OPINION

Rising to the challenge of

'European Angst'
By ALEX GODSON

BRUSSELS, 6. DEC, 11:14

Populism, extremism and euroscepticism are haunting Europe, creating a tense
atmosphere in which fear, hate, anger and anxiety generate a climate of angst.
The current rise of radical parties such as AfD in Germany, Ukip in Great Britain
and FN in France indicates a drastic change in European societies and politics
and the more momentum these populist movements gain, the more clueless
the established political, cultural and legislative institutions seem to be.

(Phot
o: ec.europa.eu)

The prevalence of hate speech and violent acts threatening migrants and
refugees, and hostile attitudes towards liberal values and modern, open
societies are clear manifestations of this angst.
Xenophobia still looms large in the modern history of our continent, and it was
never completely quashed in the process of an ever closer integration. A very

recent expression of this phenomenon is the surprising outcome of the EU

referendum in Great Britain, driven by a fear-based campaign.
Political leaders and the traditional political parties are seemingly failing to act
on these issues haunting Europe. Following summit upon summit, from
Bratislava to Ventotene, solutions seem to be in short supply. Pressing matters
such as the redistribution of migrants fall by the wayside, brutally exposing the
lack of solidarity in the EU.
This year has seen a tumult of challenges to strident liberal democratic states popular protest against Ceta, TTIP and globalisation; the biting impact of global
terrorism; and most recently an external shock in the form of the American
elections. Liberal ideologies have hit a blockage, and responses to this
unanticipated outmanoeuvring of the political left and centre by the (far-)right
have been muddled.

A constructive discourse
A much talked about phenomenon of recent weeks has been the presence of
fake news carried by social media sites, and the gullibility of the general public
who apparently swallow these articles without question.
Extremism comes in many guises, but the rise of the far-right across our
continent, and the at times impassive response to refugees, coupled with the
growing presence of insular, nationalist voices, has led to a contagion of hostile
sentiments in our daily lives.
On social media, in the press we read, and in the conversations we hear, we
are fed a narrative of false dichotomies based on fear. The ease of posting
commentary online has led to a culture in which my ignorance is given equal
airtime to your hard fought for knowledge. Thus, a question arises: how do we
counter these post-fact narratives and create a constructive, yet informative
discourse in the media?
Who now of our political leaders, of our commentators and philosophers and
laureates can stand above the fray, speak out and tackle these fears? Much has

been written of chancellor Angela Merkels stand as the last bastion of a

crumbling liberal elite, not only in Europe, but also in a global context. From who
else or where else do we seek the strength to forge new paths, and build a new
future that will deliver on shared goals of prosperity, diversity and peace?

New narratives needed

The European Angst conference will shed light on these questions in a unique
way. It will leave the comfort zone of liberal consensus by inviting thinkers from
across the spectrum of ideas, thus creating a space for passionate debate, for
reflection and in-depth analysis. Going beyond the so-called Brussels bubble,
the event seeks to take the discussion beyond our well-established comfort
zone.
Among the participants are the writers and philosophers Slavoj Zizek,
(Sometimes the path to try unity is only through radical division)
We need to listen to the people the most possible is what they not agree with
ours opinions but
Didier Eribon and Nobel Prize winner Herta Mueller, as well as 42 students
selected in an open pan-European call. The students will play an active role in
the conference, and they will draft a manifesto on Europes future to be handed
over to EU officials.
The European Angst conference will create a pan-European space where open
discussions will negotiate how we can create better societies. We urgently need
new narratives to create a better perspective for Europeaness and to get over
the current angst that openly questions Europes future.
Alex Godson is the head of communication of the European
Movement International
The European Movement International is a partner in the European Angst
Conference, which is an initiative of the Goethe-Institut, organised in
collaboration with 4 members of EUNIC, and BOZAR. The media
partner for this event is EUobserver.
The European Angst Conference takes place in Brussels on Tuesday 6
December and Wednesday 7 December 2016.

Confirmation Registration European Angst conference - 6./7.

December
Kultur_1
18/11/2016 12:07
Para Kultur_1

Dear Madam, dear Sir,

We are pleased to confirm your participation to theEuropean Angst
conference on Tuesday 6 and Wednesday 7 December at BOZAR Centre for Fine
Arts here in Brussels.(Director Paul du Jardin).
The conference seems to hit the nerve of our time and so the first day of the
conference was quickly booked out. Thus if you are not able to attend the
conference on the first day we kindly ask you to inform us, so we can give your
seat to someone on the waiting list.
The whole conference will be live streamed on ourwebsite and YouTube channel,
where you will be able to witness the conference also after the event itself.
In the meantime, you can find all the latest information about the conference on
our Facebook event page as well as on our website.
If you like to contribute to the discussion we encourage you to do so under the
Hashtag #EuropeanAngst on Twitter. On both days there will be a Live-Tweeting.
May we furthermore ask you to fill in your name in this excel sheet if you
are not planning to come for lunch (sandwiches) on the second day of the
conference? Thank you very much.
We are looking forward to meeting you!
Kind regards,
Goethe-Institut Brussels

Salom Meier
Praktikantin | Stagiaire | Stagiaire
Kulturabteilung | Programmation culturelle | Cultuurprogramma
Goethe-Institut
58, Avenue des Arts | Kunstlaan 58
1000 Bruxelles | Brussel
www.goethe.de/bruessel
kultur_1@bruessel.goethe.org

Das Goethe-Institut ist Mitglied von EUNIC

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Confirmation registration European Angst conference - 6 and

7 December 2016
Kultur_1
2/12/2016 16:55
Para Kultur_1

Dear Madam, dear Sir,

The European Angst conference is just around the corner and we are looking
forward to meeting you on Tuesday 6 December and Wednesday 7 December at
BOZAR Centre for Fine Arts here in Brussels.
Both days of the conference are fully booked and we kindly ask you to let us know
if you are not able to attend, so we can give your seat forward to someone on the
waiting list - and dont forget to follow the conference online via live stream!
Some practical matters:
Please be there on time so we can start the conference as scheduled.
For security reasons no big bags are allowed inside the conference room.
Please make sure to be there early and deposit your bags at the wardrobe.
Interested in who is joining you on the conference? Here you can have a
look at the other participants.
In the meantime, you can find all the latest information about the conference on our
Facebook event page as well as on our website.
If you like to contribute to the discussion we encourage you to do so under the
Hashtag#EuropeanAngst on Twitter. On both days there will be a Live-Tweeting.
Kind regards,
Goethe-Institut Brussels