Event report

Report/proposal from Koli: Towards a culture-conscious Europe, J. V. Snellman (1806-1881) was a European national philosopher. He raised the level of civilisation as the most important social factor and interpreter of the nation. He wrote in 1840: Civilisation does not end in a school or a certain degree, but the whole life is the school in which the individual is shaped into a human being, and this civilisation process itself constitutes what is human in man. The Finnish Constitution, which entered into force 160 years later (1.3.2000), does not define civilisation. Neither does the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. At least the Finnish Constitution mentions cultural rights. The most beloved conference on the future of Europe in Finland’s most beloved national landscape asked how civilisation (European Bildung) can serve as an instrument for achieving the desired changes and goals. The conference concluded with a joint proposal that the present or future European way of life cannot be promoted without a stronger awareness of civilisation. The European Commission must define the role of civilisation in building a sustainable society. Only then will we protect the citizens of Europe and European values – and our common planet. The current focus, the promotion of a European way of life, is unhelpfully too narrow-minded. With an eco-social awareness of civilisation, we can define not only the European way of life, but also European life. European civilisation also includes an economic and embodied dimension. We therefore challenge the European Commission to collectively imagine how to make Europe’s citizens flourish. What will be a good European life in 2050? “The human race has no chance of survival on a fulfilled earth except to adopt a concept of civilisation in which good life is sought within the limits of one planet.” – Arto O. Salonen