Kategorie: Events
10.06.2025
The European Alliance of Academies cordially invites you to Café Climate Paris on Thursday, 19 June 2025 at 7:30 pm at the Maison Heinrich Heine (Cité internationale universitaire de Paris).
Café Climate is an initiative of the Climate Group of the European Alliance of Academies and creates a space for open dialogue on the impact of the climate crisis on everyday life, democracy, art and culture. In a relaxed café atmosphere, international experts, artists and the audience discuss various topics together at different tables, this time with, among others:
– Matteo Barsuglia (astrophysicist): Climate change and visions of the future from a scientific perspective
– Lucie Taïeb (writer): Climate and Ecological issues in literature
– Kirsten Reese (composer & sound artist): Climate and art in university teaching
– J. Emil Sennewald (philosopher) & Liesbeth Bik (visual artist): The role of imagination in the climate discourse
– Claire Dehove (artiste diplomate): Diplomacy for the rights of the natural commons
– Pauline Durand-Vialle (CEO Fera): ‘Green Filming’ – Sustainability in film production
The event will be organised and moderated by Cécile Wajsbrot, Jovana Popic, Petja Ivanova, Liesbeth Bik and Daniel Hauser – artists from Europe who are involved in a climate working group within the European Alliance of Academies.
Talks will be held in German, English and French. The event is free of charge.
Please register in advance. Registration and information can also be found on the website
👉 https://www.maison-heinrich-heine.org/culture/2025/6-juin/cafe-climat-paris
From 5 pm, there will be the opportunity to take a guided tour of the exhibition «erschreckend schöne Bilder» – Fakten und Prognosen zum Klimawandel [‘frighteningly beautiful pictures’ – facts and forecasts on climate change] at the Fondation Suisse.
An event in collaboration with Akademie der Künste (Berlin), Maison Heinrich Heine, Fondation Suisse (Paris), F+F Schule für Kunst und Design (Zurich), and Akademie van Kunsten (Amsterdam).
We look forward to an inspiring evening with you!
6.06.2025
Members of the European Alliance of Academies have signed the Bratislava Declaration, which was published during the Open Culture! International Conference on 30 May 2025.
The two-day conference organised by the alliance Open Culture! / Otvorená Kultúra! brought together over 400 cultural professionals in Bratislava to discuss the cultural policy situation in Slovakia and throughout Europe and to develop strategies to defend artistic freedom.
Manos Tsangaris, President of the Akademie der Künste, discussed together with Bohunka Koklesová, rector of the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, and Mart Kalm, rector of the Estonian Academy of Arts, the freedom of art in the university context. Alliance members Josip Zanki from Croatia and Ferenc Czinki from Hungary contributed their experiences as artists and cultural workers in authoritarian systems to the ‘Authoritarian Cultural Policies’ panel.
The Bratislava Declaration reflects the experiences of cultural professionals, artists and representatives of institutions who are confronted daily with the consequences of the erosion of artistic freedom in Europe. The signatories call for a European Artistic Freedom Act, which the institutions of the European Union can use as a legal instrument against the growing influence of populist and nationalist governments in the arts and culture sector. It has so far been signed by 14 European and international partners, including the European Alliance of Academies, Wiener Festwochen, Culture Action Europe, Artistic Freedom Initiative and Trans Europe Halles.
Since a left-wing populist-right nationalist government took office in autumn 2023, cultural institutions in Slovakia have been systematically restructured and artistic freedom restricted, while extremist rhetoric has increased in public discourse. Under the leadership of Culture Minister Martina Šimkovičová, experienced professionals have been removed from top positions in key national institutions, including the Slovak National Theatre, the Slovak National Gallery and the Slovak National Museum. The Slovak Arts Council, which plays a key role in funding independent cultural initiatives, is currently unable to function.
The cooperating Artistic Freedom Initiative has released their new advocacy report entitled, „Early Warning: The Politicization of Slovak Arts and Culture.“ where you can find a thorough description of the destruction of the cultural sector in Slovakia.
As an official co-operation partner of the Open Culture! International Conference, the European Alliance of Academies has expressed its solidarity with Slovak artists and cultural workers since 2024.
👉 platformaok.sk/bratislava-declaration
On the occasion of the Polish EU Council Presidency, the European Alliance of Academies organised a diverse programme to focus on the newly emerging art and cultural landscape in Poland. Artistic and discursive contributions were dedicated to the questions of how years of restrictions imposed by the PiS government affected artistic freedom.
7.04.2025
Academy President Manos Tsangaris and Katarzyna Sitko, Deputy Director of the Polish Institute Berlin, opened the event. They claimed that artists have a crucial role when it comes to political protest. Institutional representatives, artists and cultural professionals discussed how the Polish art and culture scene is dealing with the ongoing political changes. A special focus lied on the role of women in the cultural political transformation process and the impending disillusionment of Polish women regarding their fight for reproductive rights.
The reading from Joanna Bator’s latest novel “Gorzko, Gorzko” added the literary sound and made women voices heard, going through different eras of Polish history. The sound performance “Rebirth” by Anna Sowa echoed the challenges that women are facing in today’s world.
A highlight of the programme was a conversation between award-winning film directors and Akademie members Agnieszka Holland and Volker Schlöndorff on their personal experiences in the fight against nationalistic policies and narrowed world views. When asked about what Europe would mean to her, Agnieszka Holland replied that Europe always had a double meaning – the cradle of human civilisation as well as the place of many crimes against humanity. About her latest movie “Green Border”, that was screened after the discussion, Agnieszka Holland emphasized that even though she was not allowed to show the human catastrophe going on at the border between Belarus and Poland, she reconstructed it by making a movie. “When something like that is going on close to my home, I have the duty to talk about it.”
The theatre performance „JaWa“ by artist duo Turkowski & Nowacka displayed different societal problems such as homelessness, alcoholism, but also the will to individual change and the role of art in it. The story is told from the artists perspective, but the two core workers of JaWa were Jan and Waldemar (and the name of the enterprise comes directly from their first names), who found this job after several difficult chapters in their lives. „The show’s creators combine documentary images with an ironic narrative and moments that completely abandon irony, as in the scene with the difficult personal confession, which is the emotionally heaviest one in this strong, multidimensional performance.“ (Przemek Gulda). The piece has been created as part of residency programme at Komuna Warszawa, co-financed by the City of Warsaw within the Culture Hub project, with support of Stowarzyszenie Teatr Kana Szczecin; Co-production Noorderzon / Grand Theatre Groningen.
An event organized by the Akademie der Künste, Berlin, and the European Alliance of Academies in cooperation with the Polish Institut Berlin. Funded by the Foundation for German-Polish Cooperation.
Supported by the Daniel Chodowiecki Foundation, the Goethe-Institut Warschau, Villa Decius Association and the European Film Academy.
13.09.2024
The event was a sign of solidarity with Hungarian artists and cultural stakeholders who, under the influence of the Orbán government since 2010, have seen artistic freedom in their country increasingly threatened. Hungary still holds the EU Council Presidency until December 2024.
Academy members and partners of the European Alliance of Academies entered into dialogue with those affected by the cultural policy situation. Artistic contributions showed that despite political restrictions, a lack of resources and difficult working conditions, the Hungarian cultural landscape is characterised by diversity and dynamism.
Manos Tsangaris, President of the Akademie der Künste and Kateryna Stetsevych, Head of the Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe Project Group of the Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb) welcomed the artists and the audience.
The speeches were followed by readings by Kinga Tóth and Zsófia Bán, the virtual reality performance ‘Necromancy’ by Kristóf Kelemen, the theatre performance ‘Living the Dream with Grandma’ by and with László Göndör, a musical contribution by the percussion trio Dakoda Percussion Group (Dániel Láposi, Dávid Burcsik, Kornél Hencz) and talks with Miriam Bruns (Director of the Goethe-Institut Budapest), Nikolett Erőss (curator), Anna Gács (literary critic), Gergely Nagy (journalist), György Szabó (cultural manager), Diána Vonnák (writer) and others. The evening ended with the film screening, ‘Explanation for Everything’ by Gabor Reisz, which was introduced by Matthijs Wouter Knol, Director of the European Film Academy.
Overall moderator: Carolin Savchuk, Project Group Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe of the Federal Agency for Civic Education.
You can find the programme here and in the programme flyer
An event of the Akademie der Künste and the European Alliance of Academies in cooperation with the Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb) With the kind support of the Goethe-Institut Budapest and the European Film Academy (EFA)
6.09.2024
Tuesday, 1 October, 5 pm
Akademie der Künste, Hanseatenweg 10
The Café Climate aims to engage in a dialogue at equal level with civil society, experts and political actors on the topics of climate injustice and arts and culture. In an informal atmosphere, at small tables, like in a café.
The Café Climate event series is taking place for the 5th time – always in different contexts and settings such as playgrounds, university campus etc. On 1 October, Café Climate takes place in the context of the symposium Time to Listen
Three questions move us:
– How the climate crisis affects our daily lives.
– How the climate crisis sounds.
– How the climate crisis affects art and culture.
We cordially invite you to discuss different aspects of climate (in)justice with following experts:
Alexandra Nehmer (Architect), Bernhard König (Composer), Jovana Popić (Visual artist), Eckhard Roelcke (Journalist and activist Letzte Generation) and Dr. Carla J. Maier (Cultural Anthropologist, Planetary Listening Collective). Café Climate is organised and moderated by a working group of the European Alliance of Academies: Iris ter Schiphorst (Composer), Cécile Wajsbrot (writer), Petja Ivanova (Visual artist) and others
An event of the European Alliance of Academies as part of the symposium Time to Listen
More information: Time to Listen 2024: An Open Space on Sustainability in Contemporary Music | Akademie der Künste, Berlin (adk.de)
15.04.2024
With a strong voice for a democratic Europe
From 25-26 March, 41 members from 17 countries of the European Alliance of Academies met at the Akademie der Künste in Berlin on Pariser Platz.
In the face of multiple crises on the continent, Academy President Jeanine Meerapfel recalled the origins of the European idea: „Europe was and is a utopian project. Numerous European states joined forces, overcame former enmities and renounced part of their sovereignty in order to create the European Union peace project. Even today, many of us dream of Europe as an open continent. And we are not just dreaming: three and a half years ago, we founded the European Alliance of Academies to work together for the freedom of art and the creation of a democratic Europe.“
In the run-up to the European elections, which will take place in Europe from 6-9 June, the members of the European Alliance of Academies decided to publish an election appeal to all Europeans: Diversity, respect and solidarity are the core elements of vibrant democracies. The European Alliance of Academies calls on European citizens to fulfil their responsibility to protect these values by exercising their right to vote.
Read the full call to vote here
The diverse programme offered pupils, young artists, civil society actors, climate experts and members of the Academy of Arts the opportunity to contribute their ideas about Europe and democracy. Contacts already established with artists and cultural professionals from Hungary and Poland were deepened. New structures and projects of the transnational network were discussed in internal consultations. The fight against right-wing extremism, anti-Semitism and the defence of artistic freedom are the focal points to which the Alliance members would like to continue to dedicate themselves.
Ferenc Czinki, President of the Hungarian Writers‘ Association Szépírók Társásagá, which has been excluded from any state funding since 2024, confirmed the solidarity effect of the alliance: „You have supported us, you have given us ideas and courage. Your solidarity has saved us through difficult times.“
Keynote speaker Meron Mendel summarised in his speach at the opening evening: There is nothing left for us but to believe in people. And believing in people is also believing in art. Art has a humanistic mission in the deepest sense of the word. This is precisely why art is under threat.
Hungarian Film director István Szabó commented in his input on the second conference day: What should a film be about? About today’s reality, because we can only improve it by confronting it. We also want to preserve European culture, as well as the desire to be free, which is what Europe stands for.
At Café Climate, Academy members Ulrike Draesner, A. L. Kennedy, Esther Kinsky, Dagmara Kraus, Ursula Krechel and Cécile Wajsbrot read specially written texts for the Atlas of Change, dealing with the impacts of climate change on their lives. Afterwards, the audience had the opportunity to share their perspectives and discuss with the artists and invited climate experts Dagmar Haase, Claudia Kemfert, Damien Bright, Eckhard Roelcke and Marco Clausen about important aspects like climate justice & civil resistance, transformation strategies, urban solutions and local activism – important impulses how to become active against climate change as individual in our society.
Nine artists from across Europe – all associated to institutions of the European Alliance of Academies engaged with poems by a young generation of Hungarian poets, all members of the Szépírók Társasága, and created multidisciplinary artworks that respond, comment and reflect on the social and political reality of today’s life in Hungary. Yese Astarloa, Matei Bejenaru, Lucija Bogunović, Sayaka Fujio, Paul Michels, Mariano Ortega, Dimitrina Popova and Laura Stojkoski presented their artistic project published on LOOM – Interweaving the Arts in Europe
In their video messages, Minister of State for Culture and the Media Claudia Roth and UN Special Rapporteur on Cultural Rights Alexandra Xanthaki emphasised the importance of the European alliance and assured the European Alliance of Academies that it would be able to continue its work.
Photos by Reinhardt & Sommer
20.10.2023
Thursday, 23 November, 6.45pm
Akademie der Künste, Pariser Platz 4
The Café Climate aims to engage in a dialogue at equal level with civil society, experts and political actors on the topics of climate, energy, democracy, arts and culture. In an informal atmosphere, at small tables, like in a café. It is organised by a working group of the European Alliance of Academies, which is made up of various artistic and cultural actors from all over Europe.
Three questions move us:
– How the climate crisis affects our daily lives.
– How the climate crisis threatens democracy.
– How the climate crisis affects art and culture.
The Café Climate event series is taking place for the third time – always in different contexts and settings such as playgrounds, university campus etc. On 23 November, Café Climate would like to discuss the following questions in particular:
– Energy and democracy
– Energy and War
– Energy, Narratives and Identities
With Benjamin Beuerle (Historian), Petja Ivanova (Visual artist), Jovana Popić (Visual artist), Eckhard Roelcke (Journalist and Activist Die letzte Generation, Willem de Rooij (Artist), Matthias Schuler (Clima Engineering), Iris ter Schiphorst (Composer), Ingo Uhlig (Media and literary scientist), Cécile Wajsbrot (writer).
An event of the European Alliance of Academies as part of the Literature Days „What drives us: Energy and energeia between politics and poetics“.
More information: What drives us: Energy and energeia between politics and poetics | Akademie der Künste, Berlin (adk.de)
6.09.2023
European Alliance authors discussed the freedom of artistic expression in literature with UK students at Cambridge on 26 and 27 August. Censorship has many forms. Who has the power to raise their voice? And who can silence other voices? Four writing workshops and two public discussions on this year’s topic “Building a Sustainable and Healthy World” were part of the annual student conference at the Homerton College campus.
After events in Budapest, Madrid, Amsterdam and Berlin, members of the European Alliance of Academies debated the necessity of artistic freedom for a functioning democracy for the first time in the UK. Together with the Royal Society of Literature, the transnational network which has been committed to the freedom of the arts in Europe since 2020 is organising the programme aimed at the younger generation.
The opening discussion “How does self-censorship work for a writer?” with authors Marina Warner (UK), Bianca Bellóva (CZ), Ferenc Czinki and Réka Borda (HU) looked at the political pressure on the freedom of expression in many countries and its impact on the artistic work of writers. The event “Who has the right to speak? Whose voice is heard?” with Kenan Malik (UK), Annelies Verbeke (NL), George Whitley (UK) and Cécile Wajsbrot (FR) explored the question of which voices are underrepresented in literature, who can speak freely and to what extent, and who is silenced.
Read here Annelies Verbeke’s report on the public debates
Academy member Cécile Wajsbrot initiated “Café Climate” with the young persons present. This project explored how the climate crisis affects our daily lives, endangers democracy and has an impact on art and culture. The outcomes were:
* Information : for the students, democracy means getting more access to information.
* Education: they insist upon the fact that at school, the importance of climate issues is not approached.
* Responsibility: they point out the fact that they are aware of the responsibility weighing upon their shoulders, at the same time, they feel powerless because they are not in charge.
British writers Bhanu Kapil and Mariah Whelan conducted creative writing workshops with the topic of eco-poetry and „What would you say if you could?“
An event of the European Alliance of Academies organised by Akademie der Künste and the Royal Society of Literature. In cooperation with the University of Cambridge, Czech Literary Center, Royal Academy of Dutch Language and Literature, Society of Hungarian Authors
1.09.2023
Rights and Freedom of Culture in Times of Political Change
Shortly before the elections in Poland, the Polish Alliance partner Villa Decius invited the European Alliance of Academies to a study trip to Krakow from 21-22 September. In discussions with prominent representatives of independent museums, theatres and houses of culture, it became clear how the Polish government is pushing for the renationalisation of art and culture and increasingly influences artistic decisions.
The cultural workers painted a picture of political and financial pressure. The targeted spread of misinformation about artworks, personal hostility and accusations, and even physical attacks are the conditions under which Polish artists and cultural workers are increasingly working.
In her keynote speech at the public roundtable „Rights and Freedom of Culture in Times of Political Change“, UN Special Rapporteur for Cultural Rights Alexandra Xanthaki pointed out how these methods can lead to artistic self-censorship and that the right to artistic freedom is a state obligation that must be legally enforced if necessary.
The most recent example is the personal hostility of the Polish Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro against the Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland and her film Zielona Granica (Green Border), which was awarded at the 80th Venice International Film Festival with the Special Jury Prize.
Jeanine Meerapfel, President of the Academy of Arts and initiator of the European Alliance of Academies, commented: „To compare Agnieszka Holland with the propagandists of the Third Reich is an attack on the dignity of a highly acclaimed filmmaker and colleague and a violation of the right to artistic freedom“.
In an official statement the members of the European Alliance of Academies expressed their solidarity with Agnieszka Holland.
Mit dem Laden des Videos akzeptieren Sie die Datenschutzerklärung von YouTube.
Mehr erfahren
Part I: The right to culture as a human right, cultural institutions as an artistic freedom safe havens, the changing model of cultural policy in Poland, culture as a political issue – current challenges, future scenarios
Part II: Freedom of arts and culture – selected countries’ cases, culture and freedom of arts in the public debate and countries’ policies, the European Alliance of Academies and other examples of the sub-national networks of solidarity.
With: Jan Tomasz Adamus, Witold Bereś, Ferenc Czinki, Wolfgang Kaleck, Valerio Rocco Lozano, Dominika Kasprowicz, Jeanine Meerapfel, Michal Nowicki, Aleš Šteger, Bartosz Szydłowski, Cécile Wajsbrot, Natalia Zarzecka and others as well as Alexandra Xanthaki, UN Special Rapporteur on Cultural Rights and Robert Piaskowski, Plenipotentiary of the Mayor of the City of Krakow for Culture. Moderated by Marion Döring and Justyna Nowicka.
An event of the European Alliance of Academies, organised by Akademie der Künste and Villa Decius. Media Partner Tygodnik Powszechy
28.08.2023
Sat, 2 September, 4-5pm
OTTO-Spielplatz / Ottopark
Alt-Moabit 34, 10555 Berlin
Iris ter Schiphorst, Cécile Wajsbrot, Leon Erhorn and Jovana Popic of the European Alliance of Academies: Climate Café
How do we experience the climate crisis? And how can society be successfully transformed? We have had over 30 years to take careful steps to address the urgent task of transforming society. Nothing has happened – despite us knowing better! We are now being asked to make major changes in all areas of society.
Because the “habits” we have grown to love are now destroying the very basis of our existence: habitable regions are vanishing, species are becoming extinct, and clean water and food are growing scarce – even in Europe, which is now one of the global warming hotspots. We want to discuss this with you at the Café Climate and put our heads together to consider how we might succeed in transforming society.
Café Climate offers an open space to discussion. Sitting pleasantly around small tables as in a café, we can discuss in small groups about emergencies and solutions.
- How the climate crisis affects our everyday life.
- How the climate crisis endangers democracy.
- How the climate crisis affects art and culture.
The ecological crisis is mostly spoken of in economical terms. We offer another approach – concrete, cultural, political in a broader sense. Let us speak together about it.
The Café Climate takes place in the context of the Time to Listen festival.
The full programme of the Sustainability Hut can be found here.