An event in cooperation with the Akademie der Künste Berlin
Remembrance culture in Germany and Europe is at a turning point: the events of 24 February 2022, 7 October 2023, and 9 June 2024 have revealed grave conflicts within remembrance policy discourse. While demands for a pluralisation of cultures of remembrance and the joint efforts to achieve it have been decisively strengthened, not least due to the efforts of the CPPD network, remembrance policy discourses are currently marked above all by uncertainty, pressure to take a position, fear, struggles about definitions, a loss of solidarity, and polarisation.
At the heart of the work of the CPPD is the conviction that those who wish to create more pluralist present and future societies must also re-tell the story of the past because this desire also creates an opportunity for our plural democracy. Being able to participate in shaping remembrance and seeing oneself reflected in cultures of remembrance strengthens participation as a principle of our shared democratic way of life in Germany and Europe.
Remembrance policy work thus contributes to a new, plural societal cohesion.
Following 6 ports-of-call for the CPPD ‘Memory Matters’ Festival in Germany and across Europe, we will take stock of our results thus far with an event at the Akademie der Künste Berlin on 19 October 2024. Using the example of three central contemporary moments of remembrance, we will come together with experts from the CPPD network to review concrete remembrance policy strategies for our European society. In doing so, we will gain insights into the working results of the CPPD network and its members.
Our work shows: pluralistic cultures of remembrance offer, in light of current European conflict situations and international crises, the opportunity to use stories about our past and present to craft a resilient, democratic European society that can be more: a European community.
