SOLIDARITY/Solidarities 20 YEARS AFTER THE FALL OF THE IRON CURTAIN, IS IT TIME TO RE�SHAPE POLITICS ONCE MORE?

On 4 June 1989, the bi‐polar political world of opposing communist and capitalist systems began to change forever as Solidarity candidates were allowed to run in Poland's parliamentary elections. Their success ended 41 years of Communist Party rule and marked the beginning of a swift process which saw the fall of the Berlin Wall just five months later, and ultimately, the complete restructuring of Europe.

Exactly 20 years later, the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies (UCL SSEES) is hosting SOLIDARITY/solidarities, a two‐day conference asking how ordinary people were able to change the face of Europe forever and whether their actions left a legacy that could be built on in the 21st century. The conference is the inaugural event in Children of the Revolution 1989‐2009 ‐ a season of events initiated by the Polish Cultural Institute in London and organised in collaboration by the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies, the Tate Modern and the Victoria & Albert Museum, in collaboration with EUNIC London. The programme is supported by the European Commission Representation in London, and the M.B. Grabowski Fund, and is part of POLSKA! YEAR.

'Before 1989, communism was imagined to be an immutable, permanent structure,' says Dr Tim Beasley‐Murray (UCL SSEES). 'For years, nobody was able to see how things could ever change - but in just a few short months during 1989 the revolutionary tides swept everything away. The individuals who made these enormous changes happen were normal people. They didn't possess the weaponry or apparatus of the state, but crucially they did have a collective power and legitimacy that could not be resisted by military force.

'Today, society is preoccupied with questions about climate change, increasing globalisation and a deepening financial crisis,' continues Dr Beasley‐Murray. 'It seems that in order to tackle the issues, another radical re‐imagining of the political landscape could be in order. This conference will give us an opportunity to re‐visit the legacy of 1989 and ask whether 'solidarity' could be the way that people make this happen. Remembering '89 should not be about sentimental nostalgia for a time when the possibilities seemed endless, but rather it should be about learning from history before deciding how to change things for the better this time around.'

The conference will bring together scholars, journalists, activists and artists to reflect on their personal experiences, to explore the theoretical modes of the revolution that emerged and to reassess the concept of solidarity and its relevance for political action today.

Press Release
28 May 2009
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news‐articles/0905/09052902