‘Democracy can be defended,’ writes Minister of State for Culture and the Media Claudia Roth in her welcoming address to the COUNCIL OF THE MANY, ’if we democrats stand together and jointly defend our values, our fundamental rights and our democracy.’ With this in mind, the VIELEN succeeded in bringing together a broad alliance consisting of numerous cultural institutions, associations and artists on 28 November 2024. Against the backdrop of the current electoral successes of right-wing extremists and the anti-democratic developments of recent years, in the face of hate speech, violence and new right-wing hegemonic strategies, the RATSCHLAG DER VIELEN will discuss the responsibility of society, politics, culture and the arts and ask: What freedoms does this society need, but also what protection and what bans? How can we as a society deal with the fact that some people are no longer just sitting on packed suitcases in a figurative sense? These questions are urgent – because it is not only democracy and its culture that are vulnerable, but also the people who make it up.
Image above: courtesy of Die Vielen e. V.
The RATSCHLAG DER VIELEN invites you to spend a day exchanging expertise in order to create sustainable connections and concrete knowledge for action. Lectures, panel discussions and working groups will include, among others Anh-Linh Ngo (Vice President of the Academy of Arts), Carsten Brosda (President of the German Theatre Association and Senator for Culture and Media of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg), Olaf Zimmermann (Managing Director of the German Cultural Council and spokesperson for the Cultural Integration Initiative), Holger Bergmann (DIE VIELEN), Heinrich Horwitz (performer/director), Jagoda Marinić (author), Bijan Moini (lawyer and author), Jean Peters (Correctiv), Gerhild Steinbuch (author) as well as members of the German Bundestag and many more: MANY are jointly seeking answers to the question of how the future of democracy can be kept open with commitment.
Programme
10 am – 1 pm
ART, FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY: IMPULSES AND DISCUSSION
Akademie der Künste, Pariser Platz, Plenarsaal
To kick off the programme, Turbo Pascal invites all visitors to reflect on freedom and borders in an artistic impulse. A welcome by Holger Bergmann (DIE VIELEN) will be followed by two keynote speeches: Author Jagoda Marinić, also known for her podcast ‘Freiheit Deluxe’, will reflect on the relationship between freedom, art and democracy in her contribution. In a second keynote speech, the lawyer and author Bijan Moini will examine defensive democracy and also look at the currently controversial option of banning political parties. These positions will be discussed in the subsequent panel discussion with Anh-Linh Ngo, Vice President of the Academy of Arts, and Carsten Brosda, President of the German Theatre Association and Senator for Culture and Media of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. The discussion will be moderated by Prasanna Oommen.
14.30 – 16 Uhr
THE COUNCIL IN MOTION: Five working groups for concrete options for action
Venues: Akademie der Künste, GRIPS Theatre, HAU Hebbel am Ufer, Humboldt Forum, Maxim Gorki Theatre
In the afternoon, the RATSCHLAG will get moving and discuss concrete options for action against right-wing extremism in decentralised working groups at five Berlin institutions.
In the ‘Art of Democracy’ working group, Claudia Schmitz (German Theatre Association), Olaf Zimmermann (Managing Director of the German Cultural Council and spokesperson for the Cultural Integration Initiative), Lena Gorelik (invited), Barbara Rüschoff-Parzinger and Lamin Leroy Gibba (invited) will discuss how the arts and culture are currently fulfilling their social responsibility and how they can actively promote and protect democracy at the Akademie der Künste.
At the Maxim Gorki Theatre, Hungarian director András Dömötör and Austrian author Gerhild Steinbuch, among others, will present international perspectives and ask how Europe-wide action against right-wing extremism can succeed in the group ‘Art of Collaboration’.
At the Humboldt Forum, the ‘Art of Law’ group, including Hendrik Cremer (German Institute for Human Rights), Berkan Kaya (Bucerius Law School) and Sarah Katharina Stein (Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, requested), will discuss the legal aspects of defensive democracy under the moderation of Peter Laudenbach.
At the GRIPS theatre, Manja Präkels (writer, journalist), Rolf C. Hemke (Kunstfest Weimar) and Kirstin Fuchs (writer) will discuss experiences of engagement in the arts and the possibilities of critical-empowering work in the ‘Art of Action’ working group.
At HAU Hebbel am Ufer, Alexander Karschnia (andcompany&Co.) together with Lino Agbalaka (lawyer, Berlin), Julia Dück (campaign ‘AfD ban now!’) and Maike Weißpflug (political scientist) will discuss possible scenarios of current cultural-political developments and controversial political options for action under the title ‘Art of the Political’.
17 – 19.30 Uhr
CONSULTATION OF THE MANY: THE NEXT STEPS
Akademie der Künste, Pariser Platz, Plenarsaal
Back at the Akademie der Künste, artists and activists such as Jean Peters and Tina Pfurr will become counsellors for specific topics in the OPEN SPACE. The performative reading ‘DAZWISCHEN (Wenn die Mehrheit sich wohlfühlt, können du dann von Diktatur sprechen?)’ by András Dömötör poses the question of when it is too late to stop right-wing extremism in Europe.
At 6 pm, art meets politics: Members of the German Bundestag from various democratic factions and groups will discuss with nationwide voices from the arts and culture and MANY others what action against right-wing extremism is now the time.
DIE VIELEN in co-operation with the Akademie der Künste
and Burg Hülshoff – Center for Literature (CfL), Deutscher Bühnenverein, Deutscher Kulturrat, Fonds Darstellende Künste, Maxim Gorki Theater, GRIPS Theater, HAU Hebbel am Ufer, Initiative kulturelle Integration, Kampnagel, Kulturforum der Sozialdemokratie, Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss and MANY more – curation and organisation: Sabine Reich and Michael Wehren in cooperation with the partners of the Ratschlag, production management: Sascha Kölzow, Paul Marwitz-Seyffert and René Ritterbusch, design: Oktober Kommunikationsdesign Bochum.
WHEN?
RATSCHLAG DER VIELEN: Thursday, 28 November 2024, from 10:00 am – 8:00 pm
Programme:
ART, FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY: IMPULSES AND DISCUSSION: 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
THE COUNCIL IN MOTION: Five working groups for concrete options for action: 2.30 – 4 p.m.
CONSULTATION OF THE MANY: THE NEXT STEPS: 5 – 7.30 p.m.
WHERE?
Akademie der Künste
Pariser Platz 4
10117 Berlin
Grips-Theater
Altonaer Str. 22
10557 Berlin
HAU Hebbel am Ufer (HAU2)
Hallesches Ufer 34
10963 Berlin
Humboldt Forum
Schloßpl. 1
10178 Berlin
Maxim Gorki Theater
Am Festungsgraben 2
10117 Berlin
