Last Friday, the French Institute of Berlin organised “The Night of Ideas”. An event consisting of 30 talks, a photography exhibition, workshops, and a movie. The event was organised by a range of German and French intellectuals. One of the central themes reoccuring througout the whole evening was “the future” and what it means for humanity, sparking discussions about a wide array of current topics.

The movie screened at La Maison de France on the Kurfürstendamm, sponsered by arte, was about the conquering of the world seas by nations and the role science played in this. Countries all over the world come up with schemes and ways of claiming as much of the world seas as possible following a definition provided by Geologists explaining where a continent ends under water. The movie was followed by a discussion about the topic at hand with individuals who were involved with the movie.

The talks were very diverse, ranging from politics to art to science. Dr. Leyla Dakhli, a French historian, spoke about the revolutions in the Arab world questioning the role and image of Arab women, asking whether there is still an Arab World left, recognizing the potential to advance, and examining the rise of democracy.

Dr. Rafael Ziegler spoke about a completely different topic, namely, how the usage of water can tell us something about sustainability. He explained this unusual relationship by examining the usage of water in art throughout the ages and what our relationship is to water nowadays. He showed that nowadays we must “go back to nature” in order to help create a world in which we can swim in clean rivers and drink clean water.

Also of much interest was a talk by Dr. Miriam Saage-Maaß, who works for a Human Rights organisation. She spoke about some companies ignoring their ethical and moral responsabilities and how the law can help reinforce these. She also spoke about sustainability related to people in poor working conditions and how their needs and rights as humans are being ignored by big companies.

This evening of ideas held by German and French intellectuals attracted a big gathering of people from different backgrounds and ages, curious to learn something new on the Kurfürstendamm.

• References: http://www.nachtderideen.de

News from Berlin
Dominique Schmutzer, Berlin Global