“Culture creates identity and – what is now needed most – solidarity”
Cristina Conde de Beroldingen, Director of the Instituto Cervantes in Berlin, appeals for a Europe of community and synergies.
Ms. Conde de Beroldigen, is Europe facing not only a financial crisis, but also a crisis of cultural identity? Shouldn’t the time have now come for culture, the time for a big idea?
Cultural identity, the dialectic between the individual and society, is subject to constant change. Although Europe is aware of its common culture identity, this awareness is not unshakeable, but rather changes and has to be constantly reinvented in dialogue with its cultural heritage.
What is actually the unifying element in European culture - if we leave aside the historical lines of communication for once?
It goes without saying that preserving Europe’s cultural diversity is important. Yet nowhere else is it as easy to put into practice the yearning for new experiences, the idea of a global reality, than it is in Europe. The new communication technologies and above all personal contacts are increasingly creating a common European reality. That can be felt practically everywhere in Berlin.
High unemployment and a lack of prospects. What can culture achieve in a climate like this?
Artistic reflection is capable of presenting undreamt-of solutions to problems. In addition to its positive influence on economic development, culture above all creates identity, community and social cohesion and – what is perhaps now needed most in Europe – solidarity.
Héctor Abad, the Colombian writer, is afraid Europe has lost the enthusiasm of its early years. He believes that this contains the danger of populists leading the EU back to nationalistic nightmares. Is that a typical view “from outside”?
Understanding Europe from outside is not very easy because of its heterogeneity, but this is precisely where Europe’s strength lies. Not only in my opinion, populism, scepticism, pessimism and nationalism are contrary to the European principles of solidarity and responsibili- ty.
Do you have a concept of Europe as a cultural place of yearning?
Yes, a Europe in which differences between people are not perceived as divisive, but as enriching. I believe in a Europe of synergies and in the dialogue of cultures. I wish for a Europe in which we can participate and fully unfold our creative potential irrespective of our origin. Art and culture are not an adjunct to a functioning economic, but the foundation of our common future!
How do you perceive the mood in Spain? And how are you responding to this in your programming?
The European economic crisis has brought to the fore national stereotypes that we thought long gone, but this point is frequently overstated in the media. The Instituto Cervantes Berlin very consciously seeks discourse with its host country Germany and brings together Spanish experts and German discussion partners. Even more intensive cooperation with our German, European and, of course, Latin American partners is important at this particular time. Together with the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) and the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States in the United Nations (GRULAC), we are relying on projects that go beyond national frontiers.
CRISTINA CONDE DE BEROLDINGEN is Director of the Instituto Cervantes in Berlin. The qualified geographer previously worked, among other things, as manager of cultural projects for the City of Madrid and as delegated Councillor of Madrid Arte y Cultura. www.cervantes.de
