On November 9th, it is 25 years ago that the Berlin Wall fell. Who doesn’t know the images of enthusiastic, euphoric people crossing from East to West Berlin: waving, happy and free. Europe was full of optimism: our continent was going to be united, democratic and prosperous. Now, 25 years later, PAX and Humanity House are organising a Checkpoint Cinema on the fall of the Berlin Wall and the lessons learned for current conflicts in the world.
The guests will be interviewed on the basis of short fragments from movies, television programmes or documentaries. The focus will be on the important role citizens and peace-activists played in the process of the fall of the Berlin Wall. They believed in peace and were active in achieving peace. What was the strength of citizens and peace movements during the cold war? How did citizens in Eastern Europe experience the fall of the wall? And what can peace activists nowadays from Syria, Iraq or Ukraine learn from the peace movement in the eighties?
About the guests
Mient Jan Faber (former secretary of the Interchurch Peace Council (IKV), one of the leaders of the international peace movement at the time). Jacek Czaputowicz (former dissident from Poland, founder of the Freedom and Peace movement). Marcell Shehwaro (Syrian activist of the Aleppo based citizens’ initiative “Kesh Malek.” She runs a primary school that you can support through Adopt a Revolution). Moderator is Dion van den Berg (Senior Policy Advisor at Pax, and since 1977 involved in working for peace)
This program includes a short, 15 minute break.