The European Union has recently redoubled its efforts to be more inclusive and to enhance citizens' degree of identification with the integration project. Remembering Europe's joint and divisive past has become an increasingly important component of this strategy. At the same time, social movements and elite initiatives at the local, national and even transnational level have challenged the memory politics of the European Union. They have, for example, demanded the official recognition and better representation of historical experiences – such as the GULag, colonialism, migration – in supranational organizations.

This panel is part of the Mini-Symposium on 'Shaping Memory and Identity in Europe: Countervailing Forces from Above and Below'. It tackles key questions on European memory and identity: How can we conceptualize this development that is driven both from belowand from above, often in conflictual and contradictory ways? Who are the important actors in the shaping of remembrance and identity? How do they interact, cooperate, compete? Which policy-making mechanisms and narrative devices are employed in order to persuade institutional decision-makers or the public? How effective are memory and identity projects initiated or supported by the European Union? To what extent does the EU collaborate with local and national actors in its efforts to enhance citizens' identification through its memory initiatives?

This particular panel focuses on local grassroots memory and its expression in art, traditions and heritage.