Objective
During World War II, several hundred thousand Roma perished, primarily in East and East Central Europe (EECE). Yet, their experiences remain largely unknown to the broader public and are underrepresented in the landscapes of European memory. This omission stems from the silencing of Romani histories under state socialism, gaps in historical documentation, and postwar memory politics. These silences persist to this day. Many sites of the Romani genocide - mass killing sites, labour camps, and prisons - remain unmarked and urgently require preservation measures.
EMPOWER undertakes an ambitious effort to rediscover the forgotten memoryscapes of Roma in EECE. Unlike previous studies of neglected sites, which primarily focused on trauma, EMPOWER poses a critical question: Can such sites of painful memory become spaces of empowerment and solidarity? To answer this question, the project sheds light on how Roma families and communities have commemorated genocide sites and honoured their lost family members, from the postwar period to the present.
To reconstruct Romani memoryscapes, EMPOWER integrates oral history and ethnographic qualitative methods with archival research and digital humanities tools, such as GIS technology, mapping, and visualization. The in-depth case studies across EECE highlight the lives and legacies of Romani survivors and activists who have transformed neglected sites into spaces of memory.
EMPOWER takes a community-centred approach to understanding the legacy of these neglected sites. The project actively engages Roma communities in both data collection and dissemination. Alongside scholarly publications, its deliverables include a short documentary film and a traveling exhibition. The online platform, Hidden Sites, Living Voices, will feature interactive maps, activist biographies, and historical documents in English and vernacular languages, including Romani. These tools are designed to ensure the project’s findings are widely accessible.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- social sciences law human rights human rights violations
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences physical geography cartography geographic information systems
- humanities other humanities library sciences
- humanities history and archaeology history modern history
- humanities arts modern and contemporary art cinematography
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2025-COG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
93047 Regensburg
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.