Funnel 40/2, Inhalt - Fulbright-Kommission

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Fulbrighters Daniella Strasfogel, Joshua Palay (center), and John Waytena perform Palay’s piece,
“Showdown,” during the Music Gala.
Other speakers likewise addressed the
challenges posed by an expanding Europe.
On the first day of the conference—organized
at Berlin’s Technical University by the
Fulbright Alumni Association in Germany—speakers
focused on the challenges
and promise of an expanded European
Union. Among the assembled experts for
discussions on Europe’s future were American
Embassy representatives, prominent
Eastern and Central Europeans and a German
journalist.
“This round of enlargement is the most
important event in what I like to call, ‘Project
Europe,’” said Hungarian Sebestyen
Gorka, the Executive Director of the Institute
for Transitional Democracy and International
Security.
“This is an expansion that will potentially
put the EU on the level of the U.S.
economically,” Gorka added during an
afternoon lecture.
Against the backdrop of the Madrid
bombings, which had occurred just days
before, European security was naturally a
key issue in the discussions as well. Gorka
argued that, when it comes to acting as a
THE FUNNEL • VOLUME 40 • NUMBER 2 • SUMMER 2004
counterweight to the U.S. on security and
foreign policy, the EU has a long way to go.
German journalist Christoph von Marshall,
the moderator of an afternoon panel
discussion called “Visions for Europe,”
countered this viewpoint by ticking off a
list of what he saw as European Union foreign
policy achievements. The very nature
of the expanded EU in terms of its attitude
toward the United States will likely change
significantly, argued another member of
the afternoon panel.
“There is a lot of talk that the new EU
will be more pro-American,” said Riina
Ruth Kionka, the Estonian Ambassador to
Germany. “That’s especially true in the
Baltics.”
The attitude in many of the new member
states towards Brussels, Gorka said, will
also be much different thanks to their communist
past.
“The people of these countries have a
very healthy skepticism with any form of
centralization,” Gorka explained. “We
tried it, didn’t like it.”
Further expanding on the theme
“Where Continents Meet” a one-day ses-
sion on Thursday entitled “University and
Islam” ended the Seminar with a “trialogue”
between Germany, the U.S., and the
Islamic World (see coverage on page 19).
Acting as a pleasant complement to the
academic discussion during the day, evening
events showcased the talents of artistically
ambitious grantees and offered a sample of
Berlin’s cultural forums, from classical to
cutting-edge.
The Amerika Haus, the cultural division
of the U.S. Embassy, served as the first
venue for Sunday evening’s performances
and exhibitions. Organized by former
grantee Dan Brunet, on-stage selections
ranged from traditional Finnish lute
(Juniper Hill) and Bohemian bagpipe
(Michael Cwach) to spoken word (Ronamber
Deloney, a.k.a. Flow) and a multimedia
commentary on religious fundamentalism
by Richard Posner. “Life is
sometimes stranger than fiction,” Posner
said in describing his politically-charged
documentary work.
There were a number of visual arts
installations showcased as well. While
artist Anna MacDonald was pleased to be