munich and The Federal Institute for Culture and History in Eastern Europe (BKGS) in Oldenburg, both of which serve as advisors to the German Federal Ministry for Culture and Media. These partnerships aim to valorise Romania’s movable and built cultural heritage, particularly that managed by the Fortified Church Foundation and the Brukenthal National Museum. A key objective is the organization of a major exhibition, accompanied by academic lectures and related publications, to highlight this heritage.
(b) Expanding the global reach of RESTORY’s research model. In a short time, RESTORY has developed an international network beyond its European consortium, involving specialists from the USA, South Africa, and Australia who serve on the International Ethics Board, a mandatory independent supervisory body. Their enthusiastic participation highlights the potential for global application of the project’s research model. To further this expansion, UBB intends to strengthen existing partnerships and extend collaboration to institutions in Canada (e.g., PIMS) and Brazil (e.g., ABHO) and increase visibility by presenting project findings and showcasing BBU’s global academic engagement through lectures, conferences, and seminars at prestigious academic venues. These efforts will reinforce BBU’s profile as a globally engaged academic partner and expand the reach of RESTORY’s innovative methodologies.
(c) Enhancing institutional membership in international organizations. UBB plans to secure membership with full rights for its institutes in leading international professional organizations, such as: The International Oral History Association, The Oral History Association, The International Association for Media and History. Such memberships will provide additional platforms for disseminating RESTORY’s outcomes and integrating UBB more deeply into global academic and professional networks.
3. Strengthening the national research-development-innovation (RDI) system: strategic investments in BBU’s infrastructure.