The University of Limerick’s predecessor, NIHE Limerick, opened its doors in the academic year 1972/73. Its first Humanities degree, the BA in European Studies, was the new institution’s response to Ireland’s future in Europe, heralded by the country’s entry into the EEC on 1 January 1973. To mark fifty years of the BA in European Studies at the University of Limerick, now one of the longest-established degree programmes of its kind in the world, the Jean Monnet Chair in European Cultural Studies at UL’s Centre for European Studies has teamed up with UL50 and IrelandEU50 for a creative writing/art competition for third level students. Continuing the forward-looking perspective that has always underpinned the BA programme, it aims to encourage students to imagine Europe fifty years from now.
Submissions are invited from undergraduate students on the island of Ireland, including students at colleges of Art and Design, that give their personal creative responses to the topic Europe 2073: What will Europe look like in fifty years’ time? What are your hopes and dreams – or fears – for this continent in 2073? Submissions can consider any aspect of the social, cultural, economic or political future of Europe, including that of the European Union.
The European Union is multilingual. The competition responds to this fact by inviting entries, alongside submissions in English and Irish, also in the languages offered in UL’s European Studies degree French, German and Spanish.
Submissions can be in visual or textual form. Work can be individual or in pairs.