Forum

The State of European Literature

Essayist, historian and novelist Philipp Blom delivers the first State of European Literature, an annual lecture about the significance of literature for Europe today.

European Literature Night 2020

​​The European Literature Night, a EUNIC Netherlands project, brings together both celebrated authors and promising literary talents from all over Europe. It is a space for exploration, for understanding differences and recognizing similarities, reimagining ‘Europeanness’ for both authors and audiences. This year’s theme is ‘Literature, the Antidote’.

Change is in our hands

Since June 2019, Company New Heroes has been travelling to various countries with the aim of gaining new perspectives on the state of democracy today. Now, they set their sights on the Forum on European Culture.

The Suppliants

During the Forum on European Culture we present the European premiere of The Suppliants (Smekelingen). The classic tragedy of Aeschylos, translated by Hafid Bouazza and recited by actors Gijs Scholten van Aschat, Hans Croiset, Nazmiye Oral and Jochum ten Haaf. With traditional Kurdish singing by a women’s choir. A modern interpretation of an ancient story.

Football: The People’s Game

Together with former England striker Eniola Aluko (via Zoom), social entrepreneur Laura Youngson and football historians David Goldblatt (via Zoom) and Simon Kuper (via Zoom), we address football’s uncomfortable relationship with nationalism and racism before recognizing its potential to bring people closer together.

Power to the People!

Civic Council – Talks Across Europe

Leading international artists and thinkers discuss with local citizens in Amsterdam, Warsaw and  Palermo what kind of European cultural identity or demos we need as a necessary foundation for a pan-European democracy. On September 17 and September 18, we will kick off these sessions during the Forum on European Culture. We will start a digital discussion with Europeans from widely differing backgrounds.

Join the conversation? Feed your questions to the participants through this form.

Johny Pitts – Afropean: Travels in Black Europe

In Afropean, writer and photographer journalist Johny Pitts (Sheffield, UK) examines the life of black communities, traveling across Europe. In search of the “Afropean” identity he sketches an underexposed story about the continent in words and images. Discover the exhibition at Foam.

Colloquium about Aesthetics of Displacement

Dr. Sudeep Dasgupta will present his essay ‘Fuocoammare and the aesthetic rendition of the relational experience of migration’ during the online colloquium on the future of cultural internationalisation. Entrance is free, but please register by clicking on the ticketlink below.

Opening: We, The People!

Will the global Covid-19 crisis diminish European solidarity? Or is there more that binds us together than holds us apart?

Civic Council – Talks Across Europe

Leading international artists and thinkers discuss with local citizens in Amsterdam, Warsaw and  Palermo what kind of European cultural identity or demos we need as a necessary foundation for a pan-European democracy. On September 17 and September 18, we will kick off these sessions during the Forum on European Culture. We will start a digital discussion with Europeans from widely differing backgrounds.

Join the conversation? Feed your questions to the participants through this form.

A Conversation with Noreena Hertz

If there’s one thing we learned over the past few months, it’s that many of us are very able to be simultaneously hyper-connected and lonelier than ever. Here to diagnose this strange conundrum with us is sharp-witted British economist Noreena Hertz.

Fair International Cultural Cooperation – Language

How can international cultural cooperation be organised in a way that is fair with respect to (differences in) language? An expert meeting addresses this question during Forum on European Culture.

In conversation with Orlando Figes

If salons, travel guides, print books, opera houses and an emerging train network brought Europeans closer together in the 19th century, what cultural forces drive the same dynamic in our present day?

Afropean

An often invisible part of Europe’s cultural life is revealed and celebrated by the British author and broadcaster Johny Pitts’ through his book Afropean (2018) and his eponymous online journal.

The Vaccine – Who should get it first?

The Vaccine is an exciting social experiment about our near future, developed by Hungarian theater- and film director Árpád Schilling. The Vaccine starts with the idea that there is a working vaccine for Covid-19. However there is not enough for everybody. Who should get it first?

Today’s European Cinema: A Female Perspective

For a long time international film was mostly a male-dominated industry. During this programme we look at today’s European cinema through the eyes of prominent European director Ena Sendijarević (Take Me Somewhere Nice), award winning theater director Eva Line de Boer and film critic and author Basje Boer (De Groene Amsterdammer). With contributions by artistic director of IFFR Vanja Kaludjercic, and producer Iris Lammertsma (Witfilm) representing the ‘Vrouwen in beeld’ initiative.

Who gets Europe?

Best-selling conservative author and journalist at The Spectator, Douglas Murray, believes that Europeans bring about their own demise. Flavia Kleiner, a political activist who successfully countered nationalist-populism in her native Switzerland, disagrees.

Fuocoammare

Fuocoammare (English: Fire at Sea, 2016) is an Italian documentary film directed by Gianfranco Rosi. It won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.  

This is What We Know about Your Future

​Two prominent European thinkers, the Italian writer Francesca Melandri (who wrote this letter from Italy to the UK in March) and British journalist for the Financial Times Gideon Rachman share their knowledge about Europe’s future.

The Suppliants

During the Forum on European Culture we present the European premiere of The Suppliants (Smekelingen). The classic tragedy of Aeschylos, translated by Hafid Bouazza and recited by actors Gijs Scholten van Aschat, Hans Croiset, Nazmiye Oral and Jochum ten Haaf. With traditional Kurdish singing by a women’s choir. A modern interpretation of an ancient story.

What’s cooking in Europe?

What we eat, we become. With one of the most famous chefs of the Netherlands, Joris Bijdendijk (RIJKS) and Elena Arzak (via Zoom), we explore Dutch, Basque and European identity by looking at what’s on our plate every day. Is there such a thing as a European cuisine?

An Outsider’s Perspective

What will our neighbours say?  Together with Kishore Mahbubani and Taslima Nasrin, we explore Europe’s common identity and its current and future standing on the global stage.

Figures of Freedom

During our festival, we invite you to take home a miniature of the “Melilla Mauerspringer” in exchange for sharing a thought in response to the question: What does the man on the pole see from his elevated position, looking down on Europe?

Exhibition – The Europeans

In their ten-year project “The Europeans (2019-2029)” inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson (Les Européens, 1955), photographer Rob Hornstra and writer-filmmaker Arnold van Bruggen set out to create a contemporary, kaleidoscopic time-piece on the European Heartland.

Beeldbepalers: Charl Landvreugd – The Utopia of the Normal Space

Is it possible to create a space in which race and ethnicity, gender, class, sexuality and social background have no influence on the perception of someone’s behaviour?