WIKA-Workshop 2020: Cultures Underway. Cultural Divides within and across Societies

This year’s WIKA Workshop has been a very special one. Firstly, because it was the first to be held as a fully virtual event. Secondly, because it was an anniversary workshop: Not only the ifa Research Programme is celebrating its 10th anniversary and the ifa Research Award its 20th, the WIKA Workshop also celebrated its 15th anniversary this year. Thirdly, as the title and ateliers of this year’s WIKA Workshop took up themes and questions that were also discussed at the Anna Lindh Foundation’s „Launch of the Intercultural Trends Survey 2020“ and „Public Policy Forum on Youth and Civil Society in the Euro-Mediterranean“ on Wednesday, 2 December 2020.

The WIKA Workshop 2020, headed by the Chairwoman of the Academic Council on Culture and Foreign Policy (WIKA), Prof. Dr. Caroline Y. Robertson-von Trotha, and Secretary General of the Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations (ifa), Ronald Grätz, was organised by the ifa and ZAK | Centre for Cultural and General Studies in cooperation with the Anna Lindh Foundation (ALF) and focused on "Cultures Underway. Cultural Divides within and across Societies”.

The first presentation of atelier 1 identified and discussed the practical effects of populism and nationalism on contemporary cultural relations and cultural diplomacy. The second presentation focused on the globally networked state of online hate and online extremism with a special emphasis on the observation of the resurrection of Nazi ideologies and practices in nowadays hate postings.
The first presentation of atelier 2 focused on the antecedents, outcomes and functions of discrimination in intergroup contexts from a social psychological perspective and presented an application-oriented model that allows an interdisciplinary view on mechanisms of discrimination within society. The second presentation detailed three areas eroding public trust and engagement and their contributions to the fracturing of social cohesion and to growing cynicism, and presented the concept and approach of persistent media literacies to combat this growing media cynicism. 

We thank all speakers, moderators and participants for their contribution to this successful and discussion-packed WIKA Workshop 2020!

The videos of the presentations of the WIKA Workshop 2020 can be found here. 

WIKA-Workshop 2020: Cultures Underway. Cultural Divides within and across Societies

The Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations (ifa) and the ZAK | Centre for Cultural and General Studies at the KIT, in cooperation with the  Anna Lindh Foundation (ALF), will organise a workshop on "Cultures Underway. Cultural Divides within and across Societies" on Friday, 4 December 2020 within the framework of the Academic Council on Culture and Foreign Policy at the ifa (WIKA, Wissenschaftlicher Intitiativkreis Kultur und Außenpolitik).

Not only is the ifa Research Programme celebrating its 10th anniversary and the ifa Research Award its 20th, the WIKA Workshop will also celebrate its 15th anniversary this year.

This year’s 15th WIKA Workshop, headed by the Chairwoman of WIKA, Prof. Dr. Caroline Y. Robertson-von Trotha (ZAK) and Secretary General of ifa, Ronald Grätz (ifa), will focus on the challenges and impact of cultural divides within and across societies.

Overall, the WIKA Workshop 2020 will address topics such as:

  • (Digital) forms of cultural and political polarisation and closure
  • Influence of populism and nationalism on Cultural Relations and Cultural Diplomacy
  • Impact of media on mutual perceptions and cross-cultural reporting
  • (Digital) means to civic empowerment and cultural participation

The WIKA Workshop 2020 will be held in English and organised as a fully virtual event via the video conferencing tool Zoom on Friday, 4 December 2020, 11 am – 3 pm. After the WIKA Workshop 2020, at 3 pm and also via Zoom, the awarding of the ifa Research Award 2020 will take place. You are also cordially invited to this event.

 

WIKA Workshop 2020
Programme

Friday, 4 December 2020 I 11 am – 3 pm I Online 

11:00  

Words of Welcome

 

Ronald Grätz, Secretary General of ifa

 

Prof. Dr. Caroline Y. Robertson-von Trotha, Chairwoman of the Academic Council for Culture and Foreign Policy (WIKA) at ifa; Founding Director of ZAK | Centre for Cultural and General Studies at KIT
 
11:15 – 12:30 

Atelier 1: Cultural Divides within and across Societies

 

Moderation: Prof. Dr. Caroline Y. Robertson-von Trotha, Chairwoman of the Academic Council for Culture and Foreign Policy (WIKA) at ifa; Founding Director of ZAK | Centre for Cultural and General Studies at KIT

 

The Influence of Populism and Nationalism on Cultural Relations and Cultural Diplomacy 

Prof. Dr. Richard Higgott, Emeritus Professor of International Political Economy at the University of Warwick, UK; Researcher at the new Brussels School of Governance at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels

 

The State of Online Hate and Mitigation through Networking 
Claudia Schäfer, Director of Projects at INACH – International Network Against Cyber Hate, Amsterdam/Wien

 
12:30 – 13:30     

 

Lunch Break

 
13:30 – 14:45 

Atelier 2: Media and CSO Approaches to Mutual Understanding within and across Societies
    
Moderation: Dr. Annika Hampel, Executive Director, Africa Centre for Transregional Research, University of Freiburg & Arnold Bergstraesser Institute


Discrimination as a Threat to Social Cohesion and Democracy
Dr. Janine Dieckmann, Scientific Advisor and Researcher at the Institute for Democracy and Civil Society (IDZ), Jena

 

Persistent Media Literacies: Civic Empowerment and Cultural Participation in a Time of Rampant Media Cynicism
Dr. Paul Mihailidis, Associate Professor and Senior Fellow at Emerson College, Boston, MA; Faculty Chair and Director of the Salzburg Academy on Media and Global Change, Salzburg
 
14:45 – 15:00 

Closing Remarks

 

Prof. Dr. Caroline Y. Robertson-von Trotha, Chairwoman of the Academic Council for Culture and Foreign Policy (WIKA) at ifa; Founding Director of ZAK | Centre for Cultural and General Studies at KIT 

 
15:00 ifa Research Award on Foreign Cultural Policy


Please note that the programme is subject to change and will be updated continuously until the workshop. If you have any comments or questions directly related to the programme, please contact wika-workshop∂zak.kit.edu.
 

 

Date: Friday, 4 December 2020, 11 am – 3 pm
Location: Online, via Zoom
Direction: Prof. Dr. Caroline Y. Robertson-von Trotha,
Chairwoman of the Academic Council on Culture and Foreign Policy (WIKA) at ifa
Contact: wika-workshop∂zak kit edu
Registration:
  • The registration is free.
  • Please register by email to wika-workshop∂zak kit edu (Registration deadline: Monday, 30 November 2020)
  • A few days prior to the workshop you will receive a registration link to Zoom. (By registering for the WIKA Workshop 2020 you agree to the use of the video conferencing tool Zoom (see privacy policy of Zoom).