SCIENTIFIC SYMPOSIUM
THE FALL OF THE WALL – THE BEGINNING OF THE END
Faculty of Communication Sciences and International Relations, Institute for Study, Research, Development and Innovation, Titu Maiorescu Academic Institute (Titu Maiorescu University), in partnership with Institute of the Romanian Revolution of December, Academy of Romanian Scientists and National Magazine Tribune of Education organize Scientific Symposium „The Fall of the Wall - The Beginning of the End"”. The event will take place on November 5, 2019, starting at 2:00 PM in the „Ion I. C. Brătianu” International Relations Amphitheater of Titu Maiorescu University (Building M, 2nd floor, 189 Calea Văcărești, Sector 4, Bucharest).
The symposium is organized on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall (November 9, 1989), an event of fundamental political importance with symbolic significance in the process of the collapse of communist regimes in Europe. From its construction (begun on August 13, 1961) as a border between East Berlin and West Berlin, for almost 30 years, the Wall constituted a political, ideological, administrative, and military border between the two Germanys, divided in the aftermath of World War II, a dividing line between the free world and Eastern Europe. Erected to stop the emigration of citizens from East Berlin to West Berlin, the Wall became, politically and symbolically a barrier to the aspiration for freedom, a symbol of oppression and dehumanization. Alongside the metaphorical border of the Iron Curtain, which divided Europe in two, the Berlin Wall imposed itself in the post-war decades, on the one hand, as a concrete reality, a militarized edifice, surrounded by barbed wire, on the other hand, as A symbol of the Cold War and Communism, meaning the cancellation of freedom and human rights, CA an iconic image of totalitarianism. The demolition of the Berlin Wall, amidst the processes of disintegration of communism from within, symbolized the collapse of an ideology, the downfall of the totalitarian system, based on force and terror, the end of one world and the beginning of another.
Scientific Symposium „The Fall of the Wall - The Beginning of the End” aims to analyze the historical context of the event of November 9, 1989, the preceding moments that led to it and which, in a short time, led to the collapse of communist regimes, the political, social, and historical meanings and implications of the dismantling of the border symbolized by the Wall, the subsequent events in Europe, and the developments in the extensive process of returning to freedom, democracy, the values of the rule of law, dignity and normality, and fundamental human rights and freedoms. The symposium will thus constitute a framework of qualified interventions, dialogue, and exchange of ideas on a fundamental theme of the contemporary world, an event that marked the existence of Europe and led to profound changes within the states of the former Communist Bloc and the entire Continent.
The symposium will be attended by academicians, political scientists, sociologists, experts in political science and international relations, public figures, members of the academic staff and researchers, cultural figures, and students. The papers presented at the Symposium and the International Conference dedicated to the three decades since the fall of communism, organized by Titu Maiorescu University and scheduled to take place on December 5, 2019, will be included in a volume published under the auspices of the University. Details can be found on the website: www.utm.ro
We extend an invitation to you to participate in the Scientific Symposium „THE FALL OF THE WALL – THE BEGINNING OF THE END," with the conviction that your participation will contribute to the quality and success of the event.
University Prof. Dr. Sorin IVAN
Dean, Faculty of Communication Sciences and International Relations
Titu Maiorescu University of Bucharest
