European Alternatives 1

Europe is something that must be actively created, and this creation must be carried out in every domain of culture. It is ceaseless ambition and exploration which gives Europe its importance and interest. For too long, too many of the cultural elite have regarded Europe either as a political inevitability, which can be left to the administrators to best organise, or as a political distraction from what should be their own specialist
concern – be it in history, art, literature, science or elsewhere. But a half-hearted, mediocre Europe is perhaps worse than no Europe at all; and no sphere of endeavour can be dissociated from the community in which it takes place and which it must help to form.

Once we took the first steps towards a European political organisation – and we took them over 50 years
ago – cultural and intellectual engagement with Europe became an obligation: the fate of Europe cannot be delegated.

European Alternatives is a movement for cultural engagement with the idea and reality of Europe. This journal is one space in which that engagement will take place. It is committed to promoting European thought and culture and making those new ideas available to as wide a public as possible.

The first action of European Alternatives was the London Festival of Europe in March 2007. This two week series of debates, lectures and art exhibitions shared the intention of widespread cultural debate about Europe, of the highest possible quality and diversity. The Festival is at the same time a political demand, a cultural celebration and a philosophical exploration.

This first issue picks up on several of the Festival’s themes and commitments, and includes several of its contributors.

It sees the publication of Zygmunt Bauman’s momentous opening lecture to the Festival, demanding that Europe take on a sense of global responsibility.

The Visions of Europe section calls for philosophical projections of a European ideal. In this issue the call is met by Etienne Balibar and Marc Crépon, both of whom see Europe as a multitudinous space, which must be comprehended in all its irreducible complexity.

Europe can no longer be defined by its place of origin. All the world has visited Europe, as Europe has explored all the world: indelible traces have been left throughout. Europe must therefore be understood in its relations with the world. In this first of our regular Europe in the World sections, David Gosset gestures towards more substantial Sino-European cultural interaction.

Inside Europe is a space for engagement with current national and trans-national politics within Europe. In this issue Patrick Diamond suggests finding a new base for the European common market in social justice and responsibility; Vera Rich unravels the tangled post-revolution politics of Ukraine; and Stella Tang looks at political fragmentation in Italy.

European Alternatives is aware of its responsibility to present the best of the many European cultures. In this issue we are very pleased to have a special section in partnership with the Romanian Cultural Institute, presenting Romania’s ambitions in joining the European Union, and the best of Romanian film and photography.

The final section of the magazine is one of the most important. The Culture and the Arts section asks that cultural practitioners rally themselves to the cause of constructing Europe and a European society. In this issue Hans Ulrich Obrist presents his thoughts on curating in a trans-national context, and Viky Steiri hails Greek composer Jani Christou, a master of musical surrealism.

In reading European Alternatives, we hope you will see the multitude of future possibilities Europe presents, and the importance of realising them. To take part in creating Europe, please visit www.euroalter.com, where you can join us, subscribe to this journal, and find out about our other activities.

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