The first book from the Forum edition will be presented in Olomouc by its authors Erhard Busek and Emil Brix

NEWS | NOVEMBER  8, 2021

The SEFO project is based on multidisciplinary and international cooperation. An integral part of this objective directly related to the vision of SEFO is the Fórum publication series, which SEFO is deliberately developing in areas whose relationship with visual culture is more contextual, creative and conceptual, i.e., history, sociology, political science, religion studies and others. The primary leitmotif remains the idea of Central Europe – its social, cultural and political identity and historical transformation. The basic premise of SEFO – its openness – is naturally also reflected in the scheme of the publication series, which is focussed primarily on new works of a professional nature and a Central European origin. Nevertheless, some of the texts are exotic or of a reference nature, older or from the genre of belles-lettres. The selection of works is based on the museums own research plan, indirectly linked to specific projects, inquiries and current topics. 

The first work in the Fórum series is by Viennese authors Erhard Busek and Emil Brix entitled Mitteleuropa Revisited. Warum Europas Zukunft in Mitteleuropa entschieden wird (Central Europe Revisited. Why Europe’s Future Will Be Decided in the Region). The authors published the book Projekt Mitteleuropa (Project Central Europe) in 1986, and after 30 years, these two “promoters of the Central European idea” decided to return their attention to this region once again. Busek and Brix deliberately and carefully revise their visions, in the process discovering new reflections on Central Europe today and perhaps even its future. With a very erudite and yet accessible approach, the book discusses the fundamental issues of the changing geopolitical and economic realities of our continent. The essays provide diagnoses and prognoses of the region and shed light on many suspected but also unforeseen historical, social, cultural and political contexts.  There are even thoughts on relations between Central Europe and the Russian Federation and the European Union. In addition to the original German, the book has also been published thus far in English, Polish and Hungarian.