PAST CONFERENCES
12 years of student-led European Conference at Harvard University, and counting!
January 31 – February 1, 2025
Leader or Dreamer? Europe’s Role in a Fragmented World Order
The 2025 edition of the European Conference gathered over 750 academics, students, and policymakers. The program featured four flagship sessions with speakers including Alexander De Croo, Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, Benjamin Haddad, and Mateusz Morawiecki. Across ten panels and several working groups, participants addressed Europe’s defense and security, economic competitiveness, energy policy, climate ambition, migration, democratic challenges, human rights, science and innovation, diplomacy, and cultural sectors. The conference brought together voices from European institutions, national governments, academia, international organizations, industry, and civil society.
February 9 – 10, 2024
The European Dream – 2024: A Continent at the Crossroads
The 2024 edition celebrated the 10th anniversary of the European Conference, a milestone that reflected a decade of student-led commitment to shaping Europe’s policy dialogue at Harvard Kennedy School. In Cambridge, we brought our community together with political leaders, CEOs, and leading thinkers to confront a defining moment for the continent. Under the theme “The European Dream. 2024: A Continent at the Crossroads,” we examined a year marked by critical elections, the evolution of transatlantic relations, debates on climate, AI, and migration, and Europe’s response to the war in Ukraine.
March 24 – 25, 2023
Frontline Europe: a continent’s struggle for relevance, unity and value
The 2023 edition of the Conference notably featured President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola, 2022 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk, acting Prime Minister of Montenegro Dritan Abazović, and former Prime Ministers Enrico Letta (Italy), Oleksiy Honcharuk (Ukraine), Guy Verhofstadt (Belgium), and Youssef Chahed (Tunisia). The conference features over 20 panels around three main themes: Geopolitics, Identity & Values, and Economics and Business.
March 6 – 8, 2020
The World is Watching
A remarkable lineup of keynotes for the #EuropeanConference2020: Alexander Stubb, Amélie de Montchalin, António Vitorino, Federica Mogherini, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovi and Vuk Jeremić! Along with high-level panels and masterclasses and on trade, EU integration, Women governance, innovation or citizen engagement.
Mars 9 – 10, 2019
Europe: Dialogue with Dissent
The 2019 edition addressed many salient European issues, such as debates about the future of NATO, the upcoming European Elections and even, Populism, startups, and even a music panel on “the shifting sounds of Europe”. In between these events, attendents could get involve in fireside chats or AI and GDPR workshops.
March 2 – 4, 2018
Europe: Winds in the Sails
The 2018 edition was a creative one showcasing two unprecedetned events. A negotiation simulations… on passing drone legislation in Europe. And a Conference closed for the first time with an artistic performance. They also discussed European Defense, Climate change, the possibility of a multi-speed Union and teritorial specific thematics like the EU’s limits and Catalonia’s Referendum.
March 3 – 4, 2017
Europe: New Directions
The 2017 edition of the European Confrence explored Europe’s New Directions in panels on Disrupted media discourse, Energy, Migration, and Emerging leaders.
February 19-20, 2016
Europe at Crossroads
During the 2016 edition, the European Conference held a panel on The role of the UK in Europe and Brexit. A few months later, this became reality. Panels also included discussions on the TTIP, the EU Climate Policy after Paris, the European competitiveness, Data Protection and Migration challenges.
February 27 – 28, 2015 | Cambridge
March 18, 2015 | Brussels
Europe in the World
The first transatlantic edition of the European Conference with an edition both in Cambridge and Brussels. A two day forum for policy and business ideas to move Europe forward with panels on euroskepticism, violent extrimism, entrepreneurship, power in Asia and Europe’s role and a comparison of EU and US growth models.
March 1 – 2, 2014
Re-Generation
A two day forum for policy and business ideas to take Europe forward, organized by undergraduate & graduate students at Harvard University and the Fletcher School.
This edition, the European Conference brought speakers and ideas together on energy security and the shale gas, youth unemployement in Europe, Cybersecurity, and the Online economy, among others.
March 2 – 3, 2013
Europe 2.0: Taking the Next Step
The first European Conference was launched in March 2013 and already looked ahead of Europe’s challenges and future. Established as a “Forum to discuss political and business ideas to take Europe forward”, it led to more than a decade of European Conference at Harvard university.
