On April 9, 2025, the École normale supérieure Foundation had the pleasure of welcoming its donors to its annual evening event—an opportunity for exchange, discovery, and appreciation.
A Living Heritage to Share
The evening highlighted the “Normaliens Archives” project, a major initiative led by the Ulm-LSH library teams. Its goal is to preserve, digitize, and promote the School’s historic archives. Manuscripts, letters, lecture notes, photographs—these often-rare documents trace the contours of an extraordinary intellectual heritage, which the Foundation is proud to support.
Valérie Theis, Deputy Director of the Humanities Division at ENS, presented the goals and significance of the project before moderating a roundtable discussion with three distinguished guests:
Antoine Lilti, historian and professor at the Collège de France
Géraldine Muhlmann, philosopher and host of the podcast Avec philosophie
Gilles Pécout, historian and former Rector of the Paris Academy
Truth, Memory, and Commitment
The discussion, centered on the theme “History, Truth, and Facts,” sparked a lively exchange on the role of historians, the shaping of collective memory, and the contemporary challenges related to knowledge and its transmission. Guests continued the conversation during a warm and friendly cocktail reception, held in the historic Letters Hall of the library.
An Evening of Gratitude
The ENS Foundation warmly thanks all its donors for their presence and their commitment. Thanks to their support, ambitious projects like the Normaliens Archives come to life—serving the mission of knowledge transmission and enhancing the School’s influence.