Europe’s research area of the future: diversity generates knowledge

Working in partnership with Germany’s Federal Foreign Office, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and ifa (Institute for Foreign Rela-tions) are jointly hosting a digital Pecha Kucha as part of the first virtual Long Night of Ideas.

Using this format, fellows of these three partner organisations will present current projects and re-search work with the underlying motto: “Europe’s research area of the future: diversity generates knowledge”.

This programme item not only ties into this year’s theme for the Long Night of Ideas “Cultures of the future – the future of cultures” but will also clearly present the challenges and opportunities for closer European (scientific) cooperation as well as the importance of immigration and diversity and their importance for scientific cultures.

Contributors will include alumni and fellows from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Lithuania, the Russian Federation, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Hungary and, of course, Germany. They will speak on subjects ranging from soft robotics to Old Latin linguistics and the importance of language and dialects for the German minority in Hungary to perceptions of the Middle Ages, atomic urbanism, and coming to terms with the past in Russia, all the way to international university collaboration and the Western view of Eastern Europe.

Each speaker will base their presentation on 20 images that will each be displayed on the screen for 20 seconds. The type of presentation is left up to the speaker and can range from a traditional speech to a science slam. The strongly visual format makes it possible to bring a very broad range of topics together in a vibrant, lively and innovative manner to create an interesting, entertaining and informative event for the audience.
 

When & where:

Friday, 19 June 2020, starting 7 p.m.; Duration: approx. 2 hours

Partner organisations:

• Alexander von Humboldt Foundation: www.humboldt-foundation.de
  Press contact: Lisa Purzitza 030/20456267, presse[at]avh.de
• German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD): www.daad.de
  Press contact: Bjoern Wilck, 0228/882 644, presse[at]daad.de
• ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen): www.ifa.de
  Press contact: Guido Jansen-Recken, 030/2844 9119, presse[at]ifa.de

Realisation:

• PechaKucha Berlin: www.pechakucha.de/berlin/

About the Long Night of Ideas

How can culture continue to play its key role despite Covid-19? How can it continue to develop its own unique potential in times of crises? These questions will be addressed at this year’s Long Night of Ideas that will be held for the fifth time on 19 June – and entirely virtually for the first time ev-er. With topics ranging from sustainability in the club scene and Balkan films to a science slam on European science policy, over a dozen digital events will address the future of cultural life under the heading “Cultures of the future – the future of cultures”. It is precisely in times of Covid-19 when direct physical contact has to remain limited that it is all the more important for culture to bridge this physical distance for both individuals and society.

The Long Night of Ideas is a team effort by the Federal Foreign Office in collaboration with its in-termediary organisations and other strong partners from civil society, research and scientific organisations as well as private foundations.

Further information

• Livestream, 19. Juni 2020 ab 19:00 Uhr

(press release 12/2020)

Every year, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation enables more than 2,000 researchers from all over the world to spend time conducting research in Germany. The Foundation maintains an interdisciplinary network of well over 30,000 Humboldtians in more than 140 countries around the world – including 61 Nobel Prize winners.