A panel discussion titled “European Mosaic: A Short History of European Culture” was held to a packed hall at the French Institute in Novi Sad.
At the event, organized by the French Institute and Europe House Novi Sad, the distinguished French historian, professor of contemporary history at Sciences Po Paris and author of the essay “A Short History of European Culture,” Emmanuelle Loyer, exchanged views and reflections with Dr. Tijana Palkovljević Bugarski, director of the Gallery of Matica Srpska.
The evening’s central theme was a reflection on European culture as a dynamic mosaic in which equality of diversity is its fundamental wealth and foundation. Participants pointed out that examining Europe’s cultural space from the mid-19th century to today amounts to a conversation about our present and the changes taking place on this fragile, turbulent continent. The discussion weighed impermanence against permanence, as well as the need to preserve key historical moments in collective memory.
Andrić’s bridge as a symbol of permanence, and cafés as centres of culture
Emmanuelle Loyer’s remarks left a particular impression, as she turned to Ivo Andrić’s novel “The Bridge on the Drina,” to which she has devoted part of her career. Loyer spoke of the bridge as a monument and a timeless symbol, a structure connecting riverbanks and people, embodying permanence in the face of the impermanence of human lives and historical upheavals. Yet Andrić’s bridge, precisely as a symbol of the end of one era and one world, also shows that even what sometimes seems eternal is not entirely protected from historical events and human violence.
Alongside architectural monuments, everyday meeting places were also discussed. Cafés were highlighted as historically key sites for the exchange of culture, ideas and intellectual dialogue in European cities, places where new movements were born and different ideas intertwined for centuries.
Through an inspiring conversation, the panellists opened up the question of the relationship between individual and collective notions of identity within the European space. It was concluded that the European cultural mosaic does not erase individual particularities, but connects them into a shared horizon shaped by constant encounters and the exchange of values.