The conference "What 'European-ness' means today?", organised by the European Universities Consortium, the Warsaw School of Social Sciences and Humanities and the Del Bianco Foundation will take place in Florence from March 27th-29th.

Visions of Europe from past and present will be the main topic of the conference which will take place either at University of Florence and at the Del Bianco Foundation.

CALL FOR PAPERS AND THE INVITATION

TO THE FLORENCE CONFERENCE

March 27-29, 2009:

What “European-ness” means today?

Organized by:

Warsaw School of Social Sciences and Humanities & European Universities Consortium & Del Bianco Foundation of Florence

http://www.fondazione-delbianco.org

www.euc.org.pl

Conference coordinators:

Professor Bohdan Michalski & Dr Beata Klocek di Biasio  (Bohdan.Michalski@swps.edu.pl)

The topics and the purposes

of the conference and the issues that it will address:

VISION OF EUROPE – PHILOSOPHIC DIMENSION

The deficit of joint symbols of European territories

In an introduction to proceedings of the conference  ‘Images and Myths of Europe’, organised in 2002 at the European University Institute EUI in Florence, Romano Prodi, wrote: "These ‘Images and Myths of Europe’ remind us that tomorrow’s European Union cannot be based exclusively on economics and that, if Europe is to become a positive example for the whole world, it is perhaps necessary to place greater emphasis on ethical and aesthetic values...looking beyond day-to-day concerns, however elevated these may be, is not the European Union too inclined to neglect these values? I am deeply convinced, and profoundly worried, that this is the case”.

         We have to attempt to look in to the past and ahead into the future, and pertain to problems which during the twenty first century found themselves in the very centre of the European discourse (futuro del classico). The programme conception of the conference in question assumes, that economic questions, albeit up to now the most prominent in the process of integration, should no longer conceal other aspects of unification, which today have been placed in the forefront and will prove decisive in the XXI century, for the success or failure of the project aimed at unifying our Continent.

It is precisely:

·         the deficit of joint symbols,

·         environmental diplomacy and sustainable development practices, as a new collective security policy

·         gender sustainability

·         interdisciplinary sustainability

·         visual communication,

will most propobly occupy the minds of Europeans in the XXI century, and not only customs barriers or the free market.

Mental cohesion of European territories (mental borders):

Europe shall not enter the pass of sustainable development until its two parts, western and eastern, do not become acquainted with the path, which they already had traversed (in this respect Western Europe has greater arrears to overcome in order to become familiar with the past of the East. In turn, Central-Eastern Europeans will find, that more detailed knowledge of the past of the West will enable them to understand why their Western neighbours find some of our problems outright irritating). At the European Parliament forum it is the past which frequently proves decisive for the future of Europe, since the Euro-deputies are outright doomed to become embroiled in assorted debates imposed by various historical experiences - West best, East beast, or jammer-Ossis and besser-Wessis.

Sustainable development as new foundation practice of European territories integration

It appears that the original integration myth (the foundation myth shared by some of those countries during the first stage of European Union integration – security myth)  has already fulfilled its task. After 1 May 2004, is old integration myth sufficient to merge West and East Europe into a single whole? The presence of new members in the Union demands a new myth, a legend which would define anew, that what is truly capable of merging all Europeans together and show them the direction which they are to follow. Will Europe find such a common denominator? Can sustainable development become, not necessary, a new foundation myth, but a new foundation practice of second European Union integration?

New collective security policy – preventive diplomacy

In the XXI century environmental diplomacy and sustainable development practices, seem to play the role of a new collective security policy. The conference is related straight to the present and future needs of European community, as it addresses soft threats to security. The energy supply and environmental threats are much more dangerous nowadays, than the risk of war in Europe and our conference is reflecting this feature of the new security agenda. The innovative component of the preventive diplomacy is an interdisciplinary approach to conflict prevention and to crisis management that shall not be perceived as a military task but as an exercise in public administration organized in transnational networks. 

Gender sustainability

Did women have a Renaissance in XVI century? Will women have their Renaissance in the middle of XXI century? Does the Renaissance L’uomo Universale has it’s own sex? Was it a man? If this is the case, the Renaissance L’uomo Universale was not universal at all. Will XXI century bring a new “sustainable L’uomo Universale”, which will represent both: women and men?

Visual communication between territories of the East and West of the Old Continent

      Quite possibly, a change of our language into the universal tongue of art will make it possible to better present the differences of our historical experiences of Eastern and Western part of the Old Continent territories.

            Is the myth of Europe merely a love story involving man and woman, or does it speak about the roots of European civilisation? Could a legend about the infatuation of the bull-Zeus with the princess-Europe become a pretext for reflections on European identity? These questions simply had to be asked by those who in 2002 saw the exhibition featured at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. Another issue provoked by the show on the myth of Europe was whether Central-Eastern European artists reached for this classical motif as frequently as their western colleagues. Regrettably, the 2002 Florence exhibition did not offer solutions to the thus posed problems.  Among the 180 works amassed for the Uffizi display not a single one originated from the region to the east of the (fortunately non-existent) Berlin Wall. Surprisingly, the exhibition  did not broach the presence of the myth of Europe in that part of the Continent even though it coincided with the access treaty signed by Central-Eastern European states (as well as Malta and Cyprus), and was to commemorate the eastward expansion of the European Union! All the above mentioned queries pertain to topical problem of the conference in question, namely, the unity of European territories.   

            A depiction of the myth of Europe by the German painter Johannes Grützke – ”Woman on a Bull” (Europa auf dem Stier, auf der Mauer balancierend. Vorwärts oder rückwärts, 1976) - makes an outright reference to Central-East Europe. The bull is shown walking on the Berlin Wall, while Europe, straddling the animal, points her hand to the east. The Grützke work won first prize at a competition entitled “Where does the history of the world reveal itself?“ and is the property of the Berlin Wall Museum - (Mauermuseum Haus am Checkpoint Charlie). Grützke sees the Berlin Wall  from the western side, the symbolic gesture of the Europe’s hand is thus made towards the “great absent”, the East, the “black hole”. What sort of symbols stir the imagination of artists in this strange territory, undeciphered by the West?

                                                       Bohdan Michalski &  Beata Klocek di Biasio