The Jean Monnet Foundation for Europe was created in 1978 by Jean Monnet, one of the founding fathers of European integration, who entrusted it with all his archives. It is an independent institution of pure public utility, non-partisan and non-militant, supported by the State of Vaud, the Swiss Confederation and the City of Lausanne. It operates from the Ferme de Dorigny, located in the heart of the university campus and made available by the State of Vaud.
It now houses many other private archival collections, including iconographic and audiovisual documents. It also houses a specialized library and documentation centre. In this way, it makes this unique body of resources on the history of European integration accessible to researchers, teachers and students. In addition, it develops a programme of filmed interviews and awards its Henri Rieben Scholarship each year to several researchers.
The Foundation is also a place for debate and meetings. It organises scientific symposia, as well as a series of “European Dialogues” and “European Conferences” which deal with the various facets of major contemporary issues by bringing together leading speakers (professors, experts, political leaders, diplomats, senior officials, etc.). It welcomes many researchers, as well as visitors, both eminent personalities and interested groups, who then have the opportunity to approach selected archival material and share their thoughts. It periodically awards its Gold Medal to actors committed to the common interest of Europeans. Finally, the Foundation is continuing to publish the “Cahiers rouges” collection, which has more than 200 issues.
After two years of work, the Foundation returned to the enlarged and renovated Ferme de Dorigny in June 2011. The new premises for the conservation of written and audiovisual archives guarantee optimal conditions for preservation and security, while new workspaces have been created to meet the increasing demand for access to the documentary heritage held by the Foundation.
The Foundation has thus become an institution with a European and international reputation at the University of Lausanne and in the Vaud region. It offers the Swiss Confederation a valuable platform for exchange and encounter.
Pat Cox, former President of the European Parliament and the International European Movement, has been President of the Foundation since 1 January 2015.
His predecessors are José Maria Gil-Robles (2009-2014), former President of the European Parliament and the European International Movement; Bronislaw Geremek (2006-2008), Member of the European Parliament and former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Poland; and Henri Rieben (1978-2005), Professor at the University of Lausanne. Since 2012, the institution has been headed by Gilles Grin, a doctor in international relations and a lecturer at the University of Lausanne.