Stories - Transition Dialogue

Best Practice: Saxony in Dialogue

Can we still have a conversation with each other? We all want to be heard, but are not always prepared to listen? The social climate of conversation seems poisoned, dialogue increasingly turns into discord; hatred and agitation often dominate the discourse. In this short video, the project “Saxony in Dialogue” is presented by its initiator Conny Reichelt. Through encounters between people, also in an unconventional way, this project tries to establish a lively and contentious culture of conversation. Citizens

30th anniversary of the defeated Soviet August Coup 1991

Photographer Dmitry Borko looks back on the events of failed Soviet coup attempt in August 1991, as does Elena, who recognized herself in one of Dmitry’s photographs. Photographer Dmitry Borko has worked in the media since 1987 and for the Nezavisimaya Gazeta (The Independent Newspaper) in 1991. He has been an eyewitness for significant events of that period and captured many of them on film. He is the author of the book “1991/1993.” ГКЧП Between

Quiz on the transition period from the Open Lithuania Foundation

Last year marked the 30th anniversary of the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the end of communism. What followed afterwards was a period of transition that in some parts continues even to this day. These events and their effects on people’s lived experience continue to actively shape the social, cultural and political life in these countries. For the younger generations, it is much harder to grasp what the time under communism and the following

Dialogues on transition. Podcasts.

The “Transition Dialogue” network, is inviting teachers, students, and everyone else to a series of three podcasts on transformation in Central and Eastern Europe. We have asked experts and practitioners of history and civic education from Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Poland, and Ukraine to rethink political and social transition after 1989. In three podcasts we are taking a closer look at three “big themes”: 1) teaching transition – why and how? 2) crime and punishment –

Digital formats and regional events dedicated to the period of transformation

In the Transition Dialogue project, which is dedicated to the perception and representation of the political and social transition of the 1990s in various countries of Eastern and Central Europe, the year 2021 will be marked by digital learning formats on the topic of this time of change. So far, a virtual walk through Sofia (Bulgaria) has been created as a mini-series with, among others, the writer Georgi Gospodinov and the former Prime Minister Philip Dimitrov. A short film on

I dreamed of exoplanets

Anait Sagoyan is a Berlin-based poet, writer and photographer. In her novel House of Paraffin, published 2021 in Russian, she tells the story of two people who grew up in two very different corners of the post-Soviet world. Their paths eventually cross in Berlin, where together they face their childhood memories and unhealed wounds of the past. The common theme of her novel and of her essay and photo series I dreamed of exoplanets deals

Conference: “Rethinking the Democratic Future” with the panel “Challenges of Transition.”

Democracy in the world today faces new challenges. Some of them, such as populism and a lack of democratic procedure, can be traced back to the collapse of the socialist world before 1989 and the subsequent transition out of communism. From April 26-28, 2021, the international conference “Rethinking the Democratic Future: Lessons from the 20th Century” was held in Vilnius, Lithuania, where these challenges of democracy were considered from the historical perspective of Central and

Women’s Revolution

The role of women in conflict and transition societies is significant for a variety of reasons. Women are active agents of change and a driving force. In December 2020, the conference “A women’s revolution” took place, where we undertook an intensive, virtual journey around the world to understand the true dimension of the role of women in societies undergoing transition – especially with regard to successes, perspectives and outlooks for the future. Specifically, the role

Through the Lens of Transition

Through the Lens of Transition has been a series of webinars held by Transition Dialogue over the course of May and June. We covered a range of topics, from the economy to public spaces, from education to media and the closing of borders, and have had the privilege of hearing from a wide variety of speakers, many of them experts in their field and all with interesting and thought-provoking experiences of their own surrounding the

Media Credibility in Incredible Times

For our final talk in our series “Through the Lens of Transition,” we discussed the topic of “Media Credibility in Incredible Times.” This talk was held on the 24th July, and our three speakers at this event were: Dörte Grimm, freelance author, children’s writer, director of documentaries and short films; Anna Litvinenko, researcher and teacher at the department of Communication Studies at Freie Universität Berlin, and researcher in the Emmy Noether Junior Research Group “Mediating

Education, Interrupted

On the 25th June we hosted our fourth online event, “Through the Lens of Transition, “Education, Interrupted,” with three speakers: Alicja Pacewicz, a Polish economist, social and educational activist and co-founder of the Center for Citizenship Education with Class Foundation, and an expert of the Polish Ministry of National Education and the Central Examination Board; Caroline Hornstein-Tomić, a Research Advisor at the Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar in Croatia, specialising in high-skilled and return

The Transformation of the Public Space

Through the Lens of Transition, “The Transformation of the Public Space” was our third online event to take place in our new webinar format on the 12th of June. The speakers at this event were: Andrei Zavadski, researcher and communications scientist; Zhenya Kulyeba, urban activist, NGO “Misto Sad / Garden City”; and Gruia Badescu, urbanist, Alexander von Humboldt postdoctoral fellow at the University of Konstanz. Our aim was to discuss the ways in which the