13 –14 November 2025 | Zurich/Schwitzerland
An event in cooperation with not_your_bubble, a project of the Zurich Institute for Interreligious Dialogue (ZIID)
The creation of a pluralistic, contemporary culture of remembrance requires sustainable structures and long-term cooperation across European borders. Against the backdrop of increasing social polarisation in Europe, pluralistic and non-public spaces create a crucial prerequisite: they offer opportunities for exchange and networking among European actors and enable the development of concrete concepts and strategies for a pluralistic, more inclusive and future-oriented culture of remembrance. Beyond the question of safe(r), brave(r) or accountable spaces, these spaces must be designed in such a way that they enable the visibility of diverse perspectives and expand the circle of those who participate in shaping the culture of remembrance – for a plurality of memory that can strengthen our European democracy.
As part of the European network meeting of the CPPD, civil society actors from various European contexts gathered in Zurich to reflect on cooperation in the contexts of remembrance culture and politics, present projects and develop strategies for joint work. The meeting focused on the tension between country-specific conditions and the need for European cooperation and transnational strategies.
Using selected projects, the video and audio project ‘Atemräume’ (Breathing Spaces) on questions of belonging, history of violence, culture of remembrance and visibility (Brunnenpassage Vienna), the Dynamic Memory Lab ‘Cycles of Decolonisation’ on decolonisation processes in Europe (CPPD) and the event ‘Neutrality Theatre – Myth of Switzerland Put to the Test!’, on gaps in Swiss memory culture, a variety of approaches to central discourses on memory culture were presented and discussed.
Hannan Salamat summarised the outcome of the network meeting by emphasising that ‘the driving force behind transformative processes is above all the cohesion and commitment of civil society, which creates safe, courageous and responsible spaces.’
Nicole Schweiß talks to Basya Gartenstein (GEZUBI) and Dragana Stojanovic (Haver Serbia) about their project, “The Upstanders Network”, which connects educators from Vienna and Belgrade to address issues such as antisemitism, Islamophobia, and discrimination against Roma and Sinti people, as well as broader social exclusion.
This episode of the CPPD podcast Erinnerungsfutur (Memory Future) examines the topic of naming and renaming streets in Berlin, which is of great historical and social significance.
