Europe Up for Grabs? How to Reclaim a Continent?

Seventy-five years after the Schuman Declaration of 1950, Europe seems there for the taking. A three-way marriage between hostile geopolitical powers, tech oligarchs and anti-democratic politics pose huge threats to European togetherness and stability. During this evening, we ask what’s there to celebrate as we explore if and how we may reclaim ownership of Europe, whether that’s through storytelling, citizen engagement or the arts.

Moderating the event are Katz Laszlo and Katy Lee (The Europeans Podcast) who will guide us through compelling conversations with the following speakers:

Başak Layic, born and raised in Istanbul, wears many hats: storyteller, theatermaker, artistic director, and community builder. Her work blends philosophical questions with lived experience and a certain musicality, leaving narratives that stick in your head like a catchy jingle. But less annoying. And with better baselines.

Alberto Alemanno is an academic, author, public interest lawyer, and civic entrepreneur. He is a Jean Monnet Professor in EU Law at HEC Paris since 2009, permanent Visiting Professor at the College of Europe in Bruges. He is also the founder of The Good Lobby which wants to foster active citizenship and accountability via citizen-lobbyists.

Rob Hornstra is an awarded Dutch documentary photographer. In 2009, Hornstra and writer/filmmaker Arnold van Bruggen started The Sochi Project, culminating in the retrospective book An Atlas of War and Tourism in the Caucasus and an exhibition that toured the world. Since 2020 he and Arnold van Bruggen work on The Europeans, a portrait of modern Europe.

Yuliia Elyas is an artist from Dnipro, Ukraine, based in Utrecht. She co-founded and co-curated the Ukrainian Decolonial Glossary. Her practice explores the dynamics that shape social narratives, examining the agency of stories beyond their original contexts through artistic intervention and critical engagement.

Gatool Katawazi, journalist and publicist based in Tbilisi, Georgia. She writes for De Correspondent, De Groene Amsterdammer, Trouw and Wordt Vervolgd on topics related to the Caucasus and world politics. Gatool will show what proximity to Europe despite geographical distance looks like in the Southern Caucasus.

This event takes place at SPUI25 and is co-organised by the European Cultural Foundation and DutchCulture, made possible by the generous support of the European Commission Representation in the Netherlands.