News & Updates

Berlin Conference 2025

Organised by Stiftung Zukunft Berlin in cooperation with the civil society initiative A Soul for Europe, the European Festivals Association, and the Evangelische Akademie zu Berlin, the Berlin Conference brings together voices, perspectives, and networks from across Europe to help shape a common democratic future.

The Berlin Conference 2025 will take place on 6 and 7 November in the Allianz Forum, located next to the Brandenburg Gate – a symbolic setting for European dialogue.

This year’s conference will focus on the tensions and ambivalences of democracy and culture, as well as the question of how cultural participation can contribute to strengthening democratic resilience. Europe faces the urgent task of responding to the challenges of a polarized and divided world. The different responsibilities of cities and regions, national governments, and EU institutions are accompanied by a shared civic responsibility. Together, we want to explore how we can harness the power of art and culture to shape a Soul for Europe and open up new paths to democracy. In keynotes, debates, and workshops, we invite artists, policymakers, and civil society actors to reflect, exchange ideas, and shape the future together – with the aim of involving policymakers, discussing the results, and finding ways to translate them into concrete political action.

6 November, Thursday

European House (Erlebnis Europa), Unter den Linden 78, 10117 Berlin

12:30 pm | Presentation of the new EFFE Seal publication: "Festivals in Context: The Role of the Arts in Local Cultural Policy"

We are proud to announce the presentation of the EFFE Seal publication Festivals in Context: The Role of the Arts in Local Cultural Policy, from 12:30 till 15:00 at the European House, next to the Brandenburg Gate.

If we believe that art truly matters for democracy, then the local dimension of culture is where it all begins - sparking citizen engagement and bringing people together. Festivals, throughout history, have been those unique spaces where communities gather, exchange ideas, and imagine better futures.

But how are festivals perceived by local cultural policies today? What do municipalities expect from them? What roles are festivals being asked to play - and how do they respond to those expectations? Are they ready to embrace the challenge of shaping new paths for democracy?

This session draws inspiration from a new study published by the European Festivals Association as part of the EFFE Seal for Festival Cities and Regions initiative, authored and presented by the independent researcher and co-founder of Culture Policy Room Elena Polivtseva.  It will open up a conversation between municipalities and festivals, exploring how these actors can work together to strengthen democracy through culture.

>>> Download the EFFE Seal publication here <<<

Französische Friedrichstadtkirche, Gendarmenmarkt 5, 10117 Berlin

3.00 pm | Doors Open

4:00 pm | Opening with music: MitMachMusik Brandenburg

4:15 pm | Keynote Speech: Olesya Khromeychuk (Historian and writer, director of the Ukrainian Institute London).

Lessons from Ukraine’s Emergency Bag - On How Autonomy, Resilience, and Identity Shape our Readiness for War, and for Peace

4:45 pm | Panel Conversation

• Jan Tombiński (Ambassador, Polish Embassy Berlin)
• Emmanuel Suquet (Deputy Head of Mission in the Embassy of France in Berlin)
• Paweł Potoroczyn (Director, European Capital of Culture Lublin 2029)
• Additional speakers to be announced

Moderation: Susann Worschech (Professor of Political Sociology and Transformation Research, European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder)

6:00 pm | What to expect on day 2 of the conference?

6:30 pm | Reception

7 November, Friday

Allianz Forum, Pariser Platz 6, 10117 Berlin

9.00 am | Doors open

10:00 am | Long Table Conversation: Art as a Bridge - How Culture Makes Democracy Tangible

Opening impulse by Sir Jonathan Mills (Composer and festival director); the conversation continues with

• Valeriya Korablyova (Leader of the Research Centre “Ukraine in a Changing Europe” , Charles University, Prague)
• Mikhail Minakov (DAAD Visiting Professor, European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder))
• Robert Piaskowski (Director of the National Centre for Culture in Poland)
• Emine Sadk (Writer and journalist)

All audience members are invited to take a seat at the table and speak.

Moderation: Marion Döring (Member of the Board, Wim Wenders Foundation)

12:30 pm | Lunch break

1:15 pm | Workshops

• Workshop 1 by Marko Martin (Writer and novelist) The Task of Freedom - What East-Central European Voices can Teach us Today
• Workshop 2 (to be announced) Democracy and Cultural Participation
• Workshop 3 by Giorgi Mjavanadze & Nodar Rukhadze (Shame Movement, Georgia) When Culture Divides and Unites
• Workshop 4 by Friederike Landau-Donnelly (Visiting professor for Social and Cultural Geography at Humboldt University of Berlin) Facing Conflicts: How do the Arts and Culture as Part of Civil Society Respond?
• Workshop 5 - Dialogue in Motion (a collaboration between the European Forum Alpbach, Charlemagne Prize Foundation and Stiftung Zukunft Berlin), by Peter Schoof (ambassador retired) Culture as Strategy for Europe‘s Resilience, Influence and Defence?

4:15 pm | Plenum: Presentation of the workshop result by workshop leaders, and a personal reflection by Sir Jonathan Mills (Composer and festival director)

4:40 pm | From ideas to action: discussion of the results

with representatives from civil society initiatives

• A Soul for Europe
• European Festivals Association (Haris Pašović)
• European Forum Alpbach (Winfried Kneip)
• Charlemagne Prize (Christine Dietrich)
• Service Civique Européen (Benjamin Sibille)

with policy-makers

• Georg Häusler (Director for Culture, Creativity and Sport in the European Commission)
• Gergely Őrsi (Mayor, II. District of Budapest, Hungary)
• from the city of Bergen (Norway)
• from town of Colle di Val d’Elsa (Italy)

6:00 pm | Summary: Polish Embassy, Unter den Linden 70-72, 10117 Berlin

7:30 pm | Reception

Looking forward to attending Berlin Conference 2025? We are here to facilitate your events and venue booking conveniently on www.micegermany.de now!