The Global “Entangoment” of Central Europe
28th June – 2nd July 2021
Kőszeg, Hungary
The event is organized by the Institute of Advanced Studies Kőszeg (iASK), in cooperation with the Institute for Social and European Studies (ISES Foundation), the University of Pannonia, the UNESCO Chair in Cultural Heritage and Sustainability in Kőszeg under the patronage of the Hungarian National Commission for UNESCO.
As the world experiences waves of the pandemic, with its human consequences and financial costs, other intertwined complexes and unexpected threats appear. How do we deal with misinterpretations and conspiracies promoted online? And what impact do they have on our political systems and institutions? How does relying on algorithms and distrust of institutions endanger what it means to be human? The 26th International Summer University attempts to analyze these rapidly emerging complex realities in order to open the path for evidence- and consensus-based crises mitigation.
Participation fee: 0 EUR
Applicants should send the following documents to isu@archive.iask.hu :
- completed application form
- A 300-word motivational letter
- CV
Eligibility: Advanced MA and PhD students and young researchers, as well as social entrepreneurs, who have a keen academic or professional interest in the topics.
Kőszeg is called “The Jewel of Pannonia”. This beautiful medieval town borders 5 countries (Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary). This provides a rich cultural and regional added value, and the opportunity for strong cross-border cooperation. In a region where the iron curtain was built, developing a regional knowledge center is exceptional and contributes to supporting opportunities furthering cooperation in an age of increasing uncertainties.
For more information please contact: isu@archive.iask.hu OR call 0036-94-200-550!
All events of the ISU 2021 will be held in Central European Time (CET)
June 28 (Monday)
9:30-10:00 Online registration and technicalities
10:00-10:10 Welcome Speeches: Ferenc Miszlivetz (Director, iASK),
10:10-10:30
Opening: Judit Varga (Hungarian Minister of Justice)
10:30-10:40 Greetings: Béla Básthy (Mayor of Kőszeg), János Székely (Bishop of Szombathely)
10:40-11:00 Short Break
Morning Session
11:00-12:00 Panel Discussion: Paradoxes and Complexities of Central European Identity
Chair: Iván Bába (Diplomat; iASK)
Invited panelists: Judit Varga (Hungarian Minister of Justice), H.E. Katalin Bogyay (15th Permanent Representative of Hungary to the UN; President of UNESCO 36th General Conference; iASK) H.E. Mladen Andrlic (Croatian Ambassador to Hungary), H.E. Tibor Bial (Czech Ambassador to Hungary), H.E. Andor Nagy (Hungarian Ambassador to Austria), H.E. Liubov Nepop (Ukrainian Ambassador to Hungary), Klaus Wölfer (Austrian Diplomat)
12:00-12:30 Q&A Session
12:30-14:00 Lunch Break
Afternoon Session
14:00-14:15 Miklós Réthelyi (Chair, Hungarian National Commission for UNESCO) – Welcome address
14:15-14:35 Presentation: Gertrúd Kendernay-Nagyidai (Accredited Parliamentary Assistant at European Parliament): “The Myth of Central Europe: What divides, What unites”.
14:35-14:45 Q&A Session
14:45-15:45 Panel Discussion: Can the V-4 help in Resolving Global Conflicts?
What can be the role of the V-4 countries in strengthening or weakening the cohesion of the European Union? Is the V-4 cooperation strong enough to represent the collective interests of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic in Europe, can it play any role in global political and economic conflicts? Researchers and diplomats will discuss these issues from their respective professional and national perspectives.
Chair: Attila Pók (Research fellow, iASK)
Invited panelists: Iván Bába (Diplomat, iASK), Petr Drulák (Institute of International Relations, Prague), Ljubov Shishelina (Russian Academy of Sciences, iASK Advisory Board Member), Catherine Horel (Director of Research at the CNRS -Le Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique-, Paris) tbc, Erhard Busek (Member of the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation, Chairman of the Institute of Danube Region and Central Europe)
15:45-16:15 Q&A Session
June 29 (Tuesday)
9:30-10:00 Online registration and technicalities
Morning Session
10:00-11:00 Panel Discussion: Covid-19 and New Dimension of Governance: the Role of the State
Contact tracing apps, vaccine passports and other innovative systems and technologies that have been developed to control the pandemic are possibly imposing new standards of surveillance and new restrictions on human rights and freedoms. How is the current crisis transforming the world today by establishing new borders of private and public? Has Covid-19 accelerated processes of digitalization and introduced new surveillance practices that are here to stay?
Chair: Ivana Stepanovic (Research fellow of IASK, Institute of Criminological and Sociological Research in Belgrade, Serbia)
Invited Panelists: Christian Eichenmüller (Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Institute of Geography, Germany), Ortwin Renn (International Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam, Germany), James M. Skelly (Research fellow of IASK), Attila Szigeti (Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; iASK)
11:00-11:15 Short Break
11:15-12:00 Q&A Session
12:00-13:30 Lunch Break
Afternoon session
13:30-16:00 Panel Discussion: Human Security in Light of Pandemic: Are New Challenges increasing the New East-West Divide?
The current COVID-19 pandemic has revealed itself to be much more than a health crisis. If there is indeed aftermath to it, any sort of future needs to consider the contradictions between science and policy, including communication and misinformation, to ensure the protection of individuals as well as the sustainability of our biosphere. This challenge faces many threats from technology, the escalation of military confrontations and conflicts, and increasing distrust in democratic institutions. What scenarios for the future can be based on a new paradigm centered on global human security?
13:30-13:50 Keynote:
Pavel Palazhchenko (Gorbachev Foundation) “Towards a New Concept of Security”
13:50-14:50 Panel Discussion
Chair: Ferenc Miszlivetz (Director, iASK)
Invited Panelists: Dan Brooks (Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto; iASK), Sean Cleary (Founder, Future World Foundation; iASK International Board), Lydia Georgieva (University of Skopje), James M. Skelly (Research Fellow, iASK)
14:50-15:30 Q&A Session
Discussant: Ahmet Evin (Sabanci University; iASK International Board)
15:30-16:25 Cultural Event: Sounds of Pannonia
Bartók Universe – music improvisations, Improvisation and composition by the Binder- Borbély duet, Bartók and his homeland by the Mizsei quintet
June 30 (Wednesday)
9:30-10:00 Online registration and technicalities
Morning Session
Chair: Jody Jensen (senior researcher, iASK)
10:00-12:00 Panel Discussion: Challenges to and Opportunities for Democracy: is Western Civilization capable of Renewal?
While the social and political reactions to the root causes of global change have transformed the functioning of democracies globally, those appearing in the space of Central and Eastern Europe have experienced a particular type of development. Their specificity has been mostly explained in terms of the proliferation of “illiberal democracies” characterized by the politics of Euroscepticism. The panel aims to address three main questions: 1) What factors have contributed to the specific populist developments within the region? 2) What explains the particular importance of “Euroskepticism” in the formation of regional populisms? 3) How has regional populism addressed the COVID-19 pandemic and has populism itself “mutated” in the context of this novel socio-political situation?
10:00-10:20 Keynote: Philippe Schmitter (European University Institute, San Domenico di Fiesole)
10:20-12:30 Panel Discussion
Invited Panelists: Emil Brix (Director, Diplomatic Academy of Vienna), Manuela Caiani (Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa/Firenze), Marko Lovec (University of Ljubljana), Pavel Palazhchenko (Gorbachev Foundation),
Rafal Smoczynski (Polish Academy of Sciences),
Igor Stipic (Research fellow, iASK),
Ravid Taghiyev (iASK fellow)
11:15-12:30 Q&A Session
12:30-14:30 Lunch Break
Afternoon Session
14:30-15:30 Panel Discussion: Understanding the Root Causes of Corruption, State Capture, Radicalization, Resilience, and Emigration in Central and Southeastern Europe
The panel will present research conducted in Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia by the Democratization Policy Council from Berlin and the Center for European Strategies Eurothink from Skopje. The starting point of the report is Sarah Chayes’ book “Thieves of State: Why Corruption Threatens Global Security” and seeks to answer whether systemic corruption and state capture fuel popular resentment that feeds into radicalization, including (but not limited to) violent extremism. The research strongly reflects the voices of ordinary people in localities that are often ignored in political discussions. A set of 18 community snapshots provides a deeper look at lived impact on a generation of upheaval and stagnation, reflecting on issues of polarization, corruption, migration, opportunity, dignity, solidarity and vision.
Chair: Dimitar Nikolovski (Eurothink – Center for European Strategies, Skopje, Research Fellow iASK)
Invited Panelists: Valery Perry (Democratization Policy Council), Sasa Kulenovic (Democratization Policy Council), Kurt Bassuener (Democratization Policy Council – Sarajevo), Ljupcho Petkovski (Eurothink – Center for European Strategies – Skopje)
15:30-16:00 Q&A Session
July 1 (Thursday)
9:30-10:00 Online registration and technicalities
Morning Session
10:00-12:00 Panel Discussion: Global Communication Strategies and the Potential of Soft Power
There is life beyond the pandemic, and there is nothing harder than soft power diplomacy. Experts will discuss how to ethically communicate, through soft power strategies, on issues related to climate change, sustainable societies, social solidarity and cohesion, international and cultural exchange. As we face an increasingly complex future with the potential for growing conflicts, the discussion will address mitigation strategies and best practices in the field.
10:00-10:20
Keynote: Katalin Bogyay (15th Permanent Representative of Hungary to the UN; President of UNESCO 36th General Conference; iASK) “Soft Power Diplomacy in Action”
10:20-10:30 Q&A Session
10:30-10:45 Short Break
10:45-11:30 Panel Discussion
Chair: Katalin Bogyay (15th Permanent Representative of Hungary to the UN; President of UNESCO 36th General Conference; iASK)
Invited Panelists: H.E. Sheikha Alya bint Ahmed Al Thani (Permanent Representative of Qatar to the United Nations), Mark C. Donfried (General Director, Institute for Cultural Diplomacy, Berlin), Leida Ruvina (Research fellow, iASK, Ph.D. Candidate University of New York Tirana), Rubin Zemon (Institute for Social and Humanities Researches by the Euro-Balkan University in Skopje, Macedonia),
11:30-12:00 Q&A Sessiion
12:00-13:30 Lunch Break
Afternoon Session
13:30-14:30 Panel Discussion: Institutional Resilience During Crises: Global, Regional and Local Perspectives: The Creative Cities Perspective
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted key dimensions of national institutional systems that will have a lasting effect. At the same time, institutions (related to healthcare, education, the economy, etc.) are critical to providing a resilient response to the crisis. Some countries and some institutions and civil society did better to innovate to mitigate institutional disruptions. What we learn about the resilience of national and international institutions will be crucial moving forward. So what have we learned?
Chair: Ferenc Miszlivetz (Director, iASK)
14:30-15:00 Q&A Session
15:00-16:00 Cultural Event
Zoltán Mizsei (iASK): The Soft Power of Music: Consolation and Strengthening Identity in Hard Times (oral and musical performance)
July 2 (Friday)
9:30-10:00 Online registration and technicalities
Morning Session
10:00-12:00 Panel Discussion: The Future University – The Future of Education: A New Chance for Central Europe?
What does it mean to be a university in the 21st century? What weaknesses have been revealed during the pandemic in institutional structures? How can you change the educational and institutional paradigm to meet the needs and challenges of contemporary and future students in an uncertain world? What should the university become? And where are the roadblocks to and possibilities for transformation?
Chair: Jody Jensen (Director of the Polányi Centre, iASK)
Invited Panelists: János Bogárdi (University of Bonn; Research fellow of iASK),
Maria Pilar Lorenzo (PhD candidate, Ghent University): Reimagining Higher Education: The Covid-19 Context
Szabolcs Márka (Columbia University), Matthias Middell (Research Fellow, Global and European Studies Institute, Leipzig), Arjan Shahini (PhD Candidate, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg), Ivana Stepanovic (Research fellow of IASK, University of Belgrade), Igor Stipic (iASK), Sanja Tepavcevic (Research fellow of iASK)
11:30-12:00 Q&A Session
12:00-13:30 Lunch Break
Afternoon Session
13:30-15:00 Feedback session and wrap-up
A meghívott előadók rövid életrajzai
H.E. Mladen Andrlic (Croatian Ambassador to Hungary)
Iván Bába (Diplomat; Research Fellow, iASK)
Béla Básthy (Mayor of Kőszeg)
Kurt Bassuener (Democratization Policy Council-Sarajevo)
H.E. Tibor Bial (Czech Ambassador to Hungary)
János Bogárdi (Research Fellow, iASK, University of Bonn)
Katalin Bogyay (15th Permanent Representative of Hungary to the UN; President of UNESCO 36th General Conference; iASK)
Emil Brix (Director – Diplomatic Academy of Vienna)
Daniel R. Brooks (University of Toronto; Research fellow, iASK)
Erhard Busek (former Vice-Chancellor of Austria, director of IDM)
Manuela Caiani (Scuola Normale Superiore (SNS) in Pisa/Firenze)
Ilan Chabay (International Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam, Germany)
Sean Cleary (Future World Foundation; iASK International Board)
Mark C. Donfried (Director General, Institute for Cultural Diplomacy, Berlin)
Christian Eichenmüller (Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Institute of Geography, Germany),
Ahmet Evin (iASK International Board),
Katalin Galambos (Research fellow, iASK)
Lydia Georgieva (University of Skopje, North Macedonia)
Catherine Horel (Director of Research at the CNRS (Le Centre national de la recherche scientifique), Paris)
Jody Jensen (Head of the Polányi Centre, iASK)
Gertrúd Kendernay-Nagyidai (Accredited Parliamentary Assistant at European Parliament)
H.E. Ksenija Skrilec (Slovenian Ambassador to Austria) tbc
Maria Pilar Lorenzo (PhD candidate, Ghent University, Fellow of the Regional Academy on the United Nations and the Royal Society of Arts),
Marko Lovec (University of Ljubljana)
Szabolcs Márka (Columbia University, New York)
Matthias Middell (Research Fellow, Global and European Studies Institute, Leipzig),
Ferenc Miszlivetz (Director, iASK)
Zoltán Mizsei (Research fellow, iASK)
H.E. Andor Nagy (Hungarian Ambassador to Austria)
H.E. Liubov Nepop (Ukrainian Ambassador to Hungary),
Dimitar Nikolovski (Eurothink – Center for European Strategies, Skopje, Research Fellow iASK)
Pavel Palaczchenko (Gorbachev Foundation),
Ryszard Praszkier (Ashoka Poland, University of Warsaw),
Valery Perry (Senior Associate fellow, Democratization Policy Council, Sarajevo)
Ljupcho Petkovski (Eurothink – Center for European Strategies – Skopje)
Attila Pók (Institute of History; iASK)
Ortwin Renn (International Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Potsdam)
Miklós Réthelyi (Chair, Hungarian National Commission for UNESCO)
Leida Ruvina (iASK Research fellow, PhD Candidate University of New York Tirana).
György Schöpflin (Chair, Advisory Board of IASK, former MEP) tbc
Arjan Shahini (PhD Candidate, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg),
James M. Skelly (Research Fellow of iASK)
Lyubov ShisheLina (Head of the Section of Central and Eastern Europe Studies, Institute of Europe, Russian Academy of Sciences, Advisory Board Member of IASK)
Rafal Smoczynski (Polish Academy of Sciences)
Igor Stipic (Research Fellow, iASK)
Ivana Stepanovic (University of Belgrade; iASK)
Attila Szigeti (Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; iASK)
Sanja Tepavcevic (Research Fellow, iASK)
Sheikha Alya bint Ahmed Al Thani (Permanent Representative of Qatar to the United Nations)
Judit Varga (Hungarian Minister of Justice)
Rubin Zemon (Center for Advanced Researches, Skopje, North Macedonia)
Klaus Wölfer (Ambassador, Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, Director for Southeast Europe and EU Enlargement, Chez Austria MFA)
Since 1996, the International Summer University has been a great opportunity for social scientists, policymakers, researchers and students to meet and discuss the current challenges of the times and the most important issues in international cooperation.
The aim of the Summer University is always to create a dialogue between speakers and students and the general public, where not only different views are brought together, but also substantive proposals for solutions to localized global problems that affect us today.
2021: The 26th International Summer University titled, The Global Entangoment of Central Europe , in view of the epidemic situation, took place in hybrid form in Kőszeg.
Judit Varga, Hungarian Minister of Justice, was invited to speak for the first time. Speakers included Katalin Bogyay, former Hungarian Ambassador to the UN, Klaus Wölfer, retired Austrian diplomat, Mladen Andrlić, Croatian Ambassador to Budapest, Tibor Bial, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Hungary and Andor Nagy, Hungarian Ambassador to Austria.
The first day of the International Summer University focused on Central Europe’s position in Europe and the Visegrad 4, where invited guests discussed the region’s unique identity and the future of Central European cooperation.
The next day, the Covid-19 epidemic and the new dimensions of governance: the role of the state was discussed, and on Wednesday, the crucial role of Western states in sustaining democracy and the challenges it faces, such as populism and the Euroscepticism that often goes with it.
Thursday’s theme was international communication strategies and the use of soft power in diplomacy. The course was concluded with a panel discussion on „The Future University – The Future of Education: A New Chance for Central Europe?”
On this topic, Ferenc Miszlivetz, Director, has previously said that rethinking the role of universities and the cooperation of cities could bring a revolutionary breakthrough. iASK is a good example: an open, horizontally collaborative type of institution that supports the achievement of new university research-strategy-development goals in the region.
A 1996-2020 közötti Nemzetközi Nyári Egyetemek rövid összefoglalói.
Az elmúlt 25 év Nemzetközi Nyári Egyetemeinek előadói listája ABC sorrendben.