At the invitation of the French Institute and its partners, on June 14, 2024, in Plovdiv, prominent intellectuals, artists, and writers from 10 European countries will gather to participate in the international conference-discussion "Facing the War – European Dialogues - From the Balkans to the Black Sea: European legacies, identities, and trajectories."

What European history do we share? What are the cultural characteristics and political narratives that shape and sustain the project of a united Europe in Sofia and Paris, in Kyiv and Bucharest, in Warsaw and Riga, in Budapest and Belgrade, in Sarajevo and Chisinau, and in all other European capitals? These questions demand an urgent answer following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

To find an answer to these questions, the French Institute in Paris launched a series of public discussions in Europe in the fall of 2023, titled "Facing the War – European Dialogues." The program began in Prague at Charles University as part of the annual forum of the European Summit in Prague and continued in Vilnius, Warsaw, and Amsterdam, before moving to Sofia and Plovdiv in Bulgaria.

Through reflections, discussions, artistic and literary events, the meetings in Bulgaria will provide an opportunity to discuss the transformation of Europe in wartime and specifically Southeast Europe, the issues of heritage and identity, space and territory, rupture and renewal in this part of the continent, which is generally intended to become part of the European Union.

Full information about the program and all participants can be found at www.institutfrancais.bg.

All events are free of charge; only prior registration is required, again at: www.institutfrancais.bg.
Translation provided.

PROGRAM JUNE 14
Venue: Balabanova House, Plovdiv

Writers from Southeast Europe explore in their own way the issues related to the shared heritage and identity of their region. Their stories reveal memories of happy mixtures, but also of conflicts, totalitarian pasts, and voluntary and forced migrations that marked the 20th century in the Balkans – a region of Europe that oscillates between oblivion and an abundance of memories. These meetings allow authors from the Balkans to engage in dialogue with writers from France, Poland, and Serbia on these topics and issues. Through the stories of these writers, we will examine journeys and fates shaped by exile and return, by dystopia, humor, and nostalgia.

14:00-15:30 – Conversation between writers about heritage, identities, and territories: histories and fiction in the European imagination (Part 1)
Georgi Gospodinov, writer (Bulgaria)
Mathias Énard, writer (France)
Tomasz Różycki, poet and writer (Poland)
Moderator: Frédéric Martel, sociologist and writer, journalist at Radio France Culture (France)

15:30-16:00 – Coffee break

16:00-17:30 – Conversation between writers about heritage, identities, and territories: histories and fiction in the European imagination (Part 2)
Marie Vrinat-Nikolov, professor (France / Bulgaria)
Maria Kassimova-Moisset, writer (Bulgaria)
Igor Štiks, writer and co-director of the Museum of the 90s (Serbia)
Moderator: Lena Može, editor-in-chief of Kometa magazine