The range of professional specialisations covered by the participants (all of whom were young) included sociology, literary history, art history, and architectural theory. Jan Sládek (Charles University in Prague) dealt with the unstable situation of political parties in the Czech Republic, the motivations for a political career, and the role of the non-profit sector. Jaromír Mazák (Charles University in Prague) emphasised the ambivalent role of the new media, the online environment and the social networks, and their impact on the behaviour of different sectors in the electorate. Jakub Mlynář (Charles University in Prague) outlined various modes in the relationship between biography and “large-scale” history; using several examples of oral history he demonstrated the subjective viewpoint ensuing from individual human stories and the degree of feeling of social solidarity. Merse Pál Szeredi and Gábor Dobó (Kassák Museum, Budapest) described for the participants the paradoxes in the life and work of the leading figure of the Hungarian avant-garde, Lajos Kassák, while Barbara Vujanović (Ivan Meštrović Museum, Zagreb - Split) presented the changing relationships between the famous Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrović and the different political regimes he experienced during his lifetime. Vendula Hnídková (Institute of Art History of the Czech Academy of Sciences) pointed out some hitherto unknown controversial aspects of the oeuvre and work of the architect and theorist Pavel Janák. Eva Janáčová (Institute of Art History of the Czech Academy of Sciences) examined the troubled fortunes of Czech Jewish artists, Klára Němečková (Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden) presented the broader contemporary context of the origin of the iconic Urbino table service, Maria Topolčanská (Slovak Academy of Sciences) recalled the socio-political involvement of Czech and Slovak architects in the period 1970-2000, and Jelena Sesnić (University of Zagreb) reflected on the difficult period of the post-Yugoslavian wars and the transition from socialism to market capitalism in Croatian literature.
An integral part of the packed programme was the lively discussion among all the participants which followed the individual presentations. Its intensity confirmed the untapped potential of the theme, which provides many answers to controversial and often suppressed issues relating to specific national or state identities, loyalties, and solidarities, and points of conflict and social taboos. The interdisciplinary dialogue that was initiated proved to be a fruitful one, and very desirable in view of the complexity of the issues involved.