Do we even care about Europe?
With Islamophobia in France, the repression of LGBTQIA+ rights in Poland, and refugees being pushed back into the sea on the Italian border, we just can’t keep up with the topics defining the European sphere! The latest episode discusses European interests and sentiment.
‘What are people interested in in Europe? I think they are interested in understanding.’ Agnieszka Wisnewska, editor-in-chief of the Polish opinion daily Krytyka Polityczna, stresses the importance of small publishers that do not sprout out of capital cities. ‘The paradox is that we have so much information but we are not informed better’, she adds.
Amongst heaps of information, it becomes difficult to assess what the general public is interested in. Statistics are oftentimes quite surprising. ‘If we’ve learned anything, it’s that one never knows what the audience is going to find interesting’ says Simon Garnett, senior editor at Eurozine.
Topics such as the environment, housing, digitalization, the labour market, and rising right-wing fascism seem to occupy the anxieties of most of the upcoming European generation to varying degrees. Although the EU promises socio-political cohesion across the continent, the problems arising from each of its member states pose a huge threat to its structure.
‘It’s not just about how I might feel about those issues in Germany or France, but it’s about how Germans feel about what’s happening in France’, Sara Elizabeth Cooper of My Country Talks says.
Media must facilitate direct discussions with the audience to build communities. Joined by some some founding members of the Display Europe platform, we delve into the strategies of bringing European interests closer through accessible platforms, and for a wider audience.
Today’s guests
Agnieszka Wisnewska is editor-in-chief of Krytyka Polityczna, a Polish opinion daily.
Simon Garnett is the senior editor at Eurozine.
Chicago-raised Sara Elizabeth Cooper of My Country Talks, facilitates a political dialogue and engagement journalism program from Germany’s Zeit Online.
We meet with them at the Cafe Disko of the Bikes and Rails Housing Project, Vienna.
Creative team
Réka Kinga Papp, editor-in-chief
Merve Akyel, art director
Szilvia Pintér, producer
Zsófia Gabriella Papp, executive producer
Salma Shaka, writer-editor
Priyanka Hutschenreiter, project assistant
Management
Hermann Riessner managing director
Judit Csikós project manager
Csilla Nagyné Kardos, office administration
OKTO Crew
Senad Hergić producer
Leah Hochedlinger video recording
Marlena Stolze video recording
Clemens Schmiedbauer video recording
Richard Brusek sound recording
Postproduction
Nóra Ruszkai, lead video editor
István Nagy, video editor
Milán Golovics, conversation editor
Art
Victor Maria Lima, animation
Cornelia Frischauf, theme music
Captions and subtitles
Julia Sobota closed captions, Polish and French subtitles; language versions management
Farah Ayyash Arabic subtitles
Mia Belén Soriano Spanish subtitles
Marta Ferdebar Croatian subtitles
Lídia Nádori German subtitles
Katalin Szlukovényi Hungarian subtitles
Daniela Univazo German subtitles
Olena Yermakova Ukrainian subtitles
Aida Yermekbayeva Russian subtitles
Mars Zaslavsky Italian subtitles
Hosted by Cafe Disko of the Bikes and Rails Housing Project, Vienna.
Related reads
Europe Talks, My Country Talks.
Can we decommercialize housing? Standard Time.
Focal point: Breaking bread: Food and water systems under pressure, Eurozine.
The alchemists of Ludwigshafen, Staffan Graner, Eurozine.
Disclosure
This talk show is a Display Europe production: a ground-breaking media platform anchored in public values.
This programme is co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union and the European Cultural Foundation.
Importantly, the views and opinions expressed here are those of the authors and speakers only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the EACEA can be held responsible for them.
Published 21 March 2024
Original in English
Newsletter
Subscribe to know what’s worth thinking about.
Related Articles
How can independent journalism compete in a sector facing heightened reporting time pressures and diminishing financial returns? How can it entice writers to remain true to earning an honest living when on the brink of insolvency? An established indie in southern Italy, where political pressures are intense, shares its resilient approach.
Slovakia’s right-wing nationalist minister Martina Šimkovičová is waging an ideological war on the country’s independent arts and media sector, targeting cultural institutions, discriminating against LGBTQIA+ organizations. Though fearing for their safety, cultural workers are fighting back via collective action, supporting those on strike.