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Joana Osman - 'Frieden – Eine reale Utopie'

Name: Joana Osman - 'Frieden – Eine reale Utopie'
Start: 2027-01-20T19:30:00+01:00
End: 2027-01-20T23:59:00+01:00
Location: Romäusring 1, 78050 Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany

Romäusring 1, 78050 Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany
Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany
Wed, January 20, 2027 (7:30 pm - 11:59 pm)

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Description

The war in the Middle East is also happening among us: as a cynical competition over interpretations, clearly distinguishing between victims and perpetrators. In the battle of narratives, closed worldviews dominate. Joana Osman is aware of the power of stories. She shows how narratives dehumanize, but also how we can reclaim them and turn them into the humus of radical empathy. Osman reflects on her own peace activism work for the Peace Factory, touches on German discourse wounds, and elegantly circles the crucial flaw of the discussants: only when we are willing to focus on the traumas of the 'other side' can we truly meet again. An interventionist essay that rethinks the utopia of peace – and gives us hope. Joana Osman, born in 1982, is the daughter of a Palestinian father and a German mother. She studied American Studies, Theater Studies, and Art History and was co-founder of the peace movement The Peace Factory in 2012. Her debut novel, "Am Boden des Himmels," was published in 2019. In 2023, her novel "Wo die Geister tanzen" about her Palestinian family was published, which received significant media resonance. In 2024, she was awarded the Bavarian Art Promotion Prize. Joana Osman works as an author, lecturer, and storytelling coach and lives with her family near Munich. "Peace means not to see the other side any longer as a faceless mass that poses a threat, but to see the people on the other side again as individuals with a story and feelings." Joana Osman in a personal essay in the magazine Republik.

Highlights

Joana Osman reflects on peace and narratives
Interventionist essay on empathy
Awarded the Bavarian Art Promotion Prize 2024

General Information

The event with Joana Osman addresses the war in the Middle East and the power of stories. Osman, an experienced author and peace activist, invites us to consider the traumas of all sides to enable genuine encounters.