The 8th Nida Forum “After the End of History“
19-20 of September, 2025 Curonian Spit History Museum (Pamario str. 53, Nida, Neringa)
Such a title need not be seen as ironic – or at least not just ironic. The longing for a peaceful and ordered life is as old as humanity itself. In the European culture, we also view time as linear, thus we keep expecting the future life to be better. Maybe that’s why all kinds of prophecies and utopias abound throughout the European history. It is probably little wonder that after the end of the Cold War we also succumbed to the dreams of the end of history.However, as expected, this time of hope and relative peace did not last long. For those of us sharing our borders with Russia, it never really happened at all. In fact, it never happened for anyone. The Tienanmen Square, the first and the second war in Chechnya, the attack on Georgia, the Russian aggression against Ukraine in 2014, which turned into full-scale war in February 2022, the never ending conflicts in the Near East that have also broken into a real war have and still do emphatically point to us that history is far from over and that we must be prepared to its new twists. Have been preparing, are we prepared, are we ready for the fact that all the utopias and dreams eventually must be paid in full? So far, we have been paying in money and anxiety, whereas Ukraine is already paying in blood. We believe that is worth of a serious conversation and that the Nida Forum is a great place for it.
September 19th (Friday)
- 9.45 a. m. Opening
- 10.00 – 11.30 a. m. Iryna Starovoit (Ukrainian poet, professor at the Ukrainian Catholic University)
„Bulletproof Culture and the Art of Endurance: A Counter-Catastrophe Perspective“
Moderated by dr. Jogilė Ulinskaitė - 11.45 a. m. – 1.15 p. m. Luka Lisjak Gabrijelčič (Slovenian historian, political analyst, translator)
“Democracy after Liberal Hegemony”
Moderated by Nikodem Szczygłowski
- 3.00 – 4.30 p. m. Karolis Kaupinis (film director, journalist)
“Empire and Colony”
Moderated by dr. Jogilė Ulinskaitė - 7.00 p.m. Curonian Spit History Museum
Poetry Reading by Irynos Starovoit. Translations Read by Marius Burokas
September 20th (Saturday)
- 10.00 – 11.30 a. m. Robert Menasse (Austrian writer)
„The Future of the World Begins in Europe“
Moderated by Antanas Gailius - 11.45 a. m. – 1.15 p. m. Aleksandras Abišala (Signatory to the Act of the Independance, former Prime Minister of Lithuania)
„On the Future of the European Union“
Moderated by dr. Jogilė Ulinskaitė
- 3.00 – 4.30 p. m. Samuel Marec (Slovak publicist, writer, translator)
“Slovakia – where history ends over and over again”
Moderated by Nikodem Szczygłowski
September 21th (Sunday)
- 9.00 a. m. Holy Mass at the Nida church, celebrated by Vytautas Sadauskas SJ
Organizer:
- Thomas Mann Cultural Center
Partners:
- Goethe Institute in Lithuania
- Neringa Museums
- Neringa Municipality
Contact person: Dr. Lina Motuzienė, tel. No. 068473329, nidosforumas@gmail.com
