7 – 9 October 2025
Chemnitz, Germany
In an age where algorithms decide which histories survive and which vanish into digital oblivion, the question of how Europe remembers its past has become a battleground for democracy itself. As polarisation deepens and shared narratives fracture, remembrance is no longer simply a matter of monuments and memorials – it is increasingly shaped by profit-driven platforms, emotional dynamics, and digital architectures that privatise and fragment collective memory. This autumn, in Chemnitz – a city reinventing itself as European Capital of Culture while confronting its own challenging histories – artists, civic activists, and digital experts gathered to reclaim remembrance from the margins of the internet. Their mission: to prove that democratic memory work can not only survive digital fragmentation, but emerge stronger, more participatory, and more inclusive than ever before.
(Foto: Natalia Reich)
In response to this challenge, the Future 500 Chemnitz Study Trip collaborated with the Coalition for Pluralistic Public Discourse (CPPD), Dagesh – Jewish Art in Context, and the EU-funded research project TWON to connect remembrance culture with digital literacy and democratic participation. Based in a city characterised by renewal and challenging histories, and within the context of the European Capital of Culture, the collaboration fostered innovative approaches to inclusive remembrance. It demonstrated that, through collaboration and critical engagement, collective memory can withstand digital fragmentation and emerge stronger and more participatory.
The programme brought together artists, local organisations, experts and civic actors to explore new forms of remembrance in the digital age. Through performances, workshops and public discussions, participants examined the intersection of technology, culture and local histories in shaping collective memory.
(Fotos: Anne Schober)
It began with a concert and an artist talk by Alex Stolze and Daniel Laufer as part of Dagesh Studio on the Road – #Sukkot Edition. His album Raash ve Ruach reflects on the events of 7 October 2023 and the resilience of Jewish life today. This artistic opening set the tone for the following days, presenting remembrance as a living, dialogical process. Interactive formats such as the TWON Citizen Lab invited participants and the public to experience the ways in which digital platforms structure emotional dynamics and public opinion, prompting reflection on transparency and accountability online. Discussions on political memory work and creative resistance explored how remembrance can be practised across communities and platforms, while a session on the Vietnamese diaspora in Chemnitz brought migration histories, community memories, and experiences of racism to the fore. The public panel “Practices of Remembrance in Digital Spaces,” featuring Dr. Jonas Fegert, Nhi Le, Susanne Siegert, and moderator Benjamin Fischer, brought the discussion to a wider audience by examining how AI and social media not only challenge traditional forms of remembrance but also open up new possibilities for digital memory work – expanding its reach, accessibility, and creative expression through platforms such as digital archives and interactive formats. The panel took place at the Offener Prozess – Documentation Center on the NSU Complex, a particularly meaningful venue as it engages with the legacies of right-wing violence and promotes critical, participatory approaches to remembrance and justice in contemporary Germany. By connecting diverse perspectives – from local histories to digital ethics – the programme turned Chemnitz into a laboratory for shared remembrance. It demonstrated how collaborative initiatives can translate complex histories into shared responsibility, strengthening both cultural participation and democratic resilience.
The Chemnitz Study Trip made one thing clear: remembrance in the digital age must be participatory and critically aware of power structures. It reaffirmed the unique role of Future 500 and DialoguePerspectives e.V., with its different programmes, as an interreligious platform fostering pluralism online and offline. Defending democratic memory today means defending the spaces in which it is shared, discussed, and transformed – both online and off.
