Debating Europe: “Vorhang auf oder Schotten dicht? Was bleibt von 1989?”

17/02/19

In early summer 1989, the Iron Curtain showed the first cracks. The fall of the Berlin Wall in November was a powerful symbol; by the end of the year the old regimes in the GDR, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Romania had disappeared. It was a historic watershed – politically, economically and socially. Suddenly freedom and democracy seemed possible everywhere, and divided Europe felt reunited. But what has emerged from this historic turning point? What remains of 1989?

Panellists include:

Erhard Busek: former Vice-Chancellor and Chairman of the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe
Ludger Hagedorn: Permanent Fellow and Head of the Jan Patočka Archive at the IWM
Basil Kerski: Head of the European Solidarność Center in Gdańsk
Noémi Kiss: Hungarian writer
Radek Knapp: Austrian writer

Moderator: Lisa Nimmervoll (DER STANDARD)

In German

Entrance fee: EUR 7,–

Reduced tickets (€ 5,-) for Ö1 Club members and with DER STANDARD subscription. Tickets available from the start of the pre-sale (20th of the previous month) at all booking offices and for written orders up to 10 days before the performance day (please include DER STANDARD subscription number). No discounts on phone or online sales with credit cards.

Tickets and more information: www.burgtheater.at


Debating Europe

This series of public morning debates brings leading politicians, scientists and intellectuals on to the stage of Vienna’s Burgtheater to discuss topical issues of political and social relevance. This long-standing event is a collaborative production of the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM)BurgtheaterERSTE Foundation and Austrian daily Der Standard.

Media partner: Ö1 and W24

Florian Bauer

Director Social Finance, Sustainability and Innovation
Since 2023, Florian Bauer has been responsible for social finance, sustainability and social innovation at ERSTE Foundation. Prior to this role, Florian worked in the NGO & Social Entrepreneurship sector for more than 13 years. He led the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), an international multilateral NGO that works to accelerate market-based deployment of renewable energy and energy efficient systems in developing countries, and was Managing Director & COO of the Impact Hub Vienna. From 2020-2023, Florian established strategic alliances with key partners and helped to create innovative semantic technology solutions at Semantic Web Company (SWC), a leading IT company in semantic AI solutions.