A SOUL FOR EUROPE Conference
10.15am – 11.45am Towards the European Elections 2019
Leading Representatives of European Parties will be facing the discussion with Artists
Nicola Beer, ALDE, Damian Boeselager, Volt, Violeta Tomic, European Left, Yanis Varoufakis, DIEM25, and Elmar Brok, MEP European People’s Party, will be facing the discussion with Ulrich Gerhard, Director of Radio Plays, Noémi Kiss, Writer, Katja Sinko, Activist, Klaus Staeck, Graphic Artist, and Mia Florentine Weiss, Artist.
Moderation: Volker Hassemer, Farid Tabarki
The arts in their various formats have the great opportunity to speak directly to people, across all borders. In their own way they can formulate questions, take a stand, create understanding for the behaviour of people of different origins and traditions and actively participate in the development of a constantly changing European narrative.
It is a question of power and responsibility. Let us be serious about putting our cultural policy on artists, on cities and regions and on ourselves, the citizens of Europe. This is a question of self- confidence, but above all a question of responsibility.
In this way a new force would develop for Europe - this time not one from the bottom of general politics, economics, financial strategy, but this time from the fund of European culture. Culture would then not only play a role in its everyday impact in Europe, as it does today.
Arts and Culture are not only an enrichment of Europe, it also has the obligation to actively contribute to the success of Europe. Culture can only fulfil this obligation if its actors unite. They should form alliances and thus signal a commitment to Europe that goes beyond artistic work itself. In this way, formats would emerge from the side of culture which would help Europe to develop, but which could also confront Europe's institutional level with their own pro-European agenda. And if that happens, what demands do they have on European politics as a reaction to open it up to answers and cooperation?
The fact that the European (Union) played too little of a role in culture in the past has meant that the national aspect of culture can always be brought to the fore unhindered. If "European culture" (of course in a correct understanding that does not mix everything up) is not filled with content and can not be experienced, one should not be surprised that it is then easy to propagate the national.
We are therefore debating a new understanding of European cultural policy and a stronger integration of civil society experiences and interests. We would like to support European artists from countries in which anti-democratic forces are active in their work and life processes. And we develop methods of how culture and education can work even more intensively for the understanding of a European identity.