EVZ Conversations!

The focus is on topics that are socially relevant and closely linked to the EVZ Foundation's mission and work.

In 2022, we launched the discussion series and talked with our guests, for example about the consequences of the war in Ukraine on the culture of remembrance, the situation of human rights activists in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia as well as the abduction of Ukrainian children by Russia.

You can find the best-of videos and complete recordings of past events on our YouTube channel.

Ma Bistrass! - Against Forgetting! How can art and culture help commemorate the genocide against the Rom:nja and Sinti:ze?

May 27, 6:00 p.m.

Goethe-Institut Prague

Free admission as part of the Khamoro Festival

How can art and culture contribute to commemorating the genocide against the Rom:nja and Sinti:ze—and what can they achieve that historical education alone cannot?

Structural discrimination against the Romani and Sinti minorities, political shifts, and declining public funding are realities throughout Europe that pose major obstacles to remembrance and cultural work.

Roma-led cultural projects and festivals such as Khamoro impressively demonstrate how majority societies can be reached and perceptions can be changed in a lasting way. But how far does this impact actually extend? Can art change societal attitudes—or does it primarily appeal to an audience that is already sensitized to the issue?

This collaborative event between the Foundation for Remembrance, Responsibility, and the Future and the Goethe-Institut brings together German and Czech actors from civil society and the cultural sector and invites participants to reflect, discuss, and develop new perspectives for an inclusive and forward-looking culture of remembrance.

Panelists:

Luigi Toscano, UNESCO Artist for Peace and photographer

Dr. Andrea Despot, Chair of the Board of the Foundation for Remembrance, Responsibility, and the Future

Claudie Laburdová, Slovo 21, Director of the Roma women’s group Manushe

Ladislav Mucha, artist

Moderator: Viola Jakschová

Where is our land? – a Belarusian evening with Volny Chor

When music becomes protest – a concert evening followed by a discussion with representatives of the Belarusian diaspora.

When: December 3. 2025, 19:00
Where: St.-Bartholomäuskirche, Friedenstraße 1, 10249 Berlin (M4, Bus 200 Am Friedrichshain/Greifswalder Str.)
Free entry

The event will be held in English – click here to register.
Please note, registration to the event is not mandatory, but we would appreciate it for organisational reasons. 

After the one hour-long concert, we invite you to a short panel discussion with the participation of Galina Kazimirovskaya, conductor of the Volny Chor, Olga Bubich, memory researcher, photographer, and essayist, and Masha, former EVZ Fellow and project coordinator at the NGO Educat Kollektiv. The discussion will be moderated by Mascha Wilke, Lead of the EVZ Academy.

The Volny Chor is a cultural protest movement in Belarus, which appeared as a reaction to the mass protests taking place in the Republic of Belarus in August 2020. The portests were met with a wave of violence by the country's security forces.

Professional musicians gathered on the steps of the Philharmonic Society because they could no longer keep silent. They came out with a musical appeal to the people and sang the main anthem for all Belarusians - Magutny Bozha (Almighty God), to show a sign of solidarity to what was happening, their unity with civil society and protesters. At that moment, it was not yet clear that this emotional impulse would result in a movement. Various musicians, instrumentalists, singers, composers, amateur choirs and random citizens began to join. The song has become a unifying link for completely different people. 

All the activities of the Volny Chor are strictly anonymous. No one knows who these people are, who appear from nowhere and disappear into nowhere. The main condition for the participation and existence of The Volny Chor is anonymous. The members cannot talk about their participation in the choir. Only the choir director renounces anonymity and bears responsibility for the ensemble. The Volny Chor has repeatedly experienced repressions and persecution: at least 30 people have been arrested, the choir is being hunted, there have been raids on rehearsals, intimidation and threats. But in spite of everything, the Volny Chor lives on, it has followers in different districts of Minsk, in other cities of Belarus and in different countries.

Many of the Volny Chor singers had to leave Belarus. Since the end of June 2021 the choir has been based in Poland where they arrange numerous concerts and tours to talk about their historical past, their present and the hope for the bright future of the New Free Belarus.

More episodes

How is Putin instrumentalizing history in the war of aggression against Ukraine? And what challenges does memory work face in times of war? These and other topics were covered in past episodes of EVZ Conversations!

Discover all past episodes