Maastricht, Working on Europe is a joint ambition of the City of Maastricht, the Province of Limburg and Maastricht University. As partners, we join forces to position Maastricht as a meeting place for debate and dialog and as an expertise center of knowledge and vision on Europe and European integration. The Strategic Research Agenda is an integral part of the overall Maastricht, Working on Europe programme.
Since 1992, Maastricht is inextricably linked with Europe: the Maastricht Treaty seals Europeans’ commitment to shaping their collective identity – a great experiment that is still in full swing. The signing of the Maastricht Treaty was a milestone for European integration. It has made Maastricht famous, but its European character exceeds mere symbolism: here, Europeans come together to work and think about how collaboration can be further improved, how a shared vision can become reality. Maastricht is a workshop for Europeans, a place where they can develop and realise their ideas and ideals in a rapidly changing world.
This is not a coincidence. Maastricht has always been a city defined by (crossing) borders. For centuries, it has been at the confluence of cultures, where different peoples meet, trade, cooperate and, indeed, from time to time wholeheartedly disagree. Here, in the capital of Limburg, surrounded by Dutch, French and German speaking industrial and cultural hubs, Europe is lived.
This experience permeates everything: work, leisure and education. Maastricht University for example has a leading role in teaching, researching and enriching European collaboration across disciplines and cultural viewpoints. The university creates and shares knowledge that allows businesses and organisations to thrive, make a profit, create jobs.
Maastricht is a forum for culture and commerce, where ideas are created and debated. The European project is far from complete – here in Maastricht, you can experience it as a dynamic process. New developments, new opportunities and new questions are emerging all the time.
Every European can actively participate in this dialogue. All of us can contribute our enthusiasm, our criticism, our knowledge and our opinions. That is why everyone is welcome in Maastricht to shape Europe one day at a time, to enrichen the European project with their ideas. Dreamers and doers, thinking straight, thinking lateral – everyone will find a platform here to start businesses or movements, to host demonstrations or events. Maastricht is a workshop for ‘our Europe’ in all its forms, where the words on the Maastricht Treaty become alive.
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