PROGRAM

Monday, 27^th of June

Moderator: Ivana Stepanovic

09:30 – 11:00 Participants’ introductions

Moderator: Anikó Magasházi

11: 05 – 11:10 Musical performance by Dániel Váczi

11:10 – 11:30 Ferenc Miszlivetz, Welcome Speech

11:30 – 11:50 Béla Básthy Mayor of Kőszeg, Welcome Speech

12:00 – 14:00 Lunch break

14:00 – 16:00 AFTERNOON SESSION: Panel Discussion

Russia and the New Global (Dis)Order

The “special military operation” that the Russian President Vladimir Putin started in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, is reshaping the world order in political, economic, and security terms. The views on this armed conflict vary across political and business circles and elites, dramatically effecting not only Ukraine but also the European Union and Russia.  While new division lines between variously perceived political and economic interests become acute, some major questions remain unanswered: what is Putin’s endgame? What are the short-term and long-term impacts of the war on Ukraine, Europe, and Russia? Panelists will discuss these and related questions.

14:00 – 16:00 Panel Discussion

Panelists:

• Jozef Hrabina
• Jody Jensen (chair)
• Jelena Jurišić
• Andrey Kortunov (keynote)
• Marco Puleri
• Ljubov Shishelina

 

16:00 Musical performance by Dániel Váczi

 

 

Tuesday, 28^th of June

Registration and login: 9:30 – 10:00

Moderator of the day: Tamás Tófalvy

MORNING SESSION: 10:00-12:00

Human Security and Migrations in a New Geopolitical Context

Recent developments related to the emergence of the global pandemic, the threat of global warming, and the rise of global military conflicts have resulted in unprecedented concerns around the concept of security. Taking these questions seriously, the panel interrogates the contemporary constellation of new and old, human and non-human, and military and communicational threats, and explores measures and initiatives that could be taken by states and civil society organizations to secure a global system where citizens can regain a sense of certainty and a credible future.

Panelists:

• Rozita Dimova
• Nidhi Nagabhatla
• Csaba Olay (chair)
• Ryszard Praszkier
• Orsolya Racz
• Nataliya Zubar

12:00-13:30 Lunch break

13:30 – 15:30 AFTERNOON SESSION: Panel Discussion

Power & Discourse: Information Wars, Algorithms & Democracy

Conflicts have expanded to include the virtual worlds where algorithmic data surveillance guides the production and consumption of narratives. Social media are the new battlefields where political actors are fighting for power and dominant discourses. They also emerge as platforms where killings, bombings, refugee crises and nuclear threats are being commodified and gamified through classic media sensationalism or funny TikTok videos.  Can we still talk about the “truth” amid the propaganda wars mediated by the algorithms and what are the implications for democracy?

Panelists:

• Zdenek Kavan (keynote)
• James M. Skelly
• Ivana Stepanović (chair)
• Muhammad Yunas Fitra

15:30 Musical performance by Károly Binder

 

Wednesday, 29^th of June

Registration & Login: 9:30

MORNING SESSION: 10:00-12:00 Panel Discussion

Moderator: Jody Jensen

Between Germany and Russia: The Future of Enlargement + V4

The rise of Russian military intervention in Europe, the increasing economic relevance of China, and the changing power of the Global West have all impacted the position of Central and South-East Europe within the global geopolitical order. Thinking from the region towards the ever-changing shape of international order, the panel evaluates the position of Central and South-East Europe within a re-awakened cold-war scenario of increased global tensions. Taking seriously the effects that current international repositioning might have on the region, the panel asks how Central and South-East European states and their citizens may be affected in terms of their position in Europe, their stance within the NATO alliance, their capacity to ensure energy security, and their potential directives regarding international economic cooperation and development.

 

10:00 – 10:30 Keynote Speech

Ferenc Miszlivetz: Afghanistan Forever?

10:30 – 12:00 Panel Discussion

Panelists:

• H.E. Mladen Andrlic, Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia to Hungary-online
• H.E.Goran Stevchevsky Ambassador of the Republic of North Macedonia to Hungary-online
• H.E. Andor Nagy, Hungarian Ambassador to Austria in person
• Klaus Wölfer, former Austrian Ambassador, former Special Envoy for the Western Balkans in person

12:00-13:30 Lunch break

13:30 – 15:30 AFTERNOON SESSION: Panel Discussion

Moderator: Izabella Agárdi

Fragmenting or Banding Together? Future Scenarios for the Western Balkans

As the countries of the Western Balkans face multiple geopolitical, economic, humanitarian, and social challenges, it is possible to imagine very different scenarios from total fragmentation to the creation of new, stronger alliances in the region. This panel will endeavor to predict the future by mapping potential trends and outlining possible outcomes for the Western Balkans. Presentation of the publication: “The Future of the Western Balkans: Five Scenarios for 2030” – collaborative endeavor between V4 and WB experts.

Panelists:

• Spasimir Domaradzki
• Dimitar Nikolovski
• Tetiana Poliak-Grujić (chair)
• Krassen Stanchev
• Svetlana Stefanović
• Albin Sybera

15:30 String Concerto by Bernadett & Uwe Scheer

 

Thursday 30^th of June

Registration & login: 9:30

MORNING SESSION: 10:00-12:00 Panel Discussion & Video Presentation

Moderator of the day: Attila Pók

Memory in Transition: Remembering the Past and Paving Ways for a Shared European Memory Culture

The panel asks the question about the possibility of shared European memory culture. The systematic editing and officialising of collective memory inform many memory regimes in Europe today, which produces deeply divided and polarized memory communities. While cold-war notions of east and west still persist, traditional delineations of the community such as nation, culture, or “volk” seem to be overwritten by politicised memory, and new markers of difference defining ‘us’ and ‘them’ are being forged. At such a degree of dividedness, is there hope for finding shared, common elements of European memory anytime soon? In this process how can the sense of individual and collective vulnerability so aptly described by traumatic memories of genocides of the past century be put to our advantage?

10:00 – 10:30 Video Presentation

To Remember or to Forget? Video presentation about the local memory of the Holocaust in Hungary.

A series of videotaped focus group conversations about the local memory of the Holocaust in Hungary with participants recruited from Ricse (village)l Kőszeg (small town), Oradea (Hungarian town outside present-day Hungary), and Budapest. Three age groups were asked questions like “Who are the Jews”, “Why have they been systematically persecuted?” “What happened in Hungary after March 19?” “What are the local traces of the Jews in your settlement?” and “Should we remember or forget this history?”

10:30 – 12:30 Panel Discussion

Panelists:

• Izabella Agárdi
• György Csepeli (chair)
• Tímea Jablonczay
• Mónika Mátay
• Richard Papp
• Astrea Pejovic
• András Surányi

12:30-14:00 Lunch break

AFTERNOON SESSION: 14:00 – 16:00 Panel Discussion

Global Crises and Sustainable Futures?

The war in Ukraine has caused a major global energy crisis while the world is struggling to find solutions for climate change, increasing pollution and risks related to nuclear waste storage as well as other environmental problems. Europe is striving to become independent from Russian gas and oil and China’s lithium, and other resources but this strategy comes with new challenges. How are current economic, ecological, and political issues interrelated and what are sustainable solutions?

Panelists:

• Daniel Brooks
• János Bogárdi (chair)
• Timothy Yaw Achaempong
• Tamás Pesuth
• Sanja Tepavcevic

16:00 Musical performance by Zoltán Mizsei

 

Friday 1^st of July

Registration & login: 9:30

MORNING SESSION: 10:00 – 12:00 Panel Discussion

Moderator of the day: Ivana Stepanovic

Education for the Future

New frontiers of knowledge, the rapid development of technology and ever-changing job markets are challenging the classic idea of a university. Do the fast-paced transformations of the world threaten the foundations of traditional science or are the old learning systems obsolete? Is it time to radically redefine education? What should future universities look like?

Panelists:

• Mohammad Al Dabbas
• Emil Brix
• Katalin Galambos
• Elene Jibladze
• Laszlo Karvalics (chair)
• Icaro de Lima Barroso Cavalcanti

 

12:00-12:20 Closing remarks: Ferenc Miszlivetz

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