Jessica Reed
To mark the beginning of the Festival of Europe, openDemocracy is publishing a piece by Niccolo Milanese, London based poet and one of the festival’s organiser. He also wrote about the festival’s birth Niccolo argues that Europe is much more than just an Union between countries: it is also a set of shared values, common aspirations and an “ethical ideal of the way to live”.
The Festival of Europe is based on the premise that public intellectual inquiry, the pursuit of truth and the pursuit of beauty are the true heritage and importance of Europe. Openness, hospitality, curiosity and debate are some of the most important virtues to insist upon in a world in which many feel increasingly threatened, and they are virtues that have historically been emphasised in Europe. They are not exclusively European virtues nor are the European formulations of them necessarily the best, but their cultivation and promotion in the best way possible is an essential part of the European character. The cultural organisation coordinating the festival is called “European Alterities” as a mark of its commitment to this.
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