2:27 p.m.
EUROPAST Online Workshop “Open Archives, Accessible Research, and Public History”
November 18, 2025, 13:00 to 17:00 CET on ZOOM (https://lu-se.zoom.us/j/64779939772)
Organized and convened by Dr. Victoria Van Orden Martínez, Lund University, Sweden
Hosted by The North European Center for Research on Antisemitism and the Holocaust (NORAH)
at Lund University, Sweden.
Chair: Dr. Victoria Van Orden Martínez, Researcher in History, Lund University and NORAH
Speakers:
Professor Thomas Cauvin, Professor of Public History, University of Luxembourg
Dr. Laura Aguiar, Lecturer in Cinematic Arts, Ulster University, Northern Ireland
Tomasz Lesniak, Library assistant, Lund University Library, Sweden
Dr. Ming Gao, Research scholar of East Asia studies, Lund University, Sweden
Description:
Archives are where researchers of all types – students, practitioners, academics, and the
public – gather and mediate knowledge of the past. In turn, this knowledge forms the
narratives that shape societies and our increasingly transnational and globalized world.
The openness and availability of archives and the research that stems from them are thus
of vital importance to the creation of balanced and nuanced narratives that promote
democracy and equality. This begs questions about how to achieve open archives and
accessible research that engage the public through different media, resulting in more
inclusive public history engagements. This workshop, hosted by the North European Center
for Research on Antisemitism and the Holocaust at Lund University (NORAH), is geared
towards academics, practitioners, archivists, students, and others who engage with
archives, research, and/or public history or want to reach the public. Participants have
the opportunity not only to listen to experts in public history education, open archives,
multimedia content creation, and public history writing share their experiences and best
practices, but also to interact with them personally for meaningful personal advice and
expertise.
Program:
13:00 – Welcome and Opening Remarks: Professor Barbara Törnquist-Plewa, Professor of
European Studies, Lund University, and Dr. Victoria Van Orden Martínez, Researcher in
History, Lund University and NORAH
13:30 – Dr. Thomas Cauvin, Professor of Public History, University of Luxembourg (lead,
Public History and Outreach research area) and Dr. Laura Aguiar, Lecturer in Cinematic
Arts, Ulster University, Northern Ireland (Multimedia producer)
Archives in Public History
The presentation explores what makes archives truly public within the context of public
history. It examines how archives have evolved from static repositories to dynamic spaces,
questioning issues of selection, censorship, accessibility, and corporate control. Through
examples of inclusive and community-driven practices, we’ll consider how archives can
engage the public, challenge dominant narratives, and activate their role in shaping
collective memory.
14:30 – Break
14:45 – Tomasz Lesniak, Library assistant, Lund University Library, Sweden (authority on
the UNESCO Memory of the World-designated Ravensbrück Archive at Lund University Library)
A Short History of The Polish Research Institute in Lund
In the final months of World War II, thousands of survivors from Nazi concentration camps
were evacuated to southern Sweden through large-scale humanitarian operations led by the
Red Cross and the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA). Among
those who stepped forward to support these survivors was Zygmunt Lakociński (1905–1987), a
Polish lecturer at Lund University. During his visits to refugee camps housing Polish
citizens, Lakociński encountered many survivors and listened to their deeply personal and
harrowing stories. Driven by a commitment to preserve these vital testimonies, he founded
the Polish Research Institute in 1945. The Institute’s mission was to document the
experiences of Polish survivors, especially those who had endured the horrors of Nazi
concentration camps. Since 2015, I have had the privilege of overseeing the archive of the
Polish Research Institute in Lund. This archive preserves an invaluable collection of
personal histories and research materials that continue to shed light on the resilience
and suffering of Polish survivors during and after the war.
15:15 – Dr. Ming Gao, Research scholar of East Asia studies, Lund University, Sweden
(leading writer for The Conversation)
Connecting the Past, the Present, and the Public
This talk explores how historians can bridge the gap between scholarship and public life,
transforming academic research into narratives that resonate with contemporary issues.
Drawing on personal examples from platforms like The Conversation and other forms of
public scholarship, it considers how public history can inform debate, influence policy,
and make an impact both domestically and internationally.
15:45 – Break
16:00 to 17:00 – Discussion/Break-out rooms
Victoria ("Tori") Van Orden Martínez, Ph.D.
Researcher<https://portal.research.lu.se/en/persons/victoria-martinez>, Department
of History
North European Center for Research on Antisemitism and the Holocaust
(NORAH<https://www.linkedin.com/company/106156471/>)
Lund University
LUX, Helgonavägen 3, Lund
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