‘New Narrative for Europe’: second major event held in Milano

The second major event of the ‘New Narrative for Europe’ was held on 8-9 December at Palazzo Clerici in Milano. On this occasion, José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, and Enrico Letta, Prime-Minister of Italy, made forceful public speeches stressing the need for Europe to promote a new narrative with a clear vision towards a closer union and with a much stronger emphasis put on Europe’s soft power embedded in its culture, including the arts, heritage and sciences. Alenka Bratušek, Prime-Minister of Slovenia, also spoke at this high-profile political gathering on 9 December at Palazzo Clerici. The ‘New Narrative for Europe’ meeting brought to Milano some 100 European personalities from various fields of culture (architects, artists, journalists, cultural operators, historians and writers).

The second major event of the ‘New Narrative for Europe’ was held at Palazzo Clerici in Milan. Photo: Courtesy of the European Commission

On the first day, they debated in small groups the content of the ‘New Narrative for Europe’. Europa Nostra’s Secretary General, Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović, was the moderator of the “Othello” group discussion, together with another member of the Cultural Committee of the ‘New Narrative for Europe’, Professor Michał Kleiber, President of the Polish Academy of Sciences. During the dinner debate with President Barroso, Stefano Boeri, renowned Italian architect and urban planner who was also editor-in-chief of international magazines Domus and Abitare, reported on the results of this group discussion, alongside the reports presented by other groups.