Cycle of Conferences – Berlin 2016
A Soul for Europe Conference 2016 on 8 and 9 November 2016
at Allianz Forum, Pariser Platz 6, 10117 Berlin, Germany
8 Nov: 1:00 – 6:00 p.m. | 9 Nov: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Not only since the Brexit vote in Great Britain has it become clear that politics has not succeeded in overcoming the dismissive attitude many citizens have towards the EU and its institutions. We need to explore new avenues to convince the citizens of the necessity of a European unification process. More than ever, Europe has to become the Europeans’ cause.
Bearing the title Cultural Identities on the Move, the conference will react to the current European challenges in a creative way and draft proposals for intensified cooperation between politics and civil society in the cities and regions of Europe. Since its first edition in 2004, the conference has aimed at integrating culture more strongly into the complex process of European integration, revealing the centrality of culture as its creative motor. We thus invite committed European citizens, intellectuals, artists, politicians, representatives from NGOs, economy and the media to join us in the debate.
The central conference event on 9 November will avoid formats which involve sequences of statements and opinions, and instead will provide opportunities for a direct, open and simultaneously constructive discussion between personalities from the fields of politics and culture, additionally enabling constructive participation from the audience.
On 8 November, our main focus will be European cities and regions and their new responsibilities facing refugees’ movements and newly erected border fences. Workshops and debates will discuss strategical attempts, while a marketplace will give a practical insight into ongoing projects.
The A Soul for Europe Conference will be followed by the annual The State of Europe speech on the evening of 9 November, held this year by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at the invitation of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Schwarzkopf Stiftung and Stiftung Zukunft Berlin. Please note that a separate registration is needed for this event and that invitations will be sent out by Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung.
The conference is jointly organized and prepared by, and funded with the Evens Foundation, the Allianz Cultural Foundation, the conference’s partner since 2004, as well as Goethe-Institut, traduki / S. Fischer Foundation and the initiative “Cities for Europe” at Stiftung Zukunft Berlin. European Parliament has been involved with “A Soul for Europe” from the beginning and since 2014 has taken on the patronage of the conference.
Attendance by invitation only. Invitations with a registration link will be sent shortly.
Check out the media section of our website for photos, videos and documents of our events and current topics, and get in touch with us on Facebook and Twitter.
Co-organisers and funders:
