Old Europe, New Utopias
The Barcelona Debate 2017
Europe, it is often said, is a tired continent. Deprived of a future, lacking inspiration, it seems incapable of responding to the threats and challenges of the present: a shrivelling welfare state, the return of authoritarianism and xenophobia, a weakening of principles such as solidarity, justice and respect for human rights. A continent that conceived great utopias now seems unable to promote or even imagine a promise for the future.
Pedro Olalla: "Political mindsets have much more to do with the life experiences of each generation than with age"
Anna Punsoda
In this talk with Pedro Olalla we comment on the future of an aged continent, on the credibility of European bureaucrats, and on the ability and the responsibility to make decisions that we all have in a democracy.
Hakan Günday
The Cost of Fear
Hakan Günday is one of the most celebrated young novelists in today’s Turkish literary scene. His novel Daha! deals with the human trafficking in Europe and illuminates the brutal conditions of migrants trying to access the continent through Turkey.
Pedro Olalla
Democracy's Old Future
Europe is ageing demographically. Is it also ageing politically? Ideologically? Is democracy, as an in fieri project, compatible with a form of social ageing believed by many to be synonymous with conservatism, dependency and abdication? Are these really attributes of ageing? ...
Srećko Horvat
War or utopia
Europe is on the verge of a tectonic shift. Which are its possible futures? Will it resemble the horrors of the past? Or can a renewed utopian vision light the way forward? In this lecture, writer and political activist Srećko Horvat offers us a trip through Europe's possible futures.
Mircea Cărtărescu
Europe in My Mind
The work of the Romanian writer Mircea Cărtărescu portrays the diversity of contemporary European life, going beyond the idea of the continent as a project or territory with borders and limits. For Cărtărescu, Europe's meaning lies in the work of Kafka, Proust, Grass or Cervantes.