Europa28

We celebrate an exceptional collection of diverse and inspiring, brave and provocative texts that speak about the future of Europe as well as the trials of the present. The book launch of the Croatian edition brings together four authors included in the anthology – Bosnian poet, writer and translator Asja Bakić, performer, writer and director Lisa Dwan from Ireland, Slovene philosopher Renata Salecl and the documentary film director, activist and journalist Apolena Rychlikova from the Czech Republic – who will each present their vision of the future of Europe. Chaired by Anda Bukvić.

For our live events in Zagreb and Rijeka, strict hygiene and distancing protocols will be followed in accordance with government covid-19 guidelines. Find out more here.

Excerpts from the book Europa28 with Estonian author Maarja Kangro, Swedish journalist and author Karolina Ramqvist, author and director Saara Turunen from Finland, and Danish writer Janne Teller. Chaired by Sophie Hughes.

As a participant of the Europa28 project, Carine Krecké created a short, absurd, dystopian play entitled Remote Control. The setting is a so-called ‘trilogue’ – a type of meeting frequently used in the European Union’s legislative process, when previous negotiations have failed. Three protagonists (Supervisor, Regulator, and Parliamentarian) confront each other in a technocratic battle that apparently leads nowhere. Yet the object of their meeting seems trivial: which one of the three parties will operate the remote control of the powerpoint projector in the next trilogue meeting? Carine Krecké presents her audiovisual adaptation of Remote Control.

Portuguese writer and translator Ana Pessoa has published five books for young adults: Detour, Here Is A Good Place, Mary John, Supergiant and The Karate Girls’ Red Notebook. Following the introspective tone of her anthology piece The Voice Inside My Head, in which she explores the relationship between humanity and technology in the words of a 16-year-old boy in the 22nd century, she presents a personal view on time, contemplation and imagination in her Imagination Manifesto.

What challenges lie in store for us as a species? In the wake of ground-breaking technological advances hand-in-hand with the deepening of social inequality and injustice, three experts offer their own perspective on some of the most pressing issues we face today. They are Italian science writer and broadcaster Silvia Bencivelli, British social activist and writer Hilary Cottam, and Yvonne Hofstetter, German jurist, writer, professor of digitization and society, and CEO of German technology company 21 Strategies. Chaired by Rosie Goldsmith.

With Croatian subtitles

Elif Shafak is an activist for women’s and minority rights, and freedom of speech. Her latest book, 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World, was shortlisted for the Booker prize and shortlisted for the Prix de Livre Étranger in France: for the protagonist Leila, each minute after her death brings a sensuous memory – the taste of a spiced goat stew; the sight of bubbling vats of lemon and sugar used by women to wax their legs while the men attend mosque; the scent of cardamom coffee shared with a handsome student in the brothel where she works. In conversation live on screen about her work and about Europe challenges with the literary critic Anda Bukvic editor.

This event will have a physical live audience. If you wish to join the audience, please register to ATTEND IN PERSON. If you wish to watch the live stream of the event online, please register to ATTEND ONLINE

In English with Croatian translation

For our live events in Zagreb and Rijeka, strict hygiene and distancing protocols will be followed in accordance with government covid-19 guidelines. Find out more here.

The powerful and timely anthology Europa28, published simultaneously in English, Croatian and Spanish, brings us visions for the future from 28 outstanding European women thinkers, writers, scientists, entrepreneurs and artists. The book offers a vast range of perspectives, looking at this ever-changing continent with fresh eyes and suggesting ways in which we might rebuild it. Slovene philosopher Renata Salecl, influential feminist writer Karolina Ramqvist from Sweden, Bosnian poet and writer Asja Bakić and award-winning writer Janne Teller from Denmark. Chaired by Dijana Dominis Prester.

This event will have a physical live audience. If you wish to join the audience, please register to ATTEND IN PERSON. If you wish to watch the live stream of the event online, please register to ATTEND ONLINE

English with Croatian translation

For our live events in Zagreb and Rijeka, strict hygiene and distancing protocols will be followed in accordance with government covid-19 guidelines. Find out more here.

Saara Turunen from Finland, Czech film director Apolena Rychlikova, and Irish performer, director and writer Lisa Dwan read a selection from the anthology Europa28.

Chaired by Sophie Hughes.

The Cypriot author reads her contribution to Europa 28; Hummingbird is a story about migration, family, freedom, peace and violence. To give the audience an insight into the recent history and current political situation in Cyprus, she also presents an excerpt from her book of short stories Ledra Street, and the short poemAphrodite Rising.

English with Croatian subtitles

Bronka Nowicka (Poland) is an interdisciplinary artist, film and theatre director, scriptwriter, visual artist, poet and lecturer at the National Film School in Lodz. "Narratives” concentrate on relations between people and things: personified, embodying the dead, kept in mind – existing only as an image of matter in a memory. The author documents human-thing relations; she collects stories about their shared existences, gathers images of things: sentimental, fetishized, condemned to annihilation that is performed by their owners on purpose. The author pays particular attention to the last category of things trying to illustrate their way from matter to memory.

With English subtitles

Hay Festival Classics revisits unforgettable events from different Hay Festivals, with outstanding guests on the international scene. With a fresh perspective, we present conversations that stand the test of time. Olga Tokarczuk, the Polish novelist, essayist, dramatist, poet and psychologist, won the 2018 Nobel Prize for Literature. Her masterpiece, Flights, won the 2018 Man Booker International Prize. At Hay Wales in 2018, Olga Tokarczuk and Gaby Wood spoke about this powerful novel, accompanied by Jennifer Croft, translator of the novel into English.

With Croatian subtitles

The acclaimed Latvian writer Nora Ikstena, the award-winning investigative journalist and co-founder of The Shift News Caroline Muscat (Malta), and the CEO of The Home Project, Sofia Kouvelaki (Greece) will discuss of the different social and political structures that lead to situations of inclusion and exclusion in Europe. Chaired by the journalist Thea Lenarduzzi.

In English live

A discussion on contemporary culture and politics in Europe with the Belgian writer and journalist Annelies Beck, the Hungarian author, critic and scholar, Zsófia Bán, and Žydrūnė Vitaitė (Lithuania) entrepreneur, business woman and activist. Chaired by Davor Mandic.

In English live

Slovak film-maker Tereza Nvotová reads extracts from her piece Ride in the Europa28 anthology and shares her thoughts on how Europe has changed on account of the pandemic. The Covid-19 crisis has revealed an increase in the often hidden issues of domestic violence, discrimination and nationalistic tendencies. Nvotova reflects on how persistence, the topic of her contribution, is the key to moving forward.

With Croatian subtitles

Hay Festival Classics is a series of unforgettable events from Hay Festivals around the world, with outstanding guests on the international scene. Here we show Leïla Slimani, one of Europa28 writers and the first Moroccan woman to win France’s most prestigious literary prize, the Prix Goncourt, which she won for the shocking thriller and global best-seller, Lullaby. She is a journalist and frequent commentator on women’s and human rights. She discusses her work and her new novel Adèle with the Anglo-French author of East West Street, winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize, Philippe Sands.

With Croatian subtitles

Hay Festival Classics is a series of unforgettable events from Hay Festivals around the world, with outstanding guests on the international scene. With a fresh perspective, we present conversations that stand the test of time. The writer Zadie Smith (UK) made her debut in 2000 with White Teeth, captivating readers around the world. With another three published novels, a collection of short stories and three books of essays, her work consistently tackles race, social inequality, and the transcendence of friendship ties. At Hay Cartagena in 2019, Zadie Smith talked to journalist and writer Carolina Sanín about Feel Free, a book that combines autobiographical elements with commentary on the culture that absorbs us, and allows us to see the world through reality and fiction.

With Croatian subtitles

Has Europe progressed beyond the constraints of racism and xenophobia? If not, why not? Edurne Portela, Spanish historian, philologist, university lecturer, essayist and novelist, Dutch Afro-Surinamese professor, writer and anthropologist Gloria Wekker and Austrian author, playwright, painter and translator Julya Rabinowich discuss inclusion and exclusion in Europe, and the social and political structures on which they are built. Chaired by Rosie Goldsmith.

With Croatian subtitles

Journalist Saša Uhlová spent six months exploring working conditions in the Czech Republic's worst-paid jobs. She spent weeks in a hospital washroom, at a poultry plant, behind a cash register and at a waste sorting facility. Her experience formed the basis of a very personal series of articles about people working in invisible jobs under shocking conditions. Apolena Rychlíková (Czech Republic) has turned these articles into a documentary that consists of scenes shot at Uhlová’s home and of video footage taken at her places of work, accompanied by commentaries on these read by Uhlová.

In Czech with English subtitles

Europe includes 28 countries, each of which comprises a richness of cultures and traditions; Europe has also been, historically, a land of migrations, receiving migrants and seeing large numbers of its people migrating to other regions. How does all this affect culture? The Hungarian author, critic and scholar, Zsófia Bán, Estonian poet, short story writer, librettist and translator Maarja Kangro and the artist Bronka Nowicka (Poland) discuss the way migrants have shaped the cultural evolution of Europe. Chaired by journalist Georgina Godwin.

In English live