XXII. International Summer University – Surviving Crises

The added value of the Summer Universities held in Kőszeg is provided on the one hand by the town and on the other hand by the Institute of Advanced Studies and its predecessor, the ISES Foundation. Kőszeg used to be and it is still a border town. The Summer Universities of Kőszeg have always focused on those boundaries that divide disciplines making it more difficult to develop understanding of the complexity of phenomena.

In August 2017, global issues including politics, economics and environmental problems, that are indissolubly linked with culture, were addressed from a Central European approach.More than 70 speakers visited Kőszeg within 10 days. Lectures and roundtable discussions were streamed online for the first time, which opened the internal space of the Zwinger Old Tower where education took place.

On the first day, following Director-General Ferenc Miszlivetz’s opening speech, Erhard Busek, former Vice-Chancellor of Austria, Katalin Bogyay, Permanent Representative of Hungary to the UN and Miklós Réthelyi, President of the Hungarian National Commission for UNESCO discussed Central Europe’s position in the European Union. All of them agreed on the fact that Central Europe represented a significant, unexploited potential for the EU.

Migration – Reflections and Solutions: Chair: Jody Jensen (iASK) Panelists: Goran Gumze (Alma Mater University, Maribor), Aiski Ryökäs (MIGSZOL), Nikola Ivanovski (Lastmanfilms)

This idea was further discussed by the participants of the roundtable discussion in the afternoon. Historian Attila Pók took the view that today Central Europe was only a part of the collective European historical memory and an aspect of Central Europeans’ cultural identity. However, the 21st state of the region is not identical with the entity that Jenő Szűcs described in his high-impact essay in the 1980s.

On the contrary, Géza Jeszenszky former Minister of Foreign Affairs argued that the reality of Central Europe was still relevant today and the experience of the supranational organisation of the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy could be used by the countries of the European Union. Ambassador Ellison-Kramer brought up several practical examples where Central European bonds are present in diplomacy. She mentioned the Maria Theresa year, the anniversary of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 and the scholarship programs. By representing the Russian perspective, Lyubov Shishelina from the RAS Institute of Europe in Moscow stated that Central Europe constituted a link to the countries of East Europe.

KRAFT Conference 2017 – Hillary Brown, professor of Architecture (City University New York): An Exemplary Town in its Bioregion: Oberlin, OhioMEP György Schöpflin drew attention to the fact that the concept of democracy, that was at the heart of the Western political values, was varied and was reflected in diverse forms as far as practical implementations are concerned. It can only lead to misunderstandings if those discussing democracy do not agree beforehand on the meaning of specific expressions. Valér Veres, professor of the Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca presented sociological data of European identity patterns in comparison with the countries of the particular sub-regions of Europe. The farther people with a European identity live from the core countries of Europe, the stronger Europe’s force of attraction is.

In the evening, Mónika Mátay introduced Katalin Bogyay’s book, where Ambassador Bogyay explained the way she managed to make those interviews public in the UN that were conducted by the Danish martyr diplomat Povl Bang-Jensen with refugees of 1956.
Following the book’s introduction, Bang-Jensen expert Bo Lidegaard explained how the coalition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union established unexpectedly during the Suez Crisis contributed to the suppression of the Hungarian Revolution.
On the next day, discussions addressed the issues threatening global security. In her ambitious lecture, Katalin Bogyay talked about the UN reform aiming at the development of understanding and cooperation among member states to eliminate threats posed to world peace.

James Skelly, iASK research fellow addressed the contradictions of U.S. global military engagement while Lidija Georgieva, head of the UNESCO Chair in Intercultural Studies and Research at the University of Skopje reflected on the chances of preventive diplomacy in today’s world.

The issue of migration was discussed by a separate panel chaired by Jody Jensen. Invited speakers shared primarily their personal experience. Individual concern made personal narratives emotionally charged where the implicit meaning of the greatest 21st-century challenge was present. In the evening Nikola Ivanovski’s short film was presented by one of the panelists.

On 23 August, economists held their discussion in the morning session that centred around the key maxim of the neoliberal economics doctrine, namely the use of drastic means to ensure a balanced budget. László Andor drew up several related options for a balanced budget. Stuart Holland advocated investments in the field of infrastructure, healthcare and education which do not constitute budget deficit when financed by bonds of the European Investment Bank. In his witty lecture, Nikos Fokas reflected on the social implications of the restrictive policy forced on the Greek.

In the afternoon, the topic of democracy prevailed again that invigorated the Europe panel of Monday morning. Approached from the perspective of democratic deficiency, it was easier to understand that democracy is merely an empty expression without constitutional state, free publicity, fairness of election and respect for human rights and rights of minorities regardless of any attributes used to label democracy. Dimitar Nikolovski, Igor Stipic and Radaslow Markowski introduced the case of Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Poland, respectively.

On the fourth day of the first week, environmental sciences came to the forefront. The lectures of András Gelencsér, András Szöllősi-Nagy and János Bogárdi made it clear that the deterioration in the quantity and quality of parameters of water and air available on the Earth was caused by social reasons rooted in inequality, poor governance and particular business and political interests overshadowing global interests.The major causes of migration tensions include environmental catastrophes in Africa exacerbated by demographic explosion. The European continent is the ultimate endpoint of escape routes moving across the Mediterranean Sea.

In the afternoon, discussions focused on the future of the natural sciences. The session was organised by Eörs Szathmáry who invited outstanding young representatives of physics, astronomy and evolutionary biology from the Hungarian natural scientific sphere and asked them to look into an imaginary magic ball and predict the future of natural sciences. Renowned Austrian natural scientist and scientific manager Peter Schuster and Harold de Vladar from the Parmenides Foundation Munich also joined participants. All of them agreed that the future held the unification of disciplines and achievement of practical results that might increase life span and enhance the quality, speed and efficiency of research and calculation tools.

The morning session of the last day of the week started with the most passionately debated issue among social sciences, namely ‘social gender’. The panel was chaired by Izabella Agárdi and Andrea Pető, Weronika Grzebalska and Jody Jensen participated in the session.

In the afternoon, the relationship between culture and popular politics was addressed, which made it inevitable to return to the topics of previous lectures and panels on political science including publicity, democracy, participation, human and civil rights.

The morning session on Monday, second week was organised by Dezső Boda who invited two industrial actors, a natural scientist and two social scientists. Norbert Kroó talked about the spirit of the 4.0 technological revolution, the essence of which is the natural science paradigm of quantum physics. Tamás Siszer and Zoltán Kántor introduced the radically new products and services of the 4.0 industry that can only evolve in full economic and social interconnection. László Z. Karvalics introduced the processes unifying the new technological world and society that eventually transform life on Earth by gradually following the evolutionary logic and leaving several failed inititaves behind. György Csepeli gave a concise SWOT analysis of the 4.0 revolution. From among dangers, he emphasised the ‘loss of meaning’ that might occur if we forget life when muddled by the opportunities provided by the 4.0 industrial revolution.

On 29 August, an international conference was organised within the framework of the Summer University, the topic of which was closely related to the interdisciplinary perspective represented by the Institute of Advanced Studies. Creative, sustainable urban development is one of the key research topics of the Institute. In 2017, the third international KRAFT Conference was organised in Kőszeg. This year it constituted the presidency of the Association of Pannon Cities. The Pannon Cities are arenas for concepts and projects developed in the spirit of KRAFT project. Ferenc Miszlivetz held the keynote speech of the international conference. Then, Péter Ágh, member of the Hungarian National Assembly talked about the fact that the future of Western Hungary could not do without socialisation of innovation, integration and creativity.

Lectures demonstrated the great power of urban social fabric through the examples of diverse European and North-American cities if cooperation is driven by the dynamism of sustainability and creativity. Hillary Brown demonstrated the sustainable implications of environmental community and urban development through the example of the city of Oberlin, Ohio State. On the contrary, Daniel EsGuevillas introduced Los Angeles as an example showing multiple deficiencies since authorities and residents are unable to face dangers resulting from unsustainability. In his historical and urban sociological lecture, Rudolf Klein analysed very genuinely the ethno-sociological logic behind the development of large cities and the style of buildings in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy.

KRAFT Conference 2017 – Hillary Brown, professor of Architecture (City University New York): An Exemplary Town in its Bioregion: Oberlin, Ohio

In the morning session on Wednesday, participants of the panel on sustainable management organised by Sándor Kerekes proved that economic and environmental interests could be reconciled since private initiatives were not necessarily contrary to public interest.

Hillary Brown explained the way gases obtained from waste recovery are used to operate buses in public transportation in the city of Lille, which is applied in an up-to-date, aesthetic built environment. Stefano Pogutz’s lecture affirmed that the “circular economy” mentioned by Brown is not feasible without innovation. Pogutz pointed out that we need to imagine the process of innovation in an evolutionary way. Hundreds of concepts are formulated but it cannot be anticipated which one will win. Additionally, many innovative products fail at their own time and they only become successful later. He brought up the example of Kodak digital camera that no one wanted to use at its own time. Adam Budnikowski talked about the environmental implications of international trade.

In his lecture, Rafael Sarda put an emphasis on the fact that sustainable economy remains an illusion without integration of the business sector. Stuart Holland highlighted the proactive role of the state whereby the Commission could partially undertake this task in the EU.

In the afternoon, completed doctoral dissertations and the ones under preparation were presented, all of which had followed the theory and methodology of urban morphology. Relying on the characteristic buildings of Kőszeg as examples, the chair of the panel, Mónika Mátay presented the first results of the ‘talking houses’ project aimed at animating the silent built witnesses of towns. Once people lived in these houses, therefore it is an effective instrument of learning about and understanding the past by getting familiar with these people and adapting their story to the present. Additionally, it is a significant source of added value in the field of tourism.

In the evening hours, Mónika Mátay and Tamás Fejérdy guided Summer University students around the town and shared with them the secrets of the Plague statue, the Town Well, the Town Hall, the Parish Church and the two smaller churches standing on the Jurisich Square. The guided tour ended by introducing the Synagogue. Rudolf Klein, who had written a book on the synagogues of Hungary, drew attention to the fact that the Synagogue of Kőszeg is an individual building and it does not fit into any specific type.

In accordance with traditions of the Summer Universities held in Kőszeg, renowned musicians played in the courts of houses and palaces and there was an organ concert in the Parish Church. In the late evening, the Squelini Trio gave an extraordinary concert in the ground floor room of the Zwinger Old Tower, which revived the atmosphere of 16th-century nights in Venice.

In the last morning session, Danilo Türk, former President of the Republic of Slovenia and Gordan Grlic Radman, Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia gave answers to the questions raised by Iván Bába. The starting point was the Balkans that is not a precise expression according to the Ambassador. Instead, the term South-East-Europe is more appropriate according to him. Obviously, the main concern reflected on the chances of the Balkan countries for integration into the community of EU countries relying on values and interests. Turkey’s role in the region was also raised that was considered significant but not decisive by Türk. Gordan Grlic Radman viewed the Turkish engagement as more fundamental. The most interesting parts of the discussion indicated the incredible diversity of ethnic and cultural groups in the region that cannot be handled by those state institutions established after the end of the bloody civil war that had followed the breakup of Yugoslavia.

The previously raised issue of Bosnia and Herzegovina was discussed again which is a typical example demonstrating multiple deficiencies reflected in the activities of international political institutions unable to settle the Post-Yugoslav situation in a safe and sustainable manner. However, the Croatian Ambassador pointed out to the fact that consolidation is a task to be done at domestic level in each country. This task can only be performed by local societies. Tackling this problem is extremely difficult since the present population should control divisions which had not been caused by them as they are only sufferers. If we look at Turkey or the Balkan countries, we see that the entire region is still hostage to the past once dominated by the Ottoman Empire in many ways.

In the afternoon, Ferenc Miszlivetz chaired the panel discussion on the potentials of the future university. Samuel Martín-Barbero, rector of the Camilo Jose University in Madrid also took part in the discussion. Currently, he is the youngest rector in Europe. Furthermore, Rubin Zemon represented the Euro-Balkan University in Skopje, while Andrea Pitasi participated as a representative of the Gabrielle d’Annunzio University in Pescara. Dimitar Nikolovksi and Igor Stipic represented the perspective of the young generation being at an early stage of their career. The discussion started with the question whether the structure of university education is in step with the radically changed social functions of higher education. Participants agreed on the fact that the quantitative expansion had been at the expense of quality. They also considered that universities should be open to the world of business, cities and civic society. Pitasi emphasised the EU’s disinterest in higher education policy, which makes the European mobility of university professors more difficult and bureaucratic. In the discussion, James Skelly addressed the question of what purpose university training had. Panelists provided a variety of answers. However, all of them mentioned the aspiration for continuous renewal and knowledge that should be incited by universities. Debate emerged regarding the assessment of the potentials of the digital university. However, panelists and students agreed on the fact that universities need to find their place in the virtual reality to remain competent.

The real benefit of recognition of issues and perspectives raised at the Summer University did not derive from the recognition of particular topics and perspectives. The multitude of topics, perspectives and approaches outlined the possible ways forward that are dependent on the world’s societies’ capability of facing the challenges of the physical and metaphysical sustainability of human life.

The source of physical challenges is the rapidly deteriorating natural environment that directly threatens billions of people and has an indirect negative impact on the population living in more favourable parts of the world. The super intelligent solutions of the 4.0 industrial revolution provide viable opportunities to achieve physical sustainability goals, which contributes to the conservation of the surrounding environment and reversal of deteriorating trends. However, all this would be unattainable without metaphysical sustainability based on the ability to face uncertainty that is inseparable from human existence. This can only be achieved through a sense of identity. Failing this, the ‘tragedy of commons’ will occur on Earth, that we, Hungarians got to know through Elemér Hankiss’ diagnosis.

Topics:

• The Crisis of European Narratives – Where is Central Europe?
• New Wars – Security, Terrorism and Technologies of Surveillance
• Europe, Greece, Turkey and the Balkans
• Central Europe and the Illiberal State
• Water, Migration and Human Rights
• Austerity vs. Social Cohesion in Europe
• Changing Gender Dynamics in Central Europe: States and Civil Rights
• Politics and Popular Culture
• Central Europe 4.0 – the New Industrial Revolution in the 21st Century
• III International KRAFT (Creative Cities – Sustainable Regions) Conference
• The Future of Science in Central Europe
• The Future of Universities
• Water, Migration and Human Rights
• Austerity vs. Social Cohesion in Europe