Talk & Q&A
Illiberal Realities: Understanding Propaganda and the Orbanisation of Europe
With: Péter Adamik and Sára Szedlár (Freie Ungarische Botschaft, HU/DE).
When: Thursday April 3, 2025, 19:00-20:30
Where: neue Gesellschaft für bildende Kunst (nGbK), Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 11/13, 10178 Berlin.
Video: How to find nGbK
No technical skills or equipment needed.
This event will focus on understanding how an illiberal democracy has successfully existed in the middle of the EU for the last fifteen years and how propaganda is an important tool within it. Hungary has been a learning laboratory for autocracy, and the Orbán system is often cited as a model for other leaders and parties on the far-right populist scene, such as Germany's AfD. Two activists from the Berlin-based Hungarian expat organisation Freie Ungarische Botschaft (Free Hungarian Embassy) will give an overview of how Viktor Orbán's government has built its machinery of power and share some impressions from their successful exhibition "Illiberal Realities - If you come to Hungary...", in which propaganda billboards from Hungarian streets are reconstructed, translated and contextualised. Is there a way out of such a system? What are the chances that the 2026 parliamentary elections will change anything in Hungary - and for its European alliances?
The Freie Ungarische Botschaft is a spontaneously organised group of Hungarian-European citizens living in Berlin, who believe that it is time for the EU institutions and leaders to actively stand up for the common future of the Union against the anti-democratic pursuits of the autocratic Hungarian government. The mission of the Freie Ungarische Botschaft is the restoration of the rule of law and the creation of a solidary society in Hungary from abroad. The organisation treats diversity as a value in its own work and stands for responsibility, critical thinking, democracy and solidarity. The group operates on a voluntary and independent basis, working on a number of projects that will be presented during the meetup as possible case studies.
Speakers
Péter Adamik (Freie Ungarische Botschaft, HU/DE)
Born and raised in Budapest, Péter Adamik moved to Berlin in 2019, where he immediately joined the Freie Ungarische Botschaft. He studied Scandinavian literature and culture and holds a master's degree from the University of Freiburg. He currently works as a project manager at the Foundation for Remembrance, Responsibility and Future (known in German as "EVZ"), focusing on events, networks and political communication at the foundation, which supports civil society organizations in Eastern Europe with a special focus on remembrance of German National Socialist persecution and its consequences for today's political-educational context, as well as work for human rights and international exchange.
Sára Szedlár (Freie Ungarische Botschaft, HU-RS/DE)
Sára Szedlár comes from Yugoslavia, where she was born as a member of the Hungarian minority in Serbia. She was confronted with the escalation of illiberal and fascist systems in her childhood, which manifested itself in wars, asylum and also expulsion. She has been living in Berlin since 2016 and has worked in various fields. In the last few years, she has worked for organisations dealing with migration and integration, such as the Initiative Selbständiger Immigrantinnen e.V. and the Integrationszentrum der Flüchtlinge und Migranten e.V., where she gained experience in public relations and project management. Since the beginning of March, she has been working as a content manager for the Freie Ungarische Botschaft.
The Meetup programme “Decoding Agency” by Disruption Network Lab is funded by the Capital Cultural Fund (Hauptstadtkulturfonds), Reva and David Logan Foundation.
The series is organised in cooperation with neue Gesellschaft für bildende Kunst (nGbK), Berlin.
Curated by Tatiana Bazzichelli (Director, Disruption Network Lab, IT/DE).
Disruption Network Lab is part of New Perspectives for Action (2023-2027). A project by Re-Imagine Europe, a collaboration between Paradiso and Sonic Acts (NL), Elevate Festival (Austria), A4 (SK), INA GRM (FR), Borealis (NO), KONTEJNER (HR), RUPERT (LT), Semibreve (PT), Parco d’Arte Vivente (IT), Disruption Network Lab (DE), BEK (NO), Kontrapunkt (MK) and Radio Web MACBA (ES). Co-funded by the European Union.