Danube Salon 2025: Facing Polarisation – Embracing Dialogue

The Danube Salon, held within the framework of the Europaforum Wachau, focused this year on the theme “Facing Polarisation – Embracing Dialogue.” The event took place on 12 June 2025 at the Landesgalerie in Krems and featured a distinguished panel of speakers: Lukas Mandl (Member of the European Parliament), Petra Korlaar (Deputy Mayor of Mikulov), Stefan Benedik (Head of the Department of Public History, House of Austrian History), Malwina Talik (Research Associate at IDM), and Svitlana Telukha (historian specializing in oral history research). The session was moderated by Sebastian Schäffer (Director of the IDM). 

Memory and Dialogue Across Borders 

The panelists explored how memory, identity, and historical narratives can be used to counter polarisation and foster inclusive dialogue across borders, generations, and communities – highlighting the roles of political institutions, local actors, museums, and oral history in promoting democratic resilience and a shared European culture of remembrance. 

In the opening, Petra Korlaar shared her personal experiences as Deputy Mayor of the Czech city of Mikulov, located just a few kilometers from the Austrian border. She reflected on the enthusiasm for cross-border exchange following the 1989 revolution. While people initially embraced the new opportunities for transnational dialogue, over time many began to take open borders for granted, and transnational dialogue was thought to be no longer necessary. Drawing on her own projects, including literary residencies for Czech, Austrian, and German writers, she emphasized that there is still a need for exchange opportunities today. When such spaces are offered, people often gladly participate and come to appreciate the importance of fostering dialogue and cooperation – especially in the face of growing polarisation. 

Dialogue in Times of Tragedy 

Lukas Mandl referred to the tragic school shooting that occurred on 10 June in Graz, expressing that, despite such a terrible event, it remains meaningful to come together in a respectful way. He underscored the importance of community and dialogue, particularly also after tragedies, and highlighted how timely and relevant the topic of polarisation is in today’s context. 

In response to the question of how the EU can more effectively support resilience against polarisation, particularly among younger generations in Central and Eastern Europe, Lukas Mandl highlighted the establishment of a Special Committee in the European Parliament on the European Democracy Shield, created to address emerging geopolitical challenges. He emphasized the importance of education, combating disinformation, and fostering human encounters as key tools in countering polarisation. Mandl also referred to the informal parliamentary group on European remembrance, underlining the need to academically engage with history. He noted that this dimension has been lacking in the Western Balkans (WB6) and should not be overlooked in Ukraine. 

Historical Narratives and Democratic Resilience 

During the following panel discussion, Stefan Benedik, Malwina Talik, and Svitlana Telukha shared their personal views, professional experiences, and research findings on historical narratives, remembrance, and polarisation. When asked what “facing polarisation and embracing dialogue” means to them in their personal or professional work, especially in relation to memory and history, they emphasized the importance of practicing self-criticism, engaging in dialogue even when disagreeing, and listening to voices often absent from the general discourse. 

Museums as Forums for Dialogue 

On the role of museums in depolarising public debates in times of rising extremism and misinformation, Stefan Benedik emphasized that a museum should not only be a place for reflection but also a forum for discussion. He warned that today, the main challenge does not stem from contested memories, but rather from the fact that the very fabric of knowledge-based societies is being challenged – that critical thinking is being delegitimized, and that this disrupts democracy. Moreover, he pointed out that the establishment of memorials is often a top-down process that does not involve communities. He suggested adopting more democratic approaches to history, emphasizing that history should be seen as a process and does not necessarily need to be finalized as a product. 

History Is Never Neutral 

Malwina Talik pointed out that it is impossible to represent all voices, and therefore history is never truly neutral. This creates space for manipulation or the use of history for political purposes. She also emphasized that certain perspectives have been silenced for a very long time – for example, those of minorities or during communist regimes. Furthermore, she stressed that history is approached differently in democracies than in autocracies or backsliding democracies: in the latter, there is little or no space for discussion. It has been shown that, after targeting the judiciary and the media, such regimes often move on to rewriting history books. 

Ukrainian History as a Battlefield 

Svitlana Telukha shared her personal experience as a historian dealing with Ukrainian history in a time of war. She explained that history in Ukraine is currently a battlefield. After the full-scale invasion began, she wondered what she could do and decided to give recorded personal narratives a space, also to highlight societal resilience. She emphasized that in her personal approach, which includes both oral and graphic elements, it is important not only to collect material but also to publish it already now – not to wait, as “the rockets are flying now.” At the end of the discussion, she also stressed the importance of listening to one another, describing it as a very powerful act. 

We want to thank the Europaforum Wachau, the ARGE Donauländer and the University for Continuing Education in Krems for their longstanding cooperation in the framework of this event. A special thank you goes to Teresa Stummer. 

The recording of the Danube Salon 2025 will be published soon. 

Danube Salon 2025 in the newspaper “Bezirkszeitung”: https://www.meinbezirk.at/niederoesterreich/c-politik/kultur-des-erinnerns-im-fokus-europaeischer-debatte_a7377023