What connects the social movements and protests which emerged in different countries in Europe in the past few years, is the discontent of citizens towards incapacitated or alienated institutions they depend on. Beside the right-wing appropriation of discontent, which leads Europe to further disintegration, social movements and protests against inequality, racism, authoritarian usurpation of power and for the defence of basic human rights show how far the regression of democracy has gone and point to the obsolete or corrupted mechanisms which are not resisting the wave of conservative counter-revolution.
Our conference is the initial event of a solidary action, putting together methods, ideas, programs, experiences, chances and obstacles, in order to build a stronger front for democracy. Critical thinking, resistance and international solidarity are the fundamental values of Europe, which we evoke to rethink our common future and overcome the consequences of the de-legitimization of democracy. Democracy has been taken for granted, but it is a practice that has to be thought through and developed every day. That is why we invite movements and protests which carried and continue to carry the idea of democracy in the streets and squares throughout Europe, reclaiming public space and public good, to meet and find common ground for future wider actions, to transform the memory of freedom into its social reality.
Democracy will either revolutionize or fall to counter-revolution.
Center For Cultural Decontamination (CZKD) in cooperation with CCFD-Terre Solidaire
FRIDAY — JUNE 9th
10.00
INTRODUCTION
Greetings by the team:
Borka Pavićević, Aleksandra Sekulić, Florent Schaeffer, Clémence Beugnot Video Overview of recent movements and processes in Europe by Ivica Đorđević and Adam Ranđelović
10.30
Introduction speech by Igor Štiks
11.00
OVERVIEWS OF THE TURMOIL — Panel discussion
All around Europe large movements have emerged. Why? In which political context? Analysis and critical views on several recent citizens’ protests.
• Michał Sutowski — Krytyka Polityczna, Warsaw
• Özge Çelikaslan — bak.ma, Istanbul
• Filip Jovanovski — FRU Faculty of things that can’t be learned, Skopje
• Irena Pejić — Mašina, Belgrade
• Jelena Veljić — Social Center Oktobar, Belgrade
Moderated by Borka Pavićević and Aleksandra Sekulić — CZKD
13.00
Coffee Break
13.30
PROTESTING AND CONTESTING — Panel discussion
In the past few years the social injustice, corruption, election frauds and media censorship gave reasons to people for protests, solidarity actions, strikes. Resistance in the streets and in the workplace can trigger change, either in the realm of political mechanisms or in a new form of solidarity for future actions.
• Klementyna Suchanow — Polish Women’s Strike and International Women’s Strike, Warsaw
• Mateusz Kijoswski — KOD Committee for the Defence of Democracy, Warsaw
• Iva Čukić — Ministry of Space, Belgrade
• Damir Arsenijević — Workers’ University, Tuzla
• Andreea Petrut — Demos, Bucarest
• Matija Medenica — Marks21, Belgrade
• Ljubica Slavković — Ne Da(vi)mo Beograd
Moderated by Florent Schaeffer — CCFD-Terre Solidaire and Aleksandra Sekulić — CZKD
15.00
Lunch time
16.00
CULTURE IN RESISTANCE — Panel discussion
How the experience of the independent culture and its emancipation during the transition can contribute to establishment of a dynamic public mobilization field around social and political issues? The examples from Croatia can be a starting point for the discussion.
• Mirela Travar — Alliance Operation City, Zagreb
• Aleksandra Sekulić — CZKD
16.30
Coffee Break
17.00
“STORIES OF THE STREETS“, ISTANBUL — Presentation by Özge Çelikaslan Social movements and human rights activism in Turkey through research on video activism, documentation and digital archiving of political acts.
17.30
Coffee Break
18.00
REFUGEES AND EUROPE: KINEPOLITICS — POLITICS OF MOVEMENT — Panel discussion
Migration is one of humanity’s most basic instincts — to go in search of new horizons. If we use the term crisis, it is appropriate to speak about the crisis of the fundamental European values and the regression of European vision regarding the dealing with the refugees. It is inclusivity that brings security — belonging, not belongings.
• Žarka Radoja — Journalist, Belgrade
• Aleksandar Obradović — Philopolitics, Belgrade
• Ifigeneia Kokkali — Expert in Refugee Education, Greece
• Sara Kekuš — Center for Peace Studies, Zagreb
Moderated by Lola Joksimović — CZKD
SATURDAY – JUNE 10th
10.00
Workgroups, networking, informal meetings
14.00
Lunch time
15.00–20.00
PUBLIC FORUM: SOLIDARITY AND FUTURE ACTIONS
Plenum discussion and articulation of a common declaration
The open gathering of all, “plenum”, has been a form of organizing the students’ rebellions in Zagreb in 2009 and Belgrade in 2011. During 2014 protests in Bosnia, plenums became for months a public space to bring citizens back to politics and take collective decisions.
Summing up the shared views and information about the initiatives, examples,histories of resistance, we invite our colleagues and wider public to a free discussion in the form of plenum. The equal treatment of all the participants and the direction of the discussion will be moderated by Igor Štiks. Our hope is to come up with a declaration on our future solidarity and potential modality of common actions.
Moderator of the Plenum discussion: Igor Štiks
Rapporteur: Clémence Beugnot — CCFD-Terre Solidaire
Simultaneous translation will be provided for this plenum.
The program including participants’ biographies is available here.