Ticket down Memory Lane
How many times you wished to throw away all those little things on your shelves that you collected? The ones that only “sits” there and gather dust? But when you reach for them you remember a story, a person or a place and then suddenly they become priceless. In her MEMORY SUITCASE Milen...
Am I of the West?
Joschka Fischer, once perceived as symbol of a new political era, is now writing books and giving speeches on political crisis, the West without a leader, democracies in danger. For younger people, he is already part of history, as far back as the revolt of 1968. Gregor Christiansmeyer is responding to Joschka Fischers thesis on “the End of the Wes...Read More
Music in the service of patriotism: Can songs divide us?
“Music unites people of different cultural backgrounds” is a phrase that one can often hear in speeches. Yes, music connects people. It can enrich a person and provide confidence, motivation and a sense of belonging. But what happens if you combine songs, collective memory and national identity? Milena from Serbia describes how the ques...Read More
Licensed Women: Ernestina Macchia Prola and the right to drive.
How easy and common is it for all of us nowadays to just jump on our car, turn on the engine and move around? May it be for the everyday home-work routine or to leave for a new on-the-road adventure, we are so used to this to forget that only a century ago, society would not have accepted so openly that women would be allowed to take the dri...Read More
Stuck in the “Brussels Bubble”?
Brexit, Orbán and Le Pen. European right wing populism and state egotism is on the rise, the EU threatened by dissolution and there is no end in sight. What has gone wrong in the last years? How can the European Union get back on track? For Enja from Norway the EU bureaucrats have been detached from reality and ignored working class people for too ...Read More
Division can be as dangerous as terror – Fresh thoughts after UK terroristic attacks.
“Deport all Muslims”, “Stop letting refugees and foreigners into the country” “There is no longer a ‘Great’ in Great Britain”, and “I’m not a racist but…” social media is covered with comments like these after the suicide bombing in Manchester at the Ariana Grande concert on the 22nd of May. The focus seemed to be finding someone to blame, and a gr...Read More
The Ungovernables? – An Outsider’s Opinion on the French Elections
Milan Vukašinović’s life is stretched between Belgrade and Paris for a PhD in Byzantine history. Read how his experiences from Serbia stamped his perspectives on the contradictory situation right before the run-off of the French elections.
#callFrance: Whom to vote for? Vote at all?
The European Union is facing a long row of challenges; the upcoming second round of the French elections is one of the most important. We asked two French women on their perspectives towards the decision next Sunday.
Where Were You When…the Bosnian War Began?
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the beginning of the Bosnian war. In April 1992, after the Bosnian parliament declared independence from what remained of former Yugoslavia, Serb forces began to siege the city of Sarajevo. The war soon spread across the country and lasted over three-and-a-half years and claimed more than 100 000 victims. We ...Read More
Polish-Czech relations: Stereotypes, mistrust and misunderstandings put into practise
Last year Polish historian Michal Przeperski published his first book Unbearable Burden of Brotherhood. The book deals with Polish-Czech conflicts in the 20th century but takes also a more thorough look on the background of the troublesome relations of these two nations. The conflicts between Poles and Czechs are numerous, but in the name of learni...Read More
#CallSerbia: Presidential elections: A »white knight« challenging the system?
This year’s presidential elections on April 2nd in Serbia are getting quite peculiar. In the time when nationalist and populist movements are on the rise, Serbia has a wacky situation with a fictional candidate being the unexpected challenge for the ruling party, ranking high in opinion polls. What do young people think about the candidates a...Read More