BNP Paribas supports the promotion of History
For more than ten years, BNP Paribas has been committed to fostering a better understanding of history in all its forms.
Promoting and mediating History
Support for the Master’s degree in public history at Université Paris-Est Créteil Val de Marne
Created in 2015 by Catherine Brice, Professor of Contemporary History, the Créteil Masters 2 diploma in Public History is the first course of its kind in France.
“Public history”, a discipline having emerged over 30 years ago in the United States, is aimed at non-specialists with a passion for history. Joining forces with this emerging university course ten years ago was a natural move for BNP Paribas. As part of the partnership, each year the Archives & History department hosts a student from the Master’s course as part of a work-study programme and organises a meeting to discuss the challenges involved in the mediation of history.
BNP Paribas’ support for the Master’s in Public History also includes the allocation of an annual grant.
From the Jacques de Fouchier prize to closer links with the Historia readers’ prize
BNP Paribas contributes to the Jacques de Fouchier awards ceremony. The Jacques Fouchier prize, awarded by the Académie Française, was created in 1998 in honour of the entrepreneur and founder of Compagnie Bancaire, a specialised financing company within the Paribas galaxy. The prize is awarded each year to a book or other work penned by a non-writer boasting an outstanding subject, composition or style. The winner is announced at the annual public meeting of the Académie Française in December.
The Group has supported the initiative of the Prix Historia awards to make knowledge more broadly accessible since 2011. Targeting the general public, the various awards categories reward works of history selected by a jury of experts, including books (novels, biographies and essays), historical comics, historical shows, historical exhibitions, screen works (films, documentaries, reports, video games and series) and innovation (artificial intelligence, digital media, research and immersive shows).
Since 2023, BNP Paribas has also sponsored the Historia – BNP Paribas Readers’ Prize, which is judged by Historia magazine subscribers and BNP Paribas employees. Since 2024, BNP Paribas has also supported the Grand Prix du Jury.
About Historia:
- Find out more about the magazine
- Prix Historia 2024: an eclectic list of winners celebrating the richness of history
Economic history and scientific research
Support for Economic history Research
As a major player in the economy, BNP Paribas supports research into economic history with a view to furthering our understanding of the world and economic phenomena.
This commitment is demonstrated by the opening up of the bank’s historical archives to researchers in 2011.
On the joint initiative of Association Française d’Histoire Économique (AFHE) and BNP Paribas, the AFHE BNP Paribas Prize for Economic History was created in 2011.
It is awarded to two PhD students having defended a thesis in history or the humanities and social sciences, in the field of economic history, and written in French. The prize is awarded every two years. The sole award of its kind in France, it is helping to increase the visibility and development of the discipline.
The Group is represented on the Board of Patrons and the Academic Council of the European Association for Banking and Financial History (EABH), of which it is a founding member.
Support for History and the Social Sciences
In 2023, BNP Paribas and Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) signed a partnership agreement to develop scientific research.
EHESS is a higher education institution reputed both in France and internationally. It produces and disseminates knowledge on human societies by forging interdisciplinary dialogue between all the social sciences in the broadest sense of the term. It brings together researchers and students from around the world and is part of a wide-ranging international research network covering all world regions.
Relations have been formed and strengthened between Archives & Histoire and EHESS lecturers and students, the initial priority being on history and students:
- Archives & Histoire has been a member of the History Master’s Development Board since 2023;
- Archives & Histoire attends the History department’s back-to-school day to present the department and its work;
- theme-based presentations of the Group’s archives are organised;
- every year, Archives & Histoire admits Master 1 students as part of a course on “heritage promotion” and “archival studies”.