Enlightenment through Dialogue – Beijing

As a scientific accompanying program to the exhibition “The Art of Enlightenment,” NEC, together with the foundation, conducted five forums and nine salons over fifteen months in Beijing, in which, among other things, artistic and historical aspects of a contemporary engagement with the theme of Enlightenment were addressed and discussed.

Nordmann Event Consulting – the first event agency ever allowed to hold an event at the National Museum of China.

The opening was attended by the then German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, the Chinese Minister of Culture Cai Wu, as well as high-ranking representatives from China and Germany.

More than 3,000 guests from numerous countries participated in the events. The foundation clearly defined the goal: to understand Enlightenment as part of a universal “heritage of ideas” and to stimulate an open dialogue on the relevance of Enlightenment in today’s world. Both participants and organizers drew consistently positive conclusions.

“The event series was carried out with the conviction that dialogue between China and Germany is necessary and valuable. For us as a foundation, it was important to provide a platform to discuss the differences and similarities between European and Chinese Enlightenment in terms of philosophical, societal, and artistic aspects, in order to promote mutual understanding. We have succeeded in this,” stated Prof. Dr. Bernhard Lorentz, Managing Director of the Stiftung Mercator.

Photos: NEC