Edition
The first edition of the Remembrance and Future Forum organised by the Depot History Centre took place in June. We have entered the online world, opening up a platform for debate on today’s major challenges and dilemmas. We have invited the greatest minds of our time, intellectuals and social leaders from Poland and worldwide, to take part in a multi-voice discussion. We moved to the virtual world, where the invited guests reflected on the “Dimensions of Solidarity” and the context of the current global epidemic crisis.
“In 2020, forty years after August ‘80, the theme of the Forum referred to the experience of 1980s Poland and the birth of the Solidarity movement. The idea of solidarity was our starting point for reflection on contemporary social divisions and fractures, on the meaning of social solidarity in the age of contemporary capitalism and cultural conflicts, on empathy and social sensitivity in the age of new media, on international solidarity in the age of new geopolitical tensions and international crises, on questions about the condition and future of liberal democracy, on the meaning of the word community and citizenship.
The invited guests will discuss the most important challenges and dilemmas of today, issues which are important from the point of view of Wrocław, Poland and the whole of Europe. The event brought together more than a dozen European thinkers to give lectures and take part in online debates.
#Lectures, debates, discussions
From 5 June, every week on the Depot History Centre website, unique guest speeches on solidarity in the context of current global problems were presented, prepared especially for the Forum. In addition to the lectures, the RAF Forum included an online discussion entitled. “Confrontations with totalitarianism and the formation of religious freedom”. The debate scheduled for 29 June involved Prof. Kazimierz Michał Ujazdowski and Prof. Gert Pickel from the University of Leipzig. A series of workshops entitled “Solidarity step by step” led by Prof. Michał Łuczewski was also organised.
The speakers included Piotr Czekierda, Krzysztof Noworyta and Dariusz Rosiak. Another event that took place as part of the Forum was a debate among historians from Central and Eastern Europe on the road to freedom in their respective countries and dealing with the unwanted legacy of communism. This discussion was prepared jointly with the Platform of European Memory and Conscience and moderated by Dr Łukasz Kamiński.
The choice of theme for last year’s Forum was not accidental. It was linked to the organisation of the Wrocław celebrations of the 40th anniversary of the Solidarity Trade Union’s creation, which were organised by the Depot History Centre.
