Videos

Video reportage of the 12th European Remembrance Symposium.
The event took place in Warsaw, Poland from 21 to the 24 May 2024.

What does freedom mean today and what did it mean throughout the historical period discussed above? How did both the struggle for freedom and its celebration become enshrined in the region’s cultural and historical memory? How has freedom been commemorated in museum narratives and how is it commemorated today?
These questions are among the key ones running through the 12th European Remembrance Symposium.

The event was co-funded by Central European Initiative - CEI

Welcome speeches of the 12th European Remembrance Symposium on 21 May 2024.

The Symposium was opened by Hanna Wróblewska, Minister of Culture and National Heritage; Robert Kostro, Director of the Museum of Polish History in Warsaw and Rafał Rogulski, Director of the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity.

The event was co-funded by Central European Initiative - CEI

Debate on ”Freedom as a current challenge for public history and civic education” from the 12th European Remembrance Symposium on 21 May 2024. How do contemporary conflicts shape our understanding of history? How can we navigate the complexities of freedom in public discourse? What new policy priorities can we implement to foster more informed civic education on the challenges of freedom in European and global societies?

Panellists:

Maria Luz Martínez Seijo, Congress of Deputies of Spain, Madrid

Georgiy Kasianov, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Lublin

Barbara Walshe, Dialogue and Restorative Justice Faciliator, Expertise Support at the ENRS

Moderation: Rafał Rogulski, European Network Remembrance and Solidarity

The event was co-funded by Central European Initiative - CEI

Opening Panel “Grand narratives and conceptualisations of freedom” from the 12th European Remembrance Symposium on 22 May 2024. How is freedom understood in national narratives of the past? How does it go beyond these frameworks and how are narratives of civil rights and liberties, minority rights, freedom of speech or freedom of religion told and conceptualised?

Panellists:

Simina Badica, House of European History, Brussels

Barbara Glück, Mauthausen Memorial

Robert Kostro, Polish History Museum, Warsaw

Audrey Whitty, National Library of Ireland, Dublin

Moderation: Dorottya Baczoni, House of Terror Museum, Budapest

The event was co-funded by Central European Initiative - CEI

Case Studies on “Symbols of regained/lost freedom” presented at the 12th European Remembrance Symposium on 22 May 2024. How is the memory of freedom commemorated in material public space? A showcase of projects by members of institutions, historians, memory researchers and cultural scientists.

Panellists:

Maria Axinte, Pitesti Prison Memorial Foundation, Pitesti

Anna Bernhardt, Kultura Paryska, Maisons-Laffitte

Vjeran Pavlaković, University of Rijeka

Ihor Poshyvailo, Maidan Museum, Kyiv

Florian Traussnig, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute, Graz

Aleksandra Kumala, FestivALT, Kraków

Lead by Magdalena Żelazowska, ENRS, Warsaw

The event was co-funded by Central European Initiative - CEI

Turbo presentations at the 12th European Remembrance Symposium on 22 May 2024. During the turbo presentations, participants showcase their organisation or project to the symposium’s audience. Each speaker has up to 90 seconds. The topics have to be connected with the general theme of the symposium.

The event was co-funded by Central European Initiative - CEI

Panel discussion on “Historical education: freedom and modern technologies” at the 12th European Remembrance Symposium on 22 May 2024. A meeting of educators, teachers and experts to discuss strategies and good practice in teaching about the past. How is history education different today, given the variety of teaching formats available? What are the challenges and opportunities it faces? Should free access to different sources of historical knowledge and (educational) tools, such as artificial intelligence or social media, be restricted?

Panellists:

Emma Nardi, International Council of Museums, Rome

Wojciech Soczewica, Auschwitz Memorial

Bistra Stoimenova, The European Association of History Educators, Hague

Elias Stouraitis, Ionian University, Korfu online

Moderation: Michał Przeperski, Polish History Museum, Warsaw

The event was co-funded by Central European Initiative - CEI

Screening of the documentary “The Cold War Files” (2018) at the 12th European Remembrance Symposium on 22 May 2024.

Discussion of Rafał Rogulski with the author Andrzej Mietkowski.

The event was co-funded by Central European Initiative - CEI

Panel on “Participation in museums: shaping museum narratives” at the 12th European Remembrance Symposium on 22 May 2024. Museum representatives talk of their own experiences. Audience engagement (interactivity, participation, expectations of the public) and its impact on museum narratives. The commercialisation of cultural institutions and museums.

Panellists:

Martin Klimza, Museum of Victims of Communism, Košice

Paolo Pezzino, National Museum of Resistance in Milan

Pille Pruulmann-Vengerfeldt, Malmö University

Karolina Ziębińska-Lewandowska, Museum of Warsaw

Moderation: John Beauchamp, Free Range Productions, Warsaw

The event was co-funded by Central European Initiative - CEI

Summary and round table discussion on “Freedom and Remembrance in the intergenerational dialogue” at the 12th European Remembrance Symposium on 24 May 2024. How does the memory of freedom evolve? How is it understood and remembered by the generations that have lived through totalitarianisms? What are the similarities and the differences between successive generations when it comes to thinking about and cultivating freedom?

Panellists:

Łukasz Kamiński, National Ossoliński Institute, Wrocław

Laura Kolbe, University of Helsinki

Martin Andreller, Estonian Institute of Historical Memory, Tallinn

Miloš Řezník, German Historical Institute Warsaw

Moderation: Hanna Liubakova, journalist, Belarus

The event was co-funded by Central European Initiative - CEI

Closing remarks at the 12th European Remembrance Symposium on 24 May 2024. The Symposium was closed by Laura Kolbe from the University of Helsinki; Heta Hedman the Secretary General of Historians without Borders in Finland; Robert Kostro, Director of the Museum of Polish History in Warsaw and Rafał Rogulski, Director of the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity.

The event was co-funded by Central European Initiative - CEI

On the first day of the 12th European Remembrance Symposium, we had the pleasure of celebrating Professor Jan Rydel, a long-time collaborator and friend of the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity.

As a token of our appreciation for his work and dedication, he received the joint publication “In the Service of History and Politics: Bronowice - Cracow - Berlin - Warsaw - A Jubilee Book Dedicated to Prof. Jan Rydel on the 65th Anniversary of His Birth,” published by the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity in cooperation with the Scientific Society Societas Vistulana.

The 11th European Remembrance Symposium and 6th Taking Stock of European Memory Policies dedicated to ‘Resistance and Solidarity’ took place on 9-11 May in Barcelona.

The event was organized by the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity with the European Observatory on Memories EUROM as a local co-organizer.

The symposium was an event for a broad audience, from prominent representatives of museums and memorial sites, employees of scientific and educational institutions to NGOs active in the field of 20th century history.

The format of the event was focused on ideas and open dialogue with a focus on solidarity and resistance that occurred in the past century. Different forms of solidarity and resistance that live on in social memory or have been forgotten. What are the ethical implications of the practice of solidarity and resistance that emerged during the history of the 20th century?

Programme of Day 3 of the 9th European Remembrance Symposium

01:10 Third panel discussion. Struggles with the past: memory and politics
02:04:42 Round table discussion. The future of European historical debates
03:55:28 Closing remarks

9th edition of the European Remembrance Symposiumm titled ‘Memory and Identity in Europe: Presence and Future’ aims at reflecting on the role of 20th-century history and historical memory in contemporary European identity. Does the history of the last century unite or divide Europeans? What role in building the identity of the inhabitants of the continent does the memory of the past play today? Is a common, European culture of remembrance even possible?

Programme of Day 2 of the 9th European Remembrance Symposium

2:32 First panel discussion. Remembrance in action: everyday challenges and recommendations for the future
2:27:22 Case studies. Project practices
4:27:24 Second panel discussion. 1989 revisited

9th edition of the European Remembrance Symposiumm titled ‘Memory and Identity in Europe: Presence and Future’ aims at reflecting on the role of 20th-century history and historical memory in contemporary European identity. Does the history of the last century unite or divide Europeans? What role in building the identity of the inhabitants of the continent does the memory of the past play today? Is a common, European culture of remembrance even possible?

Programme of Day 1 of the 9th European Remembrance Symposium

00:15 Welcome speeches
26:20 Opening session. European identity today: historical roots and present debates
2:07:57 Turbo presentations

9th edition of the European Remembrance Symposium titled ‘Memory and Identity in Europe: Presence and Future’ aims at reflecting on the role of 20th-century history and historical memory in contemporary European identity. Does the history of the last century unite or divide Europeans? What role in building the identity of the inhabitants of the continent does the memory of the past play today? Is a common, European culture of remembrance even possible?

The summary of the 8th European Remembrance Symposium in Paris. This edition's theme was: "The Making and Re-Making of Europe: 1919–2019".

Prof. Richard Overy gives closing remarks at the 8th European Remembrance Symposium in Paris. This year's theme: "The Making and Re-Making of Europe: 1919–2019". The event was organised by the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity (www.enrs.eu). The goal of European Remembrance Symposium is to exchange experiences and establish methods and forms of cooperation between institutions from different countries. Representatives of European historical institutions are invited to discuss the challenges facing Europe’s idea of culture of remembrance. The meetings are open to all professionals dealing with 20th-century European history. A series of European Remembrance symposiums was launched in September 2012 in Gdańsk. Subsequent editions took place in Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Brussels and Bucharest. Read more: www.europeanremembrance.enrs.eu