Digital Global South Fellowship (DGSF) at C²DH
- Omran Aburayya
- Sep 24, 2025
- 4 min read
If you are an early‐ or mid‐career scholar, practitioner, or artist based in the Global South interested in public history, colonial legacies, or digital heritage, the applications are now open for the Digital Global South Fellowship (DGSF) at the Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C²DH). This is a fully virtual, four-week residency offering a chance to engage in collaborative, innovative projects, strengthen institutional ties, and contribute to critical discourse in Public History. Here's everything you need to know.
🎓 Fellowship Summary
Format: Fully online (virtual residency) hosted by C²DH, University of Luxembourg.
Programme Level: Fellowship / residency level (not tied to a degree).
Target Group: Early- and mid-career scholars, practitioners, artists from the Global South; special consideration in 2025 for candidates from Latin America, but open to all eligible regions.
Fields of Focus: Public History, digital history, colonial legacies, media studies, cultural heritage, digital methodologies (including AI), etc.
Coverage: Stipend of €1,500 awarded upon completion of the residency requirements.
Duration: Four weeks of active residency + 5 days of pre- and post-residency meetings. Residency period from 3 to 28 November 2025; final meeting on 1 December 2025.
Application Deadline: 18 October 2025 (midnight, GMT+2)
Start Date: Fellowship starts 3 November 2025.
🧭 Fellowship Overview
The Digital Global South Fellowship is rooted in the belief that history is most powerful when shaped through inclusive dialogue, collaboration, and public engagement. Established in 2024 under the leadership of Prof. Thomas Cauvin, and developed initially by Dr Myriam Dalal and Natália Gonçalves, the program is today carried out by Gonçalves and Julia Göke, doctoral researchers at C²DH.
Because it is fully virtual, the fellowship aims to reduce barriers related to travel, visas, cost of living, etc., enabling more equitable participation from diverse regional contexts.
In 2025 the fellowship has specific thematic focus areas (you can address one or more):
Media (newspaper, radio, TV, propaganda) – how colonial narratives/stereotypes are represented and how propaganda has shaped public opinion.
Origins of colonial stereotypes in contemporary media – how today’s media still reflects colonial legacies.
Artificial Intelligence & digital methodologies in history – for example using AI to reinterpret archives or analyze colonial narratives.
Cultural Heritage (tangible and intangible) – exploring traditions, heritage sites, etc., and their contemporary significance.
🧩 The residency’s structure
pre-residency meeting, three weeks of collaborative work (with C²DH researchers and community stakeholders), then post-residency follow-ups. All scheduled in consideration of participants’ time zones, though the working time zone is Central European Time (CET).
Expected outcomes include: a roundtable discussion (to be produced as a podcast) with a moderator, and development of a final project in collaboration with C²DH, to be shared publicly via the virtual archive.
🎁 Fellowship Benefits
Financial Support: €1,500 stipend.
Visibility & Dissemination: Your project will be shared in C²DH’s virtual archive, participants will take part in public roundtable/podcast, etc.
Collaboration & Networking: Working with C²DH researchers, interacting with peers, engaging with community stakeholders.
Flexibility and Accessibility: Fully online, so costs of travel/accommodation are not barriers. Only requirements are internet stability and English proficiency.
✅ Eligibility Criteria
Must reside and be professionally active in the Global South.
Must be at least 21 years old; no upper age limit.
English proficiency required (all fellowship activities are in English).
Must have a valid email and stable internet.
No degree or institutional affiliation is required. What matters is relevant experience and alignment with Public History and the themes.
Not eligible if you have previously received a scholarship, award or residency from the University of Luxembourg.
The program strongly encourages applicants from underrepresented groups: Indigenous people, people with disabilities, minority sexual orientations and gender identities. Personal experiences may be shared in the motivation statement.
📝 Application Procedure
How to Apply: Submit via the official online form in English.
Application Period: 18 September 2025 to 18 October 2025 (midnight, GMT+2).
Required Documents:
Curriculum Vitae (CV) — PDF, max 2 pages, max file size 5 MB.
Portfolio — PDF, max 5 pages, max file size 10 MB.
Other Requirements: Consent to data processing under EU GDPR / Luxembourg law.
Motivation Statement: astatement of motivation where personal experiences (especially of underrepresented identity, etc.) are shared. So prepare a strong motivation letter aligned with the theme.
ℹ️ Additional Information
Selection & Notification: Applications are assessed on a rolling basis, so applying early may help. Decisions will be announced by 25 October 2025.
If selected, the fellow must accept or decline the offer within 3 business days (Luxembourg public calendar). If no response, the slot may go to next-ranked candidate.
All communication will be via email; check spam/junk folders. No individual feedback will likely be provided due to volume.
Time zone: official working time CET; attempts will be made to accommodate fellows’ local time zones where possible.
🚀 Why This Fellowship Could Be Especially Valuable
It offers an opportunity to work across borders (virtually) in public history and digital heritage, which is increasingly important for scholars/practitioners in the Global South.
The themes are timely: colonial legacies in media, the role of AI in history, cultural heritage preservation, etc. These are areas where original voices from the Global South can make substantial intellectual contributions.
It reduces many traditional barriers: no need for travel/accommodation, no requirement of institutional affiliation or degree. This widens access for independent researchers, artists, community historians, etc.
The collaboration with C²DH gives exposure, institutional affinity, and a venue to disseminate work.
