This second issue of TRACES Journal has been designed as a dialogue among the scientific coordinators of some of the most recent European Union’s flagship research projects focusing on museums and heritage studies, including some recently concluded programmes as well as some newer researches launched under the H2020 umbrella. We called upon them to question what roles heritage can and should play to address social division and crisis in Europe. We asked them about the focus and the scope of their projects and their relevance in view of contemporary social, political and economic issues affecting Europe and its inhabitants; the expected impact of their research as well as the influence of EU political and funding agendas on the framing of their programme, its lines of enquiry and methods
