CRIA is pleased to announce that the Call for Papers is now open for the 8th International Conference on Public History, organised by the International Federation for Public History (IFPH). The conference will take place in Lisbon, from 7 to 11 September 2026, at Colégio Almada Negreiros (NOVA FCSH), and is hosted by IN2PAST – the Associate Laboratory for Research and Innovation in Heritage, Arts, Sustainability and Territory.

Under the theme “The Public History of Difficult Pasts”, the conference seeks to promote an urgent discussion on how contemporary societies confront, represent and engage with difficult or traumatic pasts — at a time marked by historical revisionism, censorship, attacks on human rights, and the political instrumentalisation of memory.

The Call for Papers is open until 7 December 2025 (extended deadline).
Researchers are invited to submit proposals addressing topics such as:

Colonialism and its contemporary legacies
Slavery, genocide, and silenced memories
Armed conflicts, dictatorships, and state violence
Ethical challenges in Public History
Denialism, competing narratives, and memory disputes
Museum practices, archives, and activist approaches
Testimonies, intergenerational trauma, and community-based projects
Transitional justice, reparations, and inclusive narratives

Key Dates
Call opens: 30 September 2025
New submission deadline: 7 December 2025
Review period: until 31 January 2026
Notification of results: March 2026
Programme release: June 2026
Conference: 7–11 September 2026

Submissions
Panel proposals
Individual paper proposals
Working Group proposals

The conference reaffirms the IFPH’s commitment to fostering critical debate, amplifying marginalised voices, and promoting transnational dialogue centred on reconciliation, historical responsibility, and social justice.

We warmly encourage the participation of the Public History community, within and beyond CRIA.