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The “Weltempfang” forum at the Frankfurt Book Fair is investigating the subject of “Europe!” – Initial reactions.

19.10.2016
© Alexander Heimann/Frankfurter Buchmesse - Frankfurt Book fair

What is Europe – and in what direction is it heading? The UK’s decision to leave the European Union has raised question marks over a vision of Europe as an economic and peace project that has endured for decades. Supporters of the Europe project are desperately looking for a new European narrative. What ideals, apart from the economic advantages, have the ability to fire people’s imaginations? A question on which the German Foreign Office, in conjunction with the Frankfurt Book Fair, is hoping to promote dialogue. Accordingly, “Europe!” is the motto of this year’s “Weltempfang” forum, the Frankfurt’s Book Fair’s cultural policy platform in Hall 3.1.

Freedom of speech

“Since purely economic factors obviously do not have enough integrative power for the European project we in Frankfurt hope to kindle a new substantive debate in motion,” reports Juergen Boos, CEO of the Frankfurt Book Fair. This debate is aimed at including current events and perspectives throughout the world, as well as “taking particular account of the discussion on values such as freedom of speech and freedom of publication.” Over a period of five days writers, publishers and cultural institutions will be debating the situation following the Brexit referendum, about flight and migration and about the growing populism on the continent. The Federal Foreign Office has been participating in the Frankfurt Book Fair since 2007 in the guise of the forum for politics, literature and translation. Here, intermediary organizations involved in the foreign cultural and education policy (AKBP), authors and translators have the opportunity to present themselves to the public and explain the current challenges in their work.

“One of our most prominent platforms”, is how Juergen Boos described the event opening the “Weltempfang” on Wednesday afternoon – a discussion on the subject of “Europe and Islam” and attended by prominent guests. And indeed, behind the approximately 100 seats available stood around twice as many interested listeners eager to hear the discussion between authors Boualem Sansal (Algeria/France), Elif Shafak (Turkey/UK) and Andreas Görgen, Head of the Federal Foreign Office’s Directorate-General for Culture and Communication. Daniel Cohn-Bendit chaired the debate in which it soon emerged that there is no such thing as “Islam” but endless variations on the subject. “It is our job to protect the freedom of art,” reported Görgen, emphasizing the fact that foreign policy is not always easy. “But it is absolutely necessary to engage in politics and cultural politics, even with difficult partners, to argue for democracy and a republic and to offer this concept, even abroad.”

Daniel Cohn-Bendit chaired the discussion entertainingly, in-depth and in three languages – German, English and French. He spoke with Boualem Sansal, the recipient of the 2011 Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, about the difficult task of remembering and coming to terms with history in Algeria. Author Elif Shafak spoke critically about the situation in Turkey saying that the country was drifting away from democracy. She made a plea for rendering women in the Arab countries and in Turkey “visible” – “Whether we wear a headscarf or not – we need women outside the domestic sphere in order to overcome religious or cultural barriers. This will improve culture.” She called for bridge-building: “we need bridges to overcome religious or cultural barriers.”

The Frankfurt Book Fair is the world’s largest book fair. 7,100 exhibitors from more than 100 countries, 270,000 visitors and more than 9,300 journalists and bloggers are expected.

www.buchmesse.de/weltempfang

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