Call for Applications: Digital Global South Fellowship

Thinking Public History through collaboration

The Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C²DH) invites applications for the Digital Global South Fellowship (DGSF), a fully virtual, four-week residency dedicated to advancing Public History. This fellowship seeks to foster intellectual exchange and institutional collaboration among scholars, professionals, and artists from the Global South, with a special focus on supporting diverse backgrounds and innovative projects.

1. About the fellowship

Established in 2024 under the guidance of Professor Thomas Cauvin, this fellowship was developed by Dr. Myriam Dalal and doctoral researcher Natália Gonçalves, building on the core belief that dialogue and inclusion drive historical understanding and community engagement. The program, carried out today by Gonçalves and Julia Göke (also a doctoral researcher at C²DH), and rooted in the activities of the Public History research group at Centre, is entirely online to ensure greater accessibility and participation from a range of regional contexts.

2. Programme overview

The fellowship is designed for early- and mid-career scholars, practitioners, and artists residing in the Global South. Applicants should be engaged in social, cultural, or academic projects that introduce novel perspectives and foster critical discourse within the field of Public History. Although in 2025 special consideration is given to candidates from Latin America, the program remains open to individuals from all eligible regions.

The residency places a strong emphasis on collaboration with members of C²DH, encouraging fellows to work closely with researchers and community stakeholders. This collaborative environment aims to address pertinent contemporary issues in Public History and contribute to the advancement of the discipline.

3. This year’s fellowship themes

The 2025 edition of the fellowship invites participants to engage with a spectrum of topics situated at the intersection of digital history, media, and the legacies of colonialism. Fellows are encouraged to develop projects that critically interrogate and reinterpret the following core themes:

Media (Newspaper, Radio, TV, Propaganda): Critical studies on how colonial narratives and stereotypes are represented and perpetuated within various media formats, with particular attention to print journalism. This topic also includes investigations into the mechanisms, forms, and enduring impact of colonial propaganda in shaping public opinion and policy.
Origins of Colonial Stereotypes in Contemporary Media: Research on how persistent colonial stereotypes continue to shape and influence contemporary media coverage, especially newspapers, and how these patterns can be identified, challenged, and transformed.
Artificial Intelligence and Digital History: Projects that leverage AI tools and digital methodologies for the analysis and reinterpretation of colonial archives, narratives, and propaganda.
Cultural Heritage: Explorations of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, including sites, collections, traditions, and their contemporary significance.

Applicants are invited to address one or more of these themes through collaborative and innovative approaches, contributing to the advancement of equity, understanding, and critical discourse in digital heritage and public history.

4. Eligibility criteria

Applicants must reside and be professionally active in the Global South.
No academic degree or institutional affiliation is required; however, candidates must demonstrate relevant experience and alignment with public history and the annual theme.
All program activities are conducted in English; thus, proficiency in this language is mandatory.
Applicants must be at least 21 years old at the time of application. There is no upper age limit.
It is also required that applicants have a valid email account and a stable internet connection, as all communications and program activities will be conducted online.
Individuals who have previously received a scholarship, award, or residency at the University of Luxembourg are not eligible.
The program strongly invites submissions from individuals who identify as Indigenous, members of underrepresented groups, women, people with disabilities, as well as people of minority sexual orientations and gender identities. Applicants are welcome to share relevant personal experiences in their statement of motivation, enabling these aspects to be thoughtfully considered during the evaluation process.

5. Application process

All applications must be submitted in English via the official online form.
Application period: 18 September to 18 October 2025 (midnight, GMT+2).
Required documents: Curriculum Vitae (PDF, max. 2 pages, 5MB) and portfolio (PDF, max. 5 pages, 10MB). Any materials submitted beyond what is requested in the application will not be considered.
Applicants must consent to data processing under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Luxembourgish law, exclusively for the administration and selection process.

Apply

Submit your application

6. Selection and notification

Applications are assessed on a rolling basis; early submission is encouraged.
Results will be announced by 25 October 2025. All applicants will be notified of the outcome.
The selected candidate will have three (3) business days, according to the Luxembourg public calendar, to accept or decline the fellowship offer. If no response is received within this period, it will be considered a withdrawal, and the next-ranked candidate will be invited to participate.
We highly recommend that candidates also check their spam or junk folders during the selection process to avoid any misunderstandings, as all communication regarding the selection process will be conducted via email.
Due to the high volume of submissions, individual feedback cannot be provided.

7. Residency structure

The fellowship spans four weeks, including three weeks of collaborative work and five days of pre- and post-residency meetings.
The official working time zone is Central European Time (CET), and all activities will be scheduled to accommodate participants’ locations as much as possible.

8. Expected outcomes

Participation in a roundtable discussion, to be produced as a podcast, with the fellow as a participant and the doctoral researcher as moderator, together with a representative from a civil cultural heritage institution.
Development of a final project with one of C²DH members, which will be shared publicly in the project’s virtual archive.

9. Fellowship grant and terms

The fellowship period runs from 3 to 28 November 2025, with a final meeting on 1 December 2025.
A stipend of €1,500 will be awarded upon completion of the residency requirements.

10. Data protection notice

All personal information provided will be handled exclusively for fellowship management and selection, in strict accordance with GDPR and Luxembourgish law. Data will be securely stored, not disclosed to unauthorized parties, and retained only as necessary.