X INTERNATIONAL EUROPEAN FORUM
EUROPE WITH A VIEW TO THE FUTURE
Gdansk-Lviv
Two anniversaries of the events of 35 years ago will mark the themes of the debate – the Round Table Talks and free elections in Poland and the bloody suppression of the peaceful revolution in China. The Europe with a View to the Future forum will bring together heroes and creators of change, representing different generations, disciplines and perspectives. This is the tenth, and therefore jubilee, edition of this international project.
Europe with a View to the Future is an international socio-political project. Participants debate the contemporary condition of Europe and the world. They are all united by a shared concern for the future of the European Union and global democracy as well as an ambition to act effectively in the countries bordering the EU community They are united by a common concern for the future of the European Union and global democracy, as well as the ambition to act effectively in the countries bordering the Community – primarily the countries of the Eastern Partnership and the Western Balkans. The Forum – a response to the need for international, joint reflection – attracts a range of experts as well as those interested in public debate on the current challenges of our continent and global democracy.
The Forum is co-created by partners experienced in building a space for international debate, analysis and foresight, which guarantees an interesting and stimulating discussion.
Programme
3/06/2024 Monday
12.00
Signing of the agreement between the ECS and the Berlin Wall Foundation
/ ECS permanent exhibition, room F The Triumph of Freedom
/ free entry
“Aware of the fact that the opening of the Berlin Wall, and the end of the dictatorship in the GDR and communist Poland would not have been possible without the Polish democratic opposition and the Solidarity Trade Union, the Berlin Wall Foundation and the European Solidarity Centre undertake to sign a cooperation agreement to guarantee close cooperation between the two institutions for many years to come. The mission of both institutions is to cultivate, in the activities they carry out in the authentic places of historical events, the spirit of the hard-won and continuously defensible values of freedom, democracy and the rule of law” – has been written in the agreement
welcoming remarks
Basil Kerski | Polish-German culture manager, editor, columnist, political scientist, director of the ECS
Axel Klausmeier | German art and architecture historian, director of the Berlin Wall Foundation
introduction
Bogdan Borusewicz, Bożena Grzywaczewska, Zbigniew Janas, Bogdan Lis, Janusz Onyszkiewicz, Grażyna Staniszewska
Wolfgang Templin, Marianne Birthler, Esther-Marie Ullmann-Goertz, Markus Meckel, Ulrike Poppe
/ musical setting | Cappella Gedanensis
13.00–14.30
Faces of new Europe | debate
/ ECS auditorium
/ free entry
Taking stock of the EU enlargement, how has Europe changed? How is it affected by the 10-year-long war in Ukraine? Has the perception of European borders transformed? What is the outlook for future enlargements?
co-organised by | The Konrad Adenauer Foundation, bimonthly ‘New Eastern Europe’
introduction | Basil Kerski, ECS director
pannelists
David Gregosz | German political scientist, director of the Polish Office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation
Mykola Kniazhytsky | Ukrainian politician and journalist, deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, co-chairman of the Verkhovna Rada’s parliamentary group for interparliamentary relations with the Republic of Poland
Pavel Latushka | Belarusian politician and diplomat, deputy chairman of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus, chairman of the National Anti-Crisis Administration, ambassador, former Minister of Culture
Iwona Reichardt | Polish political scientist, deputy editor-in-chief of ‘New Eastern Europe’
host | Adam Reichardt, American-Polish political scientist, journalist, columnist, editor-in-chief of ‘New Eastern Europe’
14.30–15.30
lunch
15.30–17.00
“Zeitenwende” – turning point. The challenges of a new European policy | debate
/ ECS auditorium
/ free entry
What does the turning point in German politics mean for the future of Europe? How do we assess Europe’s security today? What are the prospects for the North Atlantic Alliance?
co-organised by | The Friedrich Ebert Foundation
panellists
Ireneusz Bil | Polish economist and manager, director of the Amicus Europae Foundation
Gwendolyn Sasse | German political scientist, expert on comparative politics and post-communist transformation, director of the Centre for East European and International Studies in Berlin
Magda Zdyra | Polish Russian philologist, international affairs advisor to the co-president of the New Left party
host | Agnieszka Lichnerowicz, Polish journalist, reporter for radio Tok FM, expert on international relations
17.00–18.30
The Chinese hold us tight | conversation around the book
/ ECS, permanent exhibition, room F Triumph of Freedom
/ free entrance
Sylwia Czubkowska, a journalist who has been researching Chinese influence in Europe for years, has undertaken an investigation the results of which, collected in her book “The Chinese Hold Us Tight” (Znak, 2022), are astonishing. The Chinese lure with money, the prospects of a huge market and cheap technological solutions. They use the independence of local governments and universities to establish cooperation and acquire technological know-how. They take over factories, legendary automotive brands and the media. They acquire information about our lives from social media, phones, computers and even hoovers and air purifiers. They corrupt governments at all levels and employ the best PR agencies to silence scandals. They win over politicians, academics, celebrities and millions of ordinary people. The Chinese in Europe operate imperceptibly, but on a massive scale.
participants
Sylwia Czubkowska | Polish journalist specialising in digitisation, author of the book “The Chinese hold us tight” (Chińczycy trzymają nas mocno) (Znak, 2022)
Marek Rewizorski | Polish political scientist and lawyer, expert on international political economics and global governance
hostess of the meeting | Natalia Soszyńska, Polish reading promoter, journalist, founder of the Gdańsk Book Club
19.00–20.30
Poland–Ukraine. Are we still a community of values and interests? | debate
/ ECS, winter garden
/ free entrance
Ukraine’s accession to the European Union – challenges? Dangers of short-sighted politics – how to get out of the impasse? What challenges await Polish–Ukrainian relations? What solutions can we come up with?
co-organized by | the Freedom and Democracy Centre in Lviv
introduction | Vasyl Zwarycz, Ambassador of Ukraine to Poland
panellists
Piotr Andrusieczko | Polish ethnologist, political scientist, publicist and journalist, editor-in-chief of the Ukrainian Journal
Mirosław Czech | Polish-Ukrainian journalist, political analyst, former MP and advisor to the Ukrainian authorities
Krystyna Garbicz | Ukrainian journalist, reporter for OKO.PRESS, portal for Ukrainians in Krakow UAinKrakow.pl and Kharkiv portal Gwara Media
Myroslav Marynovych | Ukrainian dissident, former pro-rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv
Mykyta Poturayev | Ukrainian politician, Chairman of the Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
host | Adam Balcer, Polish political scientist, cultural anthropologist and publicist, programme director of the Jan Nowak Jeziorański Eastern Europe College Poland–Ukraine
20.30
dinner
/ ECS multifunctional room
4/06/2024 Tuesday
10.00–11.30 | guided tours / Shipyard / Gdańsk / ECS permanent exhibition
Languages: PL / DE / EN
10.00–11.30
New Eastern Europe. Think–Tank School 2024
Workshop summary
/ host | Magdalena Charkin-Jaszcza – Head of the International Relations Team, ECS
12.00
The birth of Polish democracy commemoration
on the 35th anniversary of the 4th of June elections
/ ECS, plac Solidarności
/ free entrance
13.00–14.00
/ ECS auditorium
The 4th of June. Poland–China. The beginning and end of the democratisation | dialogue
4 June is a constitutive date for the shape of Europe and the world. How do the two revolutions transform the situation of European societies? Contemporary China? Can China be changed from the inside – how do the Chinese opposition and grassroots movements work?
panellists
Samuel Chu | Hong Kong-born American activist and community organiser, founder and president of The Campaign for Hong Kong, a non-partisan organisation based in the US
Michał Lubina | Polish political scientist, traveller, international relations researcher, specialising in contemporary Burma and Russian-Chinese relations
14.00–15.30
Against and in defence of democracy. Contemporary global alliances | debate
/ ECS auditorium
/ free entry
How do we define today’s anti-democratic alliances? Do we know how to find the right answer to authoritarianism? Have we created pro-democracy alliances?
panellists
Adam Balcer | Polish political scientist, cultural anthropologist and publicist, programme director of the Jan Nowak Jeziorański Eastern Europe College
Bogusław Chrabota | Polish lawyer and political scientist, journalist, columnist, editor-in-chief of the ‘Rzeczpospolita’ daily newspaper
Ivanna Klympush-Cyncadze | Ukrainian politician, NGO activist, Member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, former Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration
Paolo Morawski | Italian historian, journalist and publicist, Long-time director of the Italian public broadcaster Rai, editor of ‘poly-logo. Dialoghi plurali a est’
Adam Reichardt | American-Polish political scientist, journalist, columnist, editor-in-chief of ‘New Eastern Europe’
Olga Wysocka | Polish political scientist, expert on populism, director of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute
host | Daniel Gleichgewicht, editor of New Eastern Europe
15.30–16.00
lunch break
16.00–17.30
Poland–France–Germany. A new opening of the Weimar Triangle | debate
How to shape relations between the members of the Weimar Triangle in the face of new non-democratic movements and tendencies in Europe? How does the war in Ukraine change relations between Poland, Germany and France? Will it be possible to save the community of values?
co-organised by the Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation
Marcus Meckel | German Protestant theologian, protagonist of the peaceful transformation in East Germany, last minister for foreign affairs in the German Democratic Republic
Georges Mink | French sociologist of Polish origin specialising in Central and Eastern Europe, Perrmanent Professor at the Natolin College of Europe
Joanna Maria Stolarek | German-Polish journalist, editor, director of the Warsaw office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation
Melchior Szczepanik | Polish political scientist, works on the EU institutional system, director of the Brussels office of the Polish Institute of International Affairs
host | Cornelius Ochmann, Managing Director of the Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation
16.00–17.30
Kaliningrad Oblast 2024. Russia’s Vessel of Havoc on the Baltic Sea | report presentation
/ workshop with students
/ ECS, multimedia library
/ free entrance
co-organiser | University of Gdańsk, Institute of Political Science
Kaliningrad Oblast 2024. Russia’s Vessel of Havoc on the Baltic Sea. Presentation of the report by Milosz J. Cordes, published by the Danish Institute of International Affairs
What does Kaliningrad Oblast – Russia’s only region bordering Poland – look like today? What role does it play in the war in Ukraine? What is the condition of Kaliningrad’s economy and society? What changes should we expect with the transition of Governor Anton Alikhanov to the federal government? How can Moscow use its semi-seclusion to build and maintain tension in the Baltic Sea basin in the coming years? We will try to answer these questions by presenting the abovementioned report.
participants
Miłosz J. Cordes | Polish historian, political scientist and cultural expert, lecturer at DIS Study Abroad, consultant at the Danish Institute of International Affairs, chief analyst of the Warsaw Security Forum 2023, former Polish diplomat and vice-consul at the General Consulate of the Republic of Poland in Kaliningrad
Paweł Trawicki | Polish political scientist, economist, psychologist, his research interests include issues related to political systems and political thought, local government and regional policy
17.30–19.30
Free time
19.30
Times of Transition 1989–2024
Poland–Europe–World
FINALE OF THE INTERNATIONAL EUROPEAN FORUM. SUMMARY OF THE FREEDOM AND CIVIL RIGHTS DAYS | TV debate
/ ECS, winter garden
/ TVN24
Aleksandra Dulkiewicz
Danuta Huebner
Basil Kerski
Mykola Kniazhytsky
Zbigniew Janas
moderation | Arleta Zalewska, journalist, TVN24
organisers | European Solidarity Centre, City of Gdańsk, Pomeranian Voivodeship Self-Government, New Eastern Europe, Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Berlin Wall Foundation, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation, Institute of Political Sciences, University of Gdańsk