Conference on Dialogue in the Centre of Europe

On 31 Mar – 1 Apr 2007 in Brno, Besedni dum (Komenskeho Sq 8), an international conference 'Irritation in the Central Europe – Can the Czechs and the Germans Be an Example of Successful Coexistence?' will be held by the Bernard Bolzano Society and the Ackermann-Gemeinde.CZECH

Brno: For the first time after 15 years in Jihlava, the conference 'Dialogue in the Centre of Europe' is held in Brno. As Anton Otte from the Ackermann-Gemeinde and Ondrej Matejka from the Bernard Bolzano Society say, 'it is obvious that the contemporary development in the Central Europe has common roots that the congress participants want to discern.'

Program:

Fri 30 Mar, 7.00 pm

Welcoming Addresses: Roman Onderka (Mayor of Brno), Konrad Scharinger (charge d'affaires, Germany), Adelheid Folie (Embassy of Austria), Petr Pithart (president of the Bernard Bolzano Society) and others.

Lecture: Fight for an Ethical Concept in Politics – Between Moralism and Critical Search of Justice (Milan Uhde, writer, Brno)

Sat 31

9.00 am: 'Caught in Our Homeland' or Inability to Communicate with Our Neighbours – Jiri Grusa (writer and diplomatist, Vienna and Prague)

9.45 am: Break

10.15 am: Discussion – Pavel Svanda (writer and publicist, Brno), Laszlo Szigeti (publicist, Bratislava), Alfred Payrleitner (publicist, Vienna); moderator: Jan Sicha (diplomatist and journalist, Prague)

2.00 pm: Irritation in the Central Europe in View of Politicians – Cyril Svoboda (minister, Prague), Magdalena Vasaryova (diplomatist and MP, Bratislava), Prof Pawel Spiewak (political sociologist, MP, Warsaw), Karl-Theodor Guttenberg (MP, Berlin); moderator: Karel Hvizdala (journalist, Prague)

4.00 pm: Break

4.30 pm: Irritation in the Central Europe in View of Political Commentators – Prof. Jacques Rupnik (political scientist, Paris), Piotr Buras (political scientist, Wroclaw), Steffan Dietrich (journalist, FAZ, Frankfurt); moderator: Dr Michael Libal (retired ambassador, Berlin)

7.00 pm: Mass in the St James' church (Jakubska St 11) presided by Bishop Vojtech Cikrle of Brno, musical accompanying: children and youth's choir Kantilena

Sun 1 Apr

9.30 am: Common History Book for Central European Nations? – Prof Mathias Weber (historian, Oldenburg), Prof Ferdinand Kinsky (political scientist, Nice), Prof Bretislav Horyna (philosopher, Brno); moderator: Prof Elzbieta Dzikowska (historian and publicist, Lodz)

More info:

Ondrej Matejka
Secretary of the Bernard Bolzano Society

Vysehradska St 49
Praha 2
CZ – 128 00

Phone: +420 221 979 212
Mobile: +420 608 974 856
E-mail: sbb@email.cz