The School of Civic Education and Media Hub Riga hosted a joint seminar, «Anthropological Catastrophe and Resistance: the Human Condition». Framed by the legacies of Russian imperialism and the ongoing war in Ukraine, we discussed how normalized violence erodes individual agency and civic responsibility, spotlighting acts of resistance under extreme conditions. The discussion evolved around the idea that moral principles, institutional practices, and transitional justice tools are needed to disrupt cycles of violence and impunity, and how education, media, and cultural institutions can reinforce human dignity and the rule of law without entrenching victimhood or provoking further repression.
The seminar took place at Power-Up Space, Riga featuring Lena Nemirovskaya, founder of the School of Civic Education, Marci Shore (USA), professor of intellectual history and Chair in European Intellectual History, University of Toronto, Yegor Rubanov (Ukraine), a Summer Fellow at the School of Civic Education and a Yale University student, and Elena Lukianova (Russia), lawyer, academic, public figure, and co‑founder of Free University.