Events
Past events
Panel discussion Goethe-Medaille
The awardees of the 2025 Goethe Medal will come together in Berlin for a public conversation: Li Yuan, German studies scholar and expert in German as a foreign language; Belgian author and historian David Van Reybrouck; and representing the imprisoned Turkish cultural promoter Osman Kavala, his wife, the social scientist Ayşe Buğra. Under the title “Create. Connect. Collaborate.“, the awardees will discuss their commitment to culture, education, and civil society.
Award ceremony Goethe-Medaille 2025
During a ceremony, the President of the Goethe-Institut, Gesche Joost, will present the Goethe Medal to this year's winners. For the first time, the award ceremony will be open to the public. This year, Turkish cultural promoter Osman Kavala, Chinese linguist Li Yuan and Belgian author David Van Reybrouck are honoured with the Goethe Medal. A welcome address will be given by Christina Beinhoff, Head of the Department of Culture and Society at the Federal Foreign Office.
Event British Library
In Revolusi, award-winning historian David Van Reybrouck gives a thrilling account of the revolution in Indonesia of 1949, which overthrew Dutch rule and sparked decolonization across the modern world. In conversation with one of his co-translators, David Colmer, he discusses the lives and the voices that make up this extraordinary narrative, some of whom are still alive, and how they brought them vividly to life for readers today.
Cheltenham Festival
One of the most significant and rapid changes to the post-1945 world has been the breakup of European colonial empires. Authors Sathnam Sanghera and David Van Reybrouck, and Simukai Chigudu, whose parents were involved with the African nationalist movements, talk to Georgina Godwin about the pain and process of rebuilding a nation and navigating the legacies of colonial rule.
Brainwash Special: Roman Krznaric & David Van Reybrouck
On the 16th of April philosopher Roman Krznaric and historian David Van Reybrouck take you on a journey through 1000 years of world history. They share important lessons from our past that help us confront the most urgent challenges we are facing today.
Arne Naess Lecture
David Van Reybrouck gives the Arne Naess Lecture 2024: Democratic Innovations for the Age of Anthropocene.