Events / Program: Milena Jesenská Fellowship for Journalists

	Title	Date	Type Sort ascending	Speakers
	Mental Illness as a Cultural and Societal Phenomenon	Mon, 23.11.2020	Seminars and Colloquia	Anna Kiedrzynek Eric Reinhart Ludger Hagedorn	Mental Illness as a Cultural and Societal Phenomenon Mon, 23.11.2020 Speakers: Anna Kiedrzynek Eric Reinhart Ludger Hagedorn Series: Seminars and Colloquia The collapse of communism in the CEE region 30 years ago was the start of a long-term process of sociopolitical change, in which a major transformation of the mental health system was expected. Unfortunately, this transformation is not yet complete. For example, in Poland people with severe mental illnesses and disabilities are treated in large psychiatric institutions and lack access to community-based care. The stigma around people with severe illnesses remains higher there than in Western European countries (according to The Lancet Psychiatry): they face exclusion on many levels and often remain marginalized. It is crucial that mental illnesses is seen, by both academic researchers and journalists, as not just a biological fact but also a societal and cultural phenomenon. Read more
Mental Illness as a Cultural and Societal Phenomenon Mon, 23.11.2020 Speakers: Anna Kiedrzynek Eric Reinhart Ludger Hagedorn Series: Seminars and Colloquia The collapse of communism in the CEE region 30 years ago was the start of a long-term process of sociopolitical change, in which a major transformation of the mental health system was expected. Unfortunately, this transformation is not yet complete. For example, in Poland people with severe mental illnesses and disabilities are treated in large psychiatric institutions and lack access to community-based care. The stigma around people with severe illnesses remains higher there than in Western European countries (according to The Lancet Psychiatry): they face exclusion on many levels and often remain marginalized. It is crucial that mental illnesses is seen, by both academic researchers and journalists, as not just a biological fact but also a societal and cultural phenomenon. Read more
	Tunisia: After the Terror	Mon, 15.01.2024	Seminars and Colloquia	Dalia Mikulska Ayşe Çağlar	Tunisia: After the Terror Mon, 15.01.2024 Speakers: Dalia Mikulska Ayşe Çağlar Series: Seminars and Colloquia This presentation aimed to explore the societal schism in Tunisia between conservative (Muslim) and liberal factions. Following a constitutional coup in 2021 that concentrated substantial power in the hands of the president, Tunisia is ostensibly more secure, but is grappling with authoritarian regression, a deepening economic crisis, and a broader erosion of human rights. The speaker showed how the specter of the terrorist threat is leveraged to justify violations. Read more
Tunisia: After the Terror Mon, 15.01.2024 Speakers: Dalia Mikulska Ayşe Çağlar Series: Seminars and Colloquia This presentation aimed to explore the societal schism in Tunisia between conservative (Muslim) and liberal factions. Following a constitutional coup in 2021 that concentrated substantial power in the hands of the president, Tunisia is ostensibly more secure, but is grappling with authoritarian regression, a deepening economic crisis, and a broader erosion of human rights. The speaker showed how the specter of the terrorist threat is leveraged to justify violations. Read more
	Letters to Enver Hoxha	Mon, 02.11.2020	Seminars and Colloquia	Nikolai Antoniadis Miloš Vec	Letters to Enver Hoxha Mon, 02.11.2020 Speakers: Nikolai Antoniadis Miloš Vec Series: Seminars and Colloquia From after World War II until his death in 1985, thousands of Albanians wrote letters to Enver Hoxha, a mixture of trivial everyday concerns and exceptional episodes that are tragic, heart-warming and absurd in equal measure. These letters were meticulously archived by the authorities, discussed and acted upon. Put in context, they reveal an abysmal world in which the Party was in control of all aspects of life – a national trauma that has not been addressed to this day. Read more
Letters to Enver Hoxha Mon, 02.11.2020 Speakers: Nikolai Antoniadis Miloš Vec Series: Seminars and Colloquia From after World War II until his death in 1985, thousands of Albanians wrote letters to Enver Hoxha, a mixture of trivial everyday concerns and exceptional episodes that are tragic, heart-warming and absurd in equal measure. These letters were meticulously archived by the authorities, discussed and acted upon. Put in context, they reveal an abysmal world in which the Party was in control of all aspects of life – a national trauma that has not been addressed to this day. Read more
	Religious Fundamentalism and the Decline of Women’s Reproductive Rights in Central Europe	Mon, 17.05.2021	Seminars and Colloquia	Amanda Coakley Dennis Patterson Ivan Vejvoda	Religious Fundamentalism and the Decline of Women’s Reproductive Rights in Central Europe Mon, 17.05.2021 Speakers: Amanda Coakley Dennis Patterson Ivan Vejvoda Series: Seminars and Colloquia In the shadow of population decline some Central European states have turned their attention to curtailing women’s access to abortion and in the case of Poland, effectively outlawing it. These policy moves are not only the work of illiberal governments. They are also heavily linked to religious institutions who for decades have labelled women’s reproductive rights as enemy number one on the battlefield of moral values. Calling for a “return to traditional family values” is not the path to economic and social prosperity. Yet it is a clarion call sounded from Warsaw to Budapest. Furthermore, these moves are indicative of the Church’s desire to maintain its political as well as religious influence as a growing number of people in the region chose a more secular life. Read more
Religious Fundamentalism and the Decline of Women’s Reproductive Rights in Central Europe Mon, 17.05.2021 Speakers: Amanda Coakley Dennis Patterson Ivan Vejvoda Series: Seminars and Colloquia In the shadow of population decline some Central European states have turned their attention to curtailing women’s access to abortion and in the case of Poland, effectively outlawing it. These policy moves are not only the work of illiberal governments. They are also heavily linked to religious institutions who for decades have labelled women’s reproductive rights as enemy number one on the battlefield of moral values. Calling for a “return to traditional family values” is not the path to economic and social prosperity. Yet it is a clarion call sounded from Warsaw to Budapest. Furthermore, these moves are indicative of the Church’s desire to maintain its political as well as religious influence as a growing number of people in the region chose a more secular life. Read more
	Becoming ....	Mon, 10.02.2020	Seminars and Colloquia	Ayşe Çağlar Lucy Ashton	Becoming .... Mon, 10.02.2020 Speakers: Ayşe Çağlar Lucy Ashton Series: Seminars and Colloquia Embraced, helped, distrusted, rejected – the refugees of 2015/16 have endured a vicious cycle of popular opinion. In Austria, young Afghans often carry the worst reputation. Nearly five years on, many are still in the asylum process while claims from other nationalities have long since been finalised. Meanwhile, the rejection rate for Afghan claims has almost doubled and Austria has begun deportations to Kabul. In the midst of this prolonged uncertainty, asylum seekers are expected to intergrate from Day 1. Read more
Becoming .... Mon, 10.02.2020 Speakers: Ayşe Çağlar Lucy Ashton Series: Seminars and Colloquia Embraced, helped, distrusted, rejected – the refugees of 2015/16 have endured a vicious cycle of popular opinion. In Austria, young Afghans often carry the worst reputation. Nearly five years on, many are still in the asylum process while claims from other nationalities have long since been finalised. Meanwhile, the rejection rate for Afghan claims has almost doubled and Austria has begun deportations to Kabul. In the midst of this prolonged uncertainty, asylum seekers are expected to intergrate from Day 1. Read more
	Irony in Politics	Mon, 05.06.2023	Seminars and Colloquia	Gergely Tóth Misha Glenny	Irony in Politics Mon, 05.06.2023 Speakers: Gergely Tóth Misha Glenny Series: Seminars and Colloquia Irony has always fascinated thinkers, artists and frankly, everyone reflecting on the smaller and bigger paradoxes of life. Since the Romantic movement, irony is understood to be more than an “average” trope; it has been framed, variously, as an attitude, a discursive strategy or even the source of freedom. According to Søren Kierkegaard, “[j]ust as philosophy begins with doubt, so also a life that may be called human begins with irony. […] no genuinely human life is possible without irony.” Read more
Irony in Politics Mon, 05.06.2023 Speakers: Gergely Tóth Misha Glenny Series: Seminars and Colloquia Irony has always fascinated thinkers, artists and frankly, everyone reflecting on the smaller and bigger paradoxes of life. Since the Romantic movement, irony is understood to be more than an “average” trope; it has been framed, variously, as an attitude, a discursive strategy or even the source of freedom. According to Søren Kierkegaard, “[j]ust as philosophy begins with doubt, so also a life that may be called human begins with irony. […] no genuinely human life is possible without irony.” Read more
	European Elections 2019: The Day After	Mon, 27.05.2019	Seminars and Colloquia	Marina Lalovic	European Elections 2019: The Day After Mon, 27.05.2019 Speakers: Marina Lalovic Series: Seminars and Colloquia European elections represent the biggest electoral contest in Europe. But since the first votes in 1979, turnout in European parliament elections has been declining ever since. Could anything be different this time? One of the most important tests for the future of the EU seems to be the next European elections. These are the first elections without the participation of the United Kingdom, even though neither that’s clear so far. On the other hand, it is necessary to put the spotlight on how the rising populism shakes up these elections. Less than two months after an alleged Brexit day (March 29), in May 2019, these last elections were those most politically exploited by European leaders. So far, one may identify three possible scenarios: a decisive victory for anti-EU parties, unexpected gains for the pro-EU parties and the third one could be a scenario that confusedly mixes the two. Regardless of who is going to win, the upcoming European elections are going to reshape both the reality and the perception of the current EU. Read more
European Elections 2019: The Day After Mon, 27.05.2019 Speakers: Marina Lalovic Series: Seminars and Colloquia European elections represent the biggest electoral contest in Europe. But since the first votes in 1979, turnout in European parliament elections has been declining ever since. Could anything be different this time? One of the most important tests for the future of the EU seems to be the next European elections. These are the first elections without the participation of the United Kingdom, even though neither that’s clear so far. On the other hand, it is necessary to put the spotlight on how the rising populism shakes up these elections. Less than two months after an alleged Brexit day (March 29), in May 2019, these last elections were those most politically exploited by European leaders. So far, one may identify three possible scenarios: a decisive victory for anti-EU parties, unexpected gains for the pro-EU parties and the third one could be a scenario that confusedly mixes the two. Regardless of who is going to win, the upcoming European elections are going to reshape both the reality and the perception of the current EU. Read more
	The Invention of Ukraine: How War Is Remaking Ukrainian Media	Mon, 05.02.2024	Seminars and Colloquia	Aleksander Palikot Mariia Shynkarenko	The Invention of Ukraine: How War Is Remaking Ukrainian Media Mon, 05.02.2024 Speakers: Aleksander Palikot Mariia Shynkarenko Series: Seminars and Colloquia In his presentation, Aleksander Palikot explored whether the delicate balance between the need to preserve unity and mobilize resources, and the protection of democracy is under threat in Ukraine. What will Zelensky do with the media-political machine he created? What state will emerge from the security-first digitalized regime that now flourishes in wartime Ukraine? How will this experience reshape what used to be called the post-Soviet sphere, including Russia? Read more
The Invention of Ukraine: How War Is Remaking Ukrainian Media Mon, 05.02.2024 Speakers: Aleksander Palikot Mariia Shynkarenko Series: Seminars and Colloquia In his presentation, Aleksander Palikot explored whether the delicate balance between the need to preserve unity and mobilize resources, and the protection of democracy is under threat in Ukraine. What will Zelensky do with the media-political machine he created? What state will emerge from the security-first digitalized regime that now flourishes in wartime Ukraine? How will this experience reshape what used to be called the post-Soviet sphere, including Russia? Read more
	Pflegerinnen: Migrant Women in Domestic Care	Mon, 21.01.2019	Seminars and Colloquia	Diana Mesesan	Pflegerinnen: Migrant Women in Domestic Care Mon, 21.01.2019 Speakers: Diana Mesesan Series: Seminars and Colloquia New forms of solidarity have emerged among Eastern European migrants working in domestic care in Western countries. Far from their families and often working in isolated places, these women rely a lot on social media. Read more
Pflegerinnen: Migrant Women in Domestic Care Mon, 21.01.2019 Speakers: Diana Mesesan Series: Seminars and Colloquia New forms of solidarity have emerged among Eastern European migrants working in domestic care in Western countries. Far from their families and often working in isolated places, these women rely a lot on social media. Read more
	The One That Got Away / Everyday Life During Armed Conflicts	Mon, 06.12.2021	Seminars and Colloquia	Dimiter Kenarov Keith Krause Ludger Hagedorn Paweł Pieniążek Soli Özel	The One That Got Away / Everyday Life During Armed Conflicts Mon, 06.12.2021 Speakers: Dimiter Kenarov Keith Krause Ludger Hagedorn Paweł Pieniążek Soli Özel Series: Seminars and Colloquia In this Joint Fellows Colloquium we had presentations from two of our current Fellows, both from the Milena Jesenská Fellowship Program for Journalists, Dimitar Kenarov and Paweł Pieniążek. Dimitar Kenarov is a freelance journalist and poet based in Sofia, Bulgaria. Paweł Pieniążek is a Polish journalist covering conflicts in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Read more
The One That Got Away / Everyday Life During Armed Conflicts Mon, 06.12.2021 Speakers: Dimiter Kenarov Keith Krause Ludger Hagedorn Paweł Pieniążek Soli Özel Series: Seminars and Colloquia In this Joint Fellows Colloquium we had presentations from two of our current Fellows, both from the Milena Jesenská Fellowship Program for Journalists, Dimitar Kenarov and Paweł Pieniążek. Dimitar Kenarov is a freelance journalist and poet based in Sofia, Bulgaria. Paweł Pieniążek is a Polish journalist covering conflicts in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Read more