Celebrating 40 years of EU Research and Innovation

Celebrating 40 years of EU Research and Innovation

2024 marks 40 years since the launch of the EU’s first funding programme dedicated to science, research and innovation. The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research & Innovation has set up a mini communication campaign, running from 19 September to 16 October, to celebrate this milestone, and is keen to involve stakeholders like you.

Over the four weeks, the campaign will focus on key themes: historical milestones, a fair Europe, a green Europe, and a more competitive Europe. The campaign’s backbone are 40 stories to illustrate the breadth of R&I made possible through EU R&I funding and some of the results achieved over the last 40 years. They are available in a booklet and on a dedicated campaign website for easy sharing. Commissioner Ivanova formally presented the booklet on her social media channels (X and LinkedIn) last week.

Of course, these 40 stories are just a fraction of the many projects that have received support from the EU’s R&I framework programmes. If you have a story about how EU-funded research has made a difference, please do share it too using the hashtag #EU40YearsRI or #ResearchImpactEU on social media.

You can help spread the word by tagging the relevant Commission’s social media channels, listed below, in your posts about the campaign:

Thank you for being a part of this celebration and for helping to make it a success!