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“As we now live in times of de-bordering and globalisation the national identity no longer suffices in order to function within that world. At the same time we can detect a nostalgic longing for the past national identity. […] A cultural canon has to be the theme of such a border-crossing identity; the international as an extension of the national.” – A. Sonnen
In 2006 EUNIC Netherlands organised a major conference at the Felix Meritis, concerning on the idea of a cultural canon for Europe. It invited speakers from across the continent to debate and explore the necessity and the composition of a possible European canon. The conference discussed themes regarding the interrelation of culture and politics, the link between European identity and a supposed European culture, the position of the Dutch canon within Europe, and the significance of the canon within cultural education.
Speakers at the conference included George Lawson, Tzvetan Todorov, Ton Bevers, Susan Legêne, Edoardo Sanguineti, Vytautas Landsbergis, Asli Erdogan and EUNIC’s own Arthur Sonnen.
