You also can be a part of it!
The seminar was conducted over six two-lecture sessions from November 7-18 at the Universidad del CEMA (UCEMA). The participating lecturers were Fernando Ruiz, Sussane Käss, Pablo De Vita, Ricardo López Göttig, Ignacio Hutin, María Matienzo, Kirenia Núñez, Agustín Menéndez, Omer Freixa, and Jorge Sigal.
On Monday, November 7, Fernando Ruiz presented “Journalism and Dissidence in Communist Dictatorships”.
On Wednesday, November 9, Susanne Käss spoke on “Germany 33 Years After the Fall of the Berlin Wall”, followed by Pablo Devita's “Perspectives on the Wall”.
On Friday, November 11, Ricardo López Göttig analyzed “The Construction of Socialism in Central and Eastern Europe”, and afterwards addressed “The Collapse of True Socialism: Iron and Velvet Transitions”.
On Monday, November 14, Ignacio Hutin lectured about “Transitions in Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and Ex-Soviet Republics”.
On Wednesday the 16th, María Matienzo and Kirenia Níñez spoke on “Political Prisoners and Freedom of Expression in Cuba”.
Agustín Menéndez completed the fifth day of the seminar with a presentation about “North Korea: Perfect Totalitarianism”.
On Friday the 18th, the final day of the seminar began with Omer Freixa´s lecture on “Africa During and After the Cold War”.
The seminar culminated with the presentation “Confessions of an Ex-Communist” by Jorge Sigal.
Göttig is a Professor and Doctor of History and graduate of the Universidad de Belgrano (UB) and Charles University in Prague (Czech Republic), respectively. He is currently completing his Doctorate in Political Science. Professor of Contemporary History at the Universidad de Belgrano, and Professor of master’s studies in International Relations at UB and the Universidad del Salvador. He was a visiting professor at Torcuato Di Tella University, at the Universidad ORT Uruguay, and at the University of Pavia (Italy). Author of the books Origin, Myths, and Influences of Antisemitism in the World (2019) and Milada Horáková. Defender of Human Rights and Victim of Totalitarianism (2020), both published by CADAL and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, among others. He was the Buenos Aires Province’s Director of Museums and Heritage Preservation (2015-2019).
Havana, Cuba (1979). Writer. She has contributed as a journalist to Cubaliteraria, Havana Times, Diario De Cuba, El Tiempo (Colombia), Hypermedia, Programa Cuba, and Connectas. Author of Elizabeth Still Plays Dolls and The Brothers Castro Orchestra: La Escuelita. Her articles on daily life in Cuba can be found in the newspaper Cubanet. Her Twitter handle is @menosveinte.
Author of the book The Day I Killed my Father: Confessions of an Ex-Communist (South America, 2020). At 17 years old, he travelled to Moscow to study Marxism-Leninism in an institute that was part of the Central Committee of the Union of Young Communists of the USSR (Komsomol). In 1984, when he was a member of the Executive Committee of the youth organization Communist Party, he renounced his party affiliation and began working in professional journalism. He contributed to La Razón and El Periodista de Buenos Aires; was Graphic Week editor for Acción and Somos; director of the monthly publication of the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights, editorial secretary for Gente; editor of Página/12 and Perfil; and editor-in-chief of the magazine 3 Puntos. He later made his debut in the book world as Editorial Director of Capital Intelectual. In 2014 and 2015 he debuted as a current events analyst in Fernando Bravo’s program on Radio Continental and joined the Directing Committee of the Argentine Political Club. In December 2015, he became secretary of Public Communications for the Argentine government, an office he held until October 2018. He writes in the Opinion section of the newspaper La Nación.
