Fourth Congress of PEN Berlin: »Who’s Gonna Clean This Up?««
Berlin, Säälchen, 29 November 2025
Contributions to read
Thea Dorn: »Why Are You Doing This to Yourself?«
Opening speech by Thea Dorn: »And with that I come to what, for me, is the soul of this association: no, not the »bickering« – but that we try not to see red all the time; that we take the idea of parrhesia seriously; that we endure it when other members of the association hold positions we ourselves believe to be wrong; that we engage with those other positions instead of insulting or defaming the person who holds them; that we do not demand that someone remove this impossible person from their place; that we do not ourselves leave the field with maximum indignant gesture.« SPEECH
Sofi Oksanen: »Before the Eyes Of the World«
Keynote speech by Sofi Oksanen: »Russia’s colonial assimilation politics is much more efficient than you think, because it doesn’t only affect people on Russian-controlled territories, but also people living outside Russia. It has affected your thinking, your world view, values and moral code. Russia’s colonial politics is so efficient that majority of the Western war talk doesn’t highlight at all the very center of the war, the root causes of the war, to which the deportations are very much tied. to. This is precisely why the fixation of peace rhetoric on border kilometers is a path that does not lead to a sustainable and just peace. At the heart of the war is identity politics.« SPEECH
Wolfgang Kubicki/Renate Künast: »Is There A Right to Hate?«
Lead talk by Wolfgang Kubicki: »Technological progress must lead to us carrying our liberal ideals over into the 21st century and, at best, developing them further toward an even freer society – not to throwing them overboard. But that is exactly the path we are on – and I will resist it for as long as I remain politically active!« TALK
Lead talk by Renate Künast: »Where did it all begin, this entire debate? It began with the claim that in this country one can no longer express one’s opinion. And that escalated into hate. And when people then said that hate is not an opinion, not a contribution protected by the constitution, that too was criticised, and it was claimed that this, too, constituted a restriction of freedom of expression.« TALK
Writers In Prison: Peyman Farahavar, María Cristina Garrido, Mohamed Tadjadit
Daniela Sepehri: »Since the beginning of the year, the Iranian regime has executed more than 1,600 people. Please do not allow Peyman Farahavar, our colleague, to be executed next for his poetry.« In addition to the Iranian poet sentenced to death Peyman Farahavar, our congress also focused on the Cuban poet María Cristina Garrido Rodríguez (presented by Andrea Landfried) as well as the Algerian poet Mohamed Tadjadit (presented by Jayrôme Robinet).
Media Coverage
Scenes from the Congress
»Who’s Gonna Clean This Up?« Programme
Säälchen, Holzmarktstraße 25, 10243 Berlin
Saturday, 29 November 2025
The day will be hosted by Bascha Mika (journalist). Daniela Sepehri, Andrea Landfried and Jayrôme Robinet will present imprisoned authors.
1.00 p.m. | Opening address by Thea Dorn (writer, spokesperson of PEN Berlin)
1.30 p.m. | Panel discussion | »Power, Money, NGO«
With: Jan Fleischhauer (journalist), Timo Reinfrank (Amadeu Antonio Foundation), Ralf Fücks (Centre for Liberal Modernity), Ulrike Winkelmann (Editor-in-Chief, taz) and Holger Marcks (social scientist). Chair: Catherine Newmark (journalist)
Under the title »Power, Money, NGO«, journalist Jan Fleischhauer, Timo Reinfrank (Executive Director of the Amadeu Antonio Foundation), Ralf Fücks (Director of the Centre for Liberal Modernity), Ulrike Winkelmann (Editor-in-Chief of taz) and Holger Marcks (head of the research unit »Against Hate on the Net«) will discuss how much subsidy subversion can withstand.
2.45 p.m. | Conversation | »What’s Next, America?«
With: Thomas Meaney (journalist/Granta) and Nora Krug (author). Chair: Paul-Henri Campbell (poet). In English
Thomas Meaney, editor of the international literary magazine Granta, will talk with German-American author and illustrator Nora Krug about the current situation in the United States.
3.30 p.m. | Panel discussion | »Literature today: Can we throw it away?«
With: Helge Malchow (former KiWi publisher), Manja Präkels (writer), Kristof Magnusson (writer) and Khuê Phạm (writer). Chair: Insa Wilke (literary critic)
On the panel »Literature today: Can we throw it away?«, former KiWi publisher Helge Malchow and the writers Manja Präkels, Kristof Magnusson and Khuê Phạm will reflect on the current state of literature. Has it ruthlessly overestimated itself? Or is it gaining dissident power in the face of growing unfreedom?
4:45 p.m. | Conversation | »Transnational repression: Where power finds you«
With: Basma Mostafa (journalist) and Noura Chalati (Reporters Without Borders). Chair: Jenny Friedrich-Freksa (Editor-in-Chief, Kulturaustausch). In English
Whether authors in exile are truly safe or whether power can find you anywhere is the question that Basma Mostafa from Reporters Without Borders will discuss with political scientist and intelligence expert Noura Chalati.
5.30 p.m. | Keynote inputs and audience discussion | »Is there a right to hate?«
With: Wolfgang Kubicki (lawyer and former Member of the Bundestag), Renate Künast (former Member of the Bundestag and Federal Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection) and the audience.
The limits of permissible speech are being drawn ever more narrowly. The idea that freedom of expression also includes the freedom to say stupid or repulsive things seems hardly bearable anymore. Whether, however, there is a »right to hate?« is the question that Wolfgang Kubicki and Renate Künast will address in their keynote inputs, as they also explore the topic from a legal perspective.
7.15 p.m. | Conversation | »Georgia: What if the transformation fails?«
With: Nino Haratischwili (author). Chair: Doris Akrap (journalist/taz)
Author Nino Haratischwili will talk with journalist Doris Akrap about the current situation in Georgia and the question: »What if the turn fails?«
8.00 p.m. | Keynote address by Sofi Oksanen (writer)
This year’s keynote speaker is Finnish-Estonian writer Sofi Oksanen. Journalist Ijoma Mangold will introduce Oksanen’s work.
To round things off, Katharina Franck — an event not only as a solo artist, but soon also back on tour with her band Rainbirds — will play a short concert.
