Magazine of the Allianz Alumni Network XXX No.No. 10 10 European Divides Where Publishing meets Politics The Impact of Digital Technologies Europe at a Crossroads Catalonia and Ukraine’s Status Alumni Projects and Achievements 1 Dear Alumni and Readers, Europe is facing growing divisions between rich and poor, East and West, liberal and illiberal governments. Editorial And even within European societies, the gap is widening between an educated elite able to profit from borderless mobility across the EU and a growing number of EU citizens who increasingly eschew a cosmo­ politan way of life in emphasizing their national identity and a locally rooted patriotism. Many of the latter are unsettled, even threatened, by cultural diversity. Indeed, a multi­perspective approach to viewing the world is Dear Fellow Alumni, Table of Contents being challenged by views that divide the world into “us” and “them.” The European Project at its core is a project of bridging divides, of bringing FOCUS • European Divides How should, or can, we respond to these developments with our projects? By demonstrating the opportunities to gether different nation states, cultures and economies. However, precisely in 4 The Digital Divide in Europe that cultural exchange and migration – both human and digital – bear for the modernization of our societies its attempt to bridge divides, this project faces once again serious challenges. 6 Cultural Divides in Literary Translation and our understanding of the world? Everyone who comes to Europe – with or without any material Be it significant differences in economic capability or policies: Europe cannot 8 Europe at a Crossroads belongings – carries their culture with them and therefore has just as much to offer as we to them. In the spirit boast of a lack of divides. We see divisions not only among individual nation- 10 Catalonia and the Rising Wave of Nationalism of mutually beneficial exchange, we should all pay more attention by listening to each other more closely. states and between nation-states and Brussels, but also within nation-states, as demonstrated by the crisis in Catalonia. European Developments Michael M. Thoss 11 The EU is Leaving Some of its Greatest Managing Director of the Allianz Cultural Foundation With “European Divides” being our Focus topic, we raise in this issue the Enthusiasts out in the Rain following questions: What divisions can we identify and why do they pose a 12 Harnessing Ukraine’s Potential potential problem for the European Project? What can we do to bridge these divides? Though not inherently destructive, several of the divisions we Reflections Projects of the Allianz Cultural Foundation currently see in Europe pose dangers to its success, particularly in terms of its 14 The Alumni Magazine Reaches Its Tenth Issue capacity to act in a unified manner on the geopolitical stage. From divisions Jean Améry Prize for European Essay Writing with Award Ceremony in February 2018 between voices for autonomy and further integration to uneven distribution Internal Affairs Since 2015, the Allianz Cultural Foundation has cooperated with the Klett-Cotta Publishing House to promote the Jean of digital skills, we look at some problematic divides in contemporary Europe. 16 International Project Education Améry Prize across Europe every two years. Headed by Austrian author Robert Menasse, the prize’s international jury We therefore address a variety of divides regarding issues such as whether or for a Europe of Rights (EER) includes a number of prominent authors, literary scholars and critics. Initiated by the essayist’s widow, Maria, and the not to deepen integration and the uneven distribution of digital skills. 18 Jackpot Projects Klett-Cotta publishing house, the prize is awarded in memory of Jean Améry for outstanding achievements in literary 19 Alumni Council essay writing. The prize was awarded to four different authors in the years from 1982 to 1991. Following the death of Further, we look at European developments in Ukraine and reflect on the 20 Good Reads: What Alumni are Reading Maria Améry, Robert Menasse, winner of the Austrian State Prize for Cultural Politics (1998), revived the Jean Améry latest Allianz Summer Academy. ASAEuropean was also present in Kempfen- 21 Alumni in Action Award in 2000. The 2018 prize was awarded to the Austrian essayist and literary critic Karl-Markus Gauß at a ceremony hausen, where it followed participants’ discussions first-hand. held in Berlin on February 11, 2018. As one of the limited number of prizes for literary essay writing in Europe, the Jean Portrait of an Alumnus Austrian essayist and Améry Prize awards recipients €15,000 and is one of the highest endowed awards of its kind. Also, we present the projects of active alumni within the ASA network as part 22 Connecting the Dots literary critic Karl-Markus https://kulturstiftung.allianz.de/en/funding_and_projects/operational_projects/jean_amery_prize/ of the “Jackpot Projects” supported by the ACF as well as an update from the Gauß Alumni Council. Members of the Alumni Network share their recommenda- Farewell tions and thoughts on current affairs and we encourage you to read the por- 24 Naples, Cultural Wellspring trait of Thomas Kösters. “Artists at Risk” – Residency Program for Artists and Authors at Risk The Allianz Cultural Foundation and several cultural institutions across Europe joined forces to Finally, I would like to end on a personal note. This will be the last magazine I award six to 12-month residencies to authors and artists from countries afflicted by war and support in the role of editor-in-chief, as I have decided to step down and make conflict such as Syria and Libya. Residencies are hosted by European cultural institutions, mak- room for the next generation. Patience Haggin will take over the role of editor- ing it possible for artists and authors, whose lives are at acute risk in their home countries, to in-chief for the upcoming issues. I am certain that Patience, a member of the continue their work. The Allianz Cultural Foundation offers a monthly grant of up to € 2,000 editorial team, an experienced journalist by trade and currently residing in per resident. Since early 2016, scholarship recipients include the Syrian filmmaker Zaher beautiful Naples, will further improve the magazine and add her signature to it. Alchihabi (Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart), the Syrian journalist and author Yasmin Merei (Sasha Waltz & Guests, Berlin), Syrian artists Dareen Abbas (WIELS, Brussels) and Bassel After being part of the editorial team for four years, three of which in the role Al-Saadi (Villa Romana, Florence). https://kulturstiftung.allianz.de/en/flight_displacement/ of editor-in-chief, which I took over from Andreas Lorek, I would like to say Nicolas Zahn Patience Haggin Stephanie Carstensen Untitled Ink on paper from Syrian artist thank you to you as supportive readers and writers as well as to my editorial Dareen Abbas, 2016 team colleagues and of course the ACF and Tempus Corporate for making this fantastic magazine possible. Keep the good ideas coming and the texts flowing! This magazine is a vital part of the ASA network, giving alumni not The Opening Collection – Kiron Student Magazine only a space to present their ideas but also to engage, reflect and stay aware of Founded in 2015, the online learning platform Kiron Open Higher Education provides refugees from around the world all the amazing projects happening within our network. I am already looking access to quality higher education. The blended learning model 2.0 consists of an online study phase of two years fol- forward to reading the next issue! lowed by another two years of study at one of the 54 partner universities across eight European countries. After comple- Anna Lászlo Ioana Andreescu tion, the students are awarded a fully accredited bachelor’s degree. Kind regards, In 2017, in cooperation with the Allianz Cultural Foundation, 30 out of the 3,000 Kiron students underwent profes- Nicolas sional training in creative writing and journalism in order to work on the first edition of a student magazine entitledThe Opening Collection. Their personal stories and experiences are featured in the magazine. Currently, the students are working on a second edition of the magazine which will be published in autumn 2018. In advance of publication, indi- Correction: The magazine’s 9th issue misattributed the authorship of the article “Fighting for Freedom” to Fabrizio Dell’Acqua. vidual articles will be shared on social media and on the Kiron Blog. A kick-off brochure will be made available in the Mr. Dell’Acqua authored only the portion of the article on page 11, not its portion on page 10. Due to an editing error, this article misstated the number of changes of government Italy has seen in the preceding 70 years, mischaracterized the author’s beliefs Cover of Kiron Student spring of 2018. The current version of the Kiron Student Magazine is available online: regarding the relative strength of Italy’s executive power and parliament and erroneously implied that Matteo Renzi had been Magazine’s first issue https://issuu.com/kironopenhighereducation/docs/kiron_studentmagazine_online_76b437d54fcc69 elected to his appointed post as prime minister. Nadʼa Kovalcˇíková Michele MacMillan 2 3 Focus Focus Surprising differences A number of indicators were used to deter- the workforce is equipped with digital skills, The Digital Divide mine where OECD States stand in terms of and updating social protection systems. Re- enabling the digital economy. The results yield Times, “digital technology can be an antidote garding trust, Europe might actually benefit surprising insights regarding European states. to the crisis of credibility and confidence in from emphasizing issues of privacy and secu- As a whole, Europe lags behind Asian OECD democratic institutions. It can bridge the di- rity that in the past, often times provoked in Europe States in terms of accessibility in particular.