Populism, extremism and Euroscepticism are haunting Europe, creating a tense atmosphere in which fear, hate, anger and anxiety converge: a climate of European Angst. The more momentum populist parties and movements gain, the more clueless the established political, cultural and legislative institutions seem to be. And once their rhetoric and their demands seep into mainstream discourse, the outcome is unpredictable, as the referendum on Great Britain’s remaining in the EU has shown. Why is this happening now? And how are we dealing with it?
The conference EUROPEAN ANGST will shed light on these questions in a unique way. It will leave the comfort zone of liberal consensus by inviting controversial thinkers, creating thus a space for passionate debate, for reflection and in-depth analysis.

+++ See full program

With Herta Müller, Slavoj Žižek, Elif Shafak, Didier Eribon, Béatrice Delvaux, Klaus-Dieter Lehmann, Sonia Seymour Mikich, Paul Scheffer, Isolde Charim, Lukasz WARZECHA, Beppe Severgnini, Sascha Lehnartz, Martin Ehl, Shermin Langhoff, Vladimíra Dvorakova, Firas Alshater, as well as 40 students selected in an open call. Representing tomorrow’s decision makers, the students will play an active role in the conference, and they will draft a manifesto on Europe’s future to be handed over to EU officials.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION
>>> Centre for Fine Arts – BOZAR (Ravensteinstraat 23, 1000 Brussels), hall M and Henry Le Boeuf – see map
>>> Tuesday 6 December 2016 – 15:30 > 20:30
>>> Wednesday 7 December 2016 – 8:30 > 17:30 
>>> FREE OF CHARGE. RSVP here  

+++ If you are not able to attend the conference, you can follow the whole event via live stream!!

An event organized by BOZAR in coproduction with Goethe Institute Brussels, with EUNIC Brussels (Alliance française de Bruxelles-Europe, Polish Institite, Istituto italiano, Czech Center Brussels), Ambassade de France and European Movement International, with the support of Evens Foundation

PROGRAMME

Tuesday 6 December
15:30 – Registration and security check
16:00 – WELCOME ADDRESS & SPEECHES
Paul Dujardin, Director, Bozar
Conference moderator: Sascha Lehnartz, journalist, head of foreign desk at Die Welt / Die Welt am Sonntag, Germany
Opening speech: Klaus-Dieter Lehmann, President, Goethe-Institut, Germany
Keynote speech: Herta Müller, Nobel Prize winner in Literature, Germany

17:30 — 1ST CONVERSATION : HOW DID IT COME UPON US? AN ANALYSIS OF EXTREMISM’S, REASONS AND MANIFESTATIONS.
Didier Eribon, sociologist, philosopher and author, France
Vladimíra Dvořáková, political scientist, Czech Republic
Shermin Langhoff, artistic director of Berlin’s Maxim Gorki Theater, Germany
Moderator: Béatrice Delvaux, journalist, commentator in chief at Le soir, Belgium

19:30 – drinks

Wednesday 7 December 
08:30 – Registration
09:00 – WELCOME WORDS
Johannes Ebert, Secretary General, Goethe-Institut
Michael Metz Mørch, President of EUNIC Global

09:20 – Sascha Lehnartz introducing the programme and the speakers
09:30 – 2ND CONVERSATION : SCAPEGOATING: WHY RACISM COULD GAIN SO MUCH GROUND AND HOW IT FEELS TO BE A MIGRANT IN CONTEMPORARY EUROPE.
Paul Scheffer, author and sociologist, The Netherlands
Firas Alshater aka Zukar, actor, producer and youtuber from Syria, based in Berlin
Moderator: Isolde Charim, journalist and writer, Austria

11:00 – Coffee break

11:30 – 3RD CONVERSATION : WORDS, WORDS, WORDS. HOW CONSPIRACY THEORIES, POLARISED TALK SHOW RHETORICS AND SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITIES DISTORT OUR PERCEPTION OF REALITY — AND HOW REPUTABLE MEDIA COULD REACT. 
Sonia Seymour Mikich, journalist, editor-in-chief, WDR TV, Germany
Lukasz Warzecha, journalist and author, Poland
Moderator: Beppe Severgnini, journalist and author, Italy

13:00 – Walking lunch

14:00 – 4TH CONVERSATION : FACING THE CHALLENGE: AN APPROACH TOWARDS PRODUCTIVE METHODS AND NARRATIVES TO FACE EXTREMISM AND THE DISINTEGRATION OF EUROPE. 
Slavoj Žižek, philosopher and cultural critic, Slovenia
Elif Shafak, writer and columnist, Turkey / Great Britain
Moderator: Martin Ehl, journalist and author, Czech Republic

15:30 – Coffee break

16:00 – Conference summary by Sascha Lehnartz
Presentation of the manifesto
Q&A with Jo Leinen, Member of the European Parliament and President of the European Movement International
Thank you word — Susanne Höhn, Director, Goethe-Institut Southwest Europe

Łukasz WARZECHA (1975) 
A columnist at Do Rzeczy weekly magazine, internet political site wPolityce.pl, and at SuperExpress daily newspaper. For ten years he was a columnist at Fakt daily. He anchors his own programmes on Polskie Radio 24, Polish public radio information channel, on Republika TV, and is a co-anchor in W tyle wizji, public TV show. He writes opinion pieces for Wirtualna Polska, one of the biggest Polish internet portals, for the daily Rzeczpospolita, and for opinion magazines (Nowa Konfederacja, Rzeczy Wspólne). As a commentator he speaks on various public and private radio and TV channels.
He’s the author of book-size interviews Strefa zdekomunizowana with Radosław Sikorski (2007), Ostatni wywiad with late President Lech Kaczyński (2010), and Między Berlinem a Pekinem with experts of Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich (Eastern Studies Centre, Polish government think-tank) (2016).
He’s a sport shooter and a member of Ruch Obywatelski Miłośników Broni (Citizens’ Weapon Fans Movement). His hobby is Baroque music.
He studied international relations at the Warsaw University.