From Jena: 10 countries in 10 days
Talking about new beginnings: 10 countries in 10 days
A journey through Eastern Europe on the trail of unity and transformation
The Jena application group for the Future Center for German Unity and European Transformation is focusing on the experiences of upheaval and transformation of people in Central and Eastern Europe. To this end, it is sending its two members Christian Faludi and Tobias Schwessinger on a journey that will take them through 10 countries in 10 days. With a camera, recording equipment and a rucksack full of questions, the two - one from East Germany and one from West Germany - break through the clichés that often exist, turn opinions on their head, ask about the images of "the Germans" abroad and, not least, about their own identity. As ambassadors for the application, they are interested in looking ahead and asking what people hope for from a future center for German unity and European transformation in Jena.
Documentation in photos and texts
During their journey, our ambassadors meet people from Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Moldova, Serbia and Hungary, among others, and ask them about their lives over the past 30 years following the collapse of state socialism and their upheavals and new beginnings; not without critically questioning their own perspectives time and again. They record their experiences in photos and texts, which are intended to create a contrasting picture of a fascinating and contradictory Europe. The result is a report that, at best, helps to dispel traditional clichés and provides a new, exciting and unusual perspective on German unity and the European transformation.
Transformation becomes tangible
The collected stories, impressions and experiences already fill the idea of a Future Center with life and allow German unity and European transformation to be experienced directly. The city of Jena's application for the Future Center deliberately broadens its own perspective with the project and involves people in Central and Eastern Europe and their experiences. The change of perspective allows the biographies of people in Eastern Europe to be juxtaposed with the transformation experiences in Jena and East Germany, thus facilitating a new mutual understanding.
The journey is intended to carry the vision of the Jena application group for the implementation of the future center far beyond the city limits, embarks on a search for what Europe could look like in the future and asks: What is our common departure? Where do we want to go?
For Mayor Christian Gerlitz, this trip symbolically demonstrates Jena's openness to the world, people's thirst for knowledge and the ubiquitous willingness to engage in dialog - not only between local people, but also beyond the borders of Jena and Germany. This is another reason why Gerlitz believes that Jena and its surrounding area are ideally positioned to apply for the future center. Transformation and dialog - Jena can do that!
The change of perspective through Eastern Europe will be accompanied by media from August 15 on the social channels of the city of Jena and the University of Jena. A detailed documentation will also be published at the start of the Jena application campaign on August 29.
