Working Group 4: Cultural Memory of Dissent

Working Group Chairs: Ferenc Laczo and Idesbald Goddeeris

The activities of Working Group will focus on exploring the cultures of remembrance of pre-1989 East European dissent across Europe. The aim is to examine the construction of the oppositional legacy through both official and alternative narratives; the attempts at integrating this legacy in the broader European culture of remembrance; and the contemporary uses of the dissident past within the EU and among its neighbors. We will pay special attention to the guiding principles behind the preservation and digitization of the dissident heritage, the varied public functions of remembering dissent, and the role of transnational actors and networks in those activities.

The Czech president Václav Havel and Acting President of Hungary Árpád Göncz (1990)