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Marjane Satrapi will speak at the forum "Cultures Speak" in Tallinn on September 5th

Marjane Satrapi, the keynote speaker of the forum Cultures Speak, seems to have found the key to bridging unfamiliar cultures – her personal and honest, funny and universal stories that humanize the unknown Middle East through memoir, have become something much more than merely entertaining literature, asking questions about the differences between East and West and illuminating underlying human truths that bypass cultural differences.

They have also become very popular with millions of readers all over the world. “If you try to talk in terms of a people, nationality, a culture, it doesn’t mean anything. But when you talk about one person, this person can be anybody,” Satrapi explains her popularity.

Other speakers of the forum will include the Estonian ambassadors of the Year of Intercultural Dialogue in Estonia –political researcher and columnist Iivi Anna Masso and art historian David Vseviov. They will be joined by Paris-based columnist Martin Kala.

An array of questions related to intercultural dialogue that will be raised:

* How to fight forces of intolerance?

* Racism and poverty – is there a causal relationship? Are seemingly ethnic stereotypes in fact rooted in economic issues?

* Intense cultural developments often go hand in hand with times of repression. The more people are silenced, the greater the desire to understand culture, culture is actually brought to life in a way. How can we fight oppressive cultures, e.g. the patriarchal culture in Iran without insulting the people who feel that it is their right to have such traditions? How to get past the label "this is culture" that some people still attach on violations of human rights, especially women's rights?

* The political correctness in Europe, politely smiling and in fact ignoring the alienation that immigrant families in the remote suburbs are facing – is it hidden racism? If countries that accept immigrants do not see them as part of their culture, part of their cities or part of the family, where are we heading? How to change this?

These are the questions to be tackled in the upcoming forum. However, do not expect the forum to answer everything in a heartbeat. As Satrapi has said: “Nothing is scarier than the people who try to find easy answers to complicated questions.”

Agenda: September 5th

Venue: Swissotel Tallinn, Tornimäe 3

13:00-14:20 Public lecture by Marjane Satrapi on the topic of intercultural dialogue (language: English, simultaneous translation to Estonian)

14:20 Coffee Break

14:45-16:30 Discussion (participants include political researcher and columnist Iivi Anna Masso, art historian David Vseviov (both Estonian Ambassadors of EYID), and Paris-based columnist Martin Kala.

(language: Estonian, simultaneous translation to English)