Germany’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2020
Tell Me About Europe

With "Tell me about Europe", we invited the public in London and twelve other European cities to discuss together Europe's past, present and future. The discussion was based on interviews with well-known Europeans, which have been collected in the European Archive of Voices. In it, contemporary witnesses, born before 1945, told young people about their life paths. They touched on topics such as war and conflict, the disparities between town and country, gender (in)justice, religious freedom or the recent return of nationalism. The different perspectives on Europe from East and West were also tangible. A sound collage by the sound artist Marc Matter took up passages from the conversations and made them apparent for the guests at each event.

The stories encourage reflection on the current state of Europe. Europe has been in a serious crisis for some years now. The consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic have exacerbated this crisis in recent months. What do young people want to give to continue this intergenerational project and to continue writing history? What values have we built Europe on? What can and should a political, social and cultural project look like in the future?

The European Archive of Voices 2021

Survey: Your Europe

At the end of the Europe-wide event series "Tell Me About Europe", the Goethe-Institut called on people to share their personal thoughts on and wishes for Europe. More than 300 participants from 26 countries responded to our call in December 2020 and told us about their Europe.

Interviews from the "European Archive of Voices"

In conversation with young people, people born before 1945 like former President of Iceland Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, French screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière and Slovakian philosopher Egon Gál, talk about their lives and experiences of war, oppression and flight in Europe.

Cooperation partner:
Arbeit an Europa is a group of young Europeans who have come together to help shape the future of Europe through dialogue and exchange. The European Archive of Voices is one of a range of projects being developed in cooperation with a network of supporters across Europe. Arbeit an Europa organises regular discussion workshops in different European regions, which aim to explore ideas of European identity, and facilitate discussion with people across Europe.

Curatorial team: Edouard Barthen and Leona Lynen

“Tell me about Europe” is a project by the Goethe-Institut, supported with special funds from the Federal Foreign Office for the the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2020.