Forum Open Society

Friday, 28 April 2023,12.30 – 1.15 pm
Leipzig Book Fair, Hall 4 E101

Within the programme of the Leipzig Book Fair, members of the European Alliance of Academies will address the question of what alliances of cultural institutions can do to counter the threats to democracy. The following questions will be discussed:

How can the alliance react in solidarity to political restrictions? Address narratives of the past? What about the potential of artistic cooperation and different approaches to cultural policy in Europe, their influence on cultural institutions and thus on artistic freedom. The idea of European understanding shared with the Leipzig Book Fair takes on a new poignancy against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine.

„The Russian invasion of Ukraine has triggered the question of how effective the European idea can still be as a response to the nightmare of war, destruction and crimes against humanity. After all, what effect can appeals still have in view of the fact that the world’s doomsday clock is already running at 90 seconds to midnight? The missiles on Ukraine have also brought the security question back into focus for the first time since the end of the Cold War. Didn’t we allow ourselves to be distracted from real dangers for years with the idea of peace and become comfortable in a security that never existed? And what can the arts do in this situation, what can a network of cultural institutions, what can a book fair do today?“ (Holk Freytag)

This will be discussed by former managing director of the European Film Academy and board member of the Wim Wenders Foundation, Marion Döring, French writer and member of the Akademie der Künste Cécile Wajsbrot and the director of the Czech Literary Centre, Martin Krafl. Moderated by: Director and dramaturge Holk Freytag Member of the Saxon Academy of Arts

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