Viadrinicum

Viadrinicum is an annual summer school at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder), devoted to the countries of the Eastern Partnership and the larger context of Central and Eastern Europe. Building on the discussions around the notion of learning city during the previous editions, in 2025 the school will focus on the ruptures in the urban fabric, both as the effects of (historical) negligence and abandonment, and as the traces of emancipatory disruptions in the established order of things.

It invites students, young researchers, civil society activists, artists and cultural workers to critically interrogate the (institutional) foundations of the city as a contested entity in-the-making, shaped by regimes of urban planning and governance, property relations and dwelling practices. Guided by the spirit of tactical urbanism and participatory pedagogics, the school will look into the ways how alternative futures (re-)emerge through the (invisible) cracks of the city, aided by contingent spatial imaginations and the acts of collective un-/inter-weaving. 

Following the idea of experiential learning, a combination of academic and non-academic formats will allow the participants of the school to actively explore the possibilities for a dialogue between different kinds of knowledge from academia, civil society and the arts. In a more practical sense, the school offers opportunities for applied experimentation in the setting of a participatory urban intervention engaging local communities in the heart of the German-Polish twin city Frankfurt (Oder)-Słubice. This happens in the frame of three lab.workshops (Doc.Lab, Makers.Lab, Planners.Lab), where the participants will be able to develop their own small (team) projects with the assistance of facilitators from the respective fields. Besides that, the school‘s programme features round tables with researchers from the Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS, Berlin), film screenings, public events, and Open Space sessions, where participants will have a chance to discuss their own academic, civic, artistic or cultural work.

Successful applicants will be able to receive a travel scholarship. Accommodation costs will be covered by the organisers.

You can apply if you meet the following requirements: 

• You are a student, a PhD candidate, an NGO activist or an artist up to 35 y/o;

• You have a genuine interest in transsectoral and transdisciplinary approaches   
   to the topics of the school;

• Your knowledge of English is sufficient to take an active part in discussions.

The application is open until 08 June 2025.