Superpower Resilience – Hope on the Path to Transformation?

In times of global crises, people and societies need to become resistant and adapt quickly. Set against this backdrop, the term “resilience” has increasingly emerged over recent years. Is it a mere buzzword, or is it an essential factor on the pathway toward the necessary sustainable transformation? And do art and culture have a special role to play for this purpose? The Genshagen Foundation has grappled with those questions in June 2023 as part of its event series “Academy under Trees”. In this publication, contributors from a variety of backgrounds – academia, the arts, politics, civil society and from a range of countries – formulate their views on this topic with written contributions and audio-visual recordings in five thematic blocks: “Urban Resilience”, “Resilience amid Climate Change and Sustainability”, “Democracies in Times of Crises”, “What Future for the Young Generation?”, “Art and Resilience in Times of War and Forced Migration“.

While Leon Kapetas from the Resilient Cities Network explains the concept of urban resilience,

Robert Piaskowski, the Plenipotentiary of the President of Krakow for Culture, describes how the city authorities reacted to the crisis unleashed by the covid-19 pandemic in order to safeguard its cultural sector, and how this experience had better prepared Krakow for subsequent crises.

Karim Selouane from Resallience analyses what is needed to ensure that the public sector is better prepared for inevitable disasters amid climate change and why joint action with art and culture is a must. Siddhartha from Fireflies Intercultural Centre in Bangalore provides insights into the situation throughout India and the local solutions that are being sought for the global challenges triggered by climate change.

Andreas Oldenbourg from the Progressives Zentrum e. V. focuses on democratic regression and clarifies why a progressive understanding of democratic resilience is particularly called for. For climate activist Jakob Blasel the call for more resilience is by no means a sufficient response to the challenges with which younger generations are confronted.

Author Dima Albitar Kalaji from WIR MACHEN DAS e. V. specifically focuses on the precarious situation with which writers in exile have to contend. Pianist Aeham Ahmad shows the resilience he was able to develop in times of war and how music has helped him do so.

In order to reflect the diversity of the perspectives, the written contributions have been left in their original German, French, Polish and Arabic versions in addition to being translated into English.

Partners: Dialogues en humanité

Supported by: Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb); Nemetschek Stiftung