HIDDEN COST Action Conference
Identity documentation has come to feature in every part of modern life. The History of Identity Documentation in European Nations (HIDDEN) network unites scholars in history, migration studies, geography, sociology, law, linguistics, postcolonial studies, human rights and more to look at the history of ID regimes in Europe and beyond, drawing connections between the past and present. In the context of UN Sustainable Development Goal 16.9 that everyone should have a legal identity by 2030, and the rise of new forms of biometric digital ID, such as the Covid-19 vaccination certificates, it is timely that an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary group of scholars critically examine the antecedents of modern systems and contemporary practices which can increase societal inequalities.
The HIDDEN COST Action (CA21120) (2022-26) brings together academics from across the EU and beyond to critically examine the historical development, present-day policy and legal implications of and the future direction of identity documents in their various forms. This is a vibrant network of over c.180 scholars from 37 COST member countries, including 21 ITC countries, working across and between disciplines but primarily situated in history, migration studies, geography, sociology, law, linguistics, postcolonial studies, cultural studies, ethics, human rights and more.
In the context of UN Sustainable Development Goal 16.9 that everyone should have a legal identity by 2030, this network exists to critically examine and question how, why and if this might happen.
We will have the pleasure to welcome keynote speaker Dagmar Hovestadt who will speak on "Identity and the Record. Observations on who we are in Data and Archives".
Dagmar Hovestadt is a researcher, author and communication expert at the intersection of archives and transitional justice. She is currently an adjunct professor at the Irish Center for Human Rights at the University of Galway (2024 – 27) and works with human rights archives in Germany and Syria. From 2011 to 2021 she was the spokesperson for the Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Records in Germany. She started her career as an investigative journalist in post-unification Berlin and worked as a foreign correspondent from California. She is a trustee and board member of Correctiv, a German non-profit media house, a member of the collections committee of the Wende Museum in Los Angeles, a fellow with the Global Diplomacy Lab and the BMW Responsible Leaders Network and a Fulbright and Burns Alumnae.
Call for papers – HIDDEN COST Action Conference: