Perspectives on Europe are not fixed but vary the further one travels away from Europe. In India and Africa, for example, Europe's modernity is inextricably linked to foreign domination, exploitation and the suppression of diverse forms of indigenous culture. But, first and foremost, Europe's nationalization and realignment of other cultures sowed the seeds of countless conflicts, many still on-going today.

In Europe itself, the modern age is similarly interwoven with a history of human and cultural catastrophes. And yet - or precisely for that reason - there are perspectives on Europe, drawing on this cultural memory and prepared to face the comprehensive changes that the future will bring.

The Perspectives on Europe conference attempts to present and drive forward this concept in, as far as possible, the full range of ist debate and complexity. Are we talking of an open Europe or a Europe of borders that, fearing a shared future, closes itself off to its eastern neighbours and the southern Mediterranean, or towards the Islamic world?

Perspectives on Europe
A forum staged by the Akademie der Künste in cooperation with the Federal Foreign Office