Programme – Legacy of Totalitarianism Today


Thursday 12 June 2014

8.45 – 9.10 Welcome

  • Miluše Horská, Vice-President of the Senate
  • Göran Lindblad, President, Platform of European Memory and Conscience, Sweden
  • Daniel Herman, Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic

9.10 – 9.30 Keynote speech

  • Sofi Oksanen, award-winning writer, Finland

9.30 – 11.00 Session 1: Quality of Democracy and rule of law after 25 years – have we established them strong enough?
moderator: Göran Lindblad, President, Platform of European Memory and Conscience, Sweden

  • Jan Kysela, constitutional lawyer, Charles University, Czech Republic
  • Petra Guasti, political scientist, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany
  • Adam Bodnar, Vice-President of the Board, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Poland
  • Andrew Roberts, political scientist, Northwestern University, USA

11.00-11.30            coffee break

11.30-13.00 Session 2: The legacy of witnesses of totalitarian persecution
moderator: Luděk Navara, journalist, Czech Republic

  • Čeněk Růžička, President, Committee for the compensation of the Roma holocaust, Czech Republic
  • Naděžda Kavalírová, Chairwoman, Confederation of Political Prisoners, Czech Republic
  • Vasil Kadrinov, Director, Hannah Arendt Center – Sofia, Bulgaria
  • Ioana Boca, Executive Director, The Sighet Memorial of the Victims of Communism and of the Resistance, Romania

13.00-14.00              lunch

14.00-15.30 Session 3: Justice for the totalitarian crimes – why haven`t we done enough?
moderator: Neela Winkelmann, Managing Director, Platform of European Memory and Conscience, Czech Republic

  • Andrei Muraru, former President, Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of the Romanian Exile, Romania
  • Krzysztof Persak, Director of the Office of the President, IPN, Poland
  • Albin Eser, Director em., Max-Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law, Germany
  • Tamás Novák, journalist, trial of Béla Biszku for the 1956 crimes, Hungary

15.30-16.00             coffee break

16.00-17.30 Session 4: Corruption – what are its roots and what are the remedies?
moderator: Miluše Horská, Vice-President of the Senate

  • Dana Kovaříková, Head, Political department, European Commission Representation in the Czech Republic
  • Olga Hrabalová, whistleblower, Czech Republic
  • Zuzana Wienk, executive director, Fair Play alliance, Slovakia
  • Monica Macovei, MEP, former Minister of Justice, Romania

 

18.30 – RECEPTION AND AWARD OF THE PRIZE OF THE PLATFORM OF EUROPEAN MEMORY AND CONSCIENCE
Venue: Museum Kampa, U Sovových mlýnů 2, Praha 1

 

Friday 13 June 2014

9.15 Opening

  • Alena Falathová, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung
  • Ondřej Matějka, Deputy Director, Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes

9.30-11.00 Session 5: The watchdogs of democracy – are the media fulfilling their role?
moderator: Michal Musil, journalist, Czech Republic

  • Pavlína Kvapilová, journalist, writer, Czech Republic
  • Karl-Peter Schwarz, CEE correspondent, F.A.Z., Germany
  • Andreja Valič Zver, Director, Study centre for national reconciliation, Slovenia
  • Alexander Podrabinek, dissident, journalist, Russian Federation

11.00-11.30               coffee break  / PRESS CONFERENCE

11.30-13.00 Session 6: Memory institutions – why and how long do we need them?
moderator: Miroslav Lehký, Ján Langoš Foundation, Slovakia

  • Siegfried Reiprich, Director, Saxon Memorial Foundation for the Remembrance of Victims of Political Tyranny, Germany
  • Stéphane Courtois, professor of history, Director of research, CNRS, France
  • Jan Kalous, historian, Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, Czech Republic
  • Volodymyr Viatrovych, Director, National Memory Institute, Ukraine

13.00-14.00           lunch

14.00-15.30 Session 7: The role of the European Union – have we reconciled East and West yet?
moderator: Hannes H. Gissurarson, historian, Iceland

  • Vytautas Landsbergis, former President of Lithuania, MEP
  • Tunne Kelam, MEP, Estonia
  • Marion Smith, Executive Director, Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, USA
  • Göran Lindblad, President, Platform of European Memory and Conscience, Sweden

15.30-16.00           coffee break

16.00-17.30 Session 8: The legacy of totalitarianism today – Ukraine and beyond
moderator: George G. Grabowicz, Harvard University, USA

  • Valters Nollendorfs, Chairman of the Board, Occupation Museum Association of Latvia
  • Mustafa Dzhemilev, leader of the Crimean Tatar People, Ukraine
  • Petr Mareš, Ambassador, Special Envoy for the Eastern Partnership, MFA of the Czech Republic
  • Andriy Kohut, coordinator, Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, Ukraine

        Conclusions

 

ACCOMPANYING EVENTS – FILM SCREENINGS:

“Katyń“, Andrzej Wajda, Poland – 12 June, 6.15 p.m.

“The Soviet Story“, Edvīns Šnore, Latvia – 13 June, 6.15 p.m. followed by a discussion with the film Director

Venue: EC Representation in the Czech Republic, Jungmannova 24, Prague 1