Why Les Rencontres Européennes de Luxembourg?

Since 1945, it has been clear that a united Europe is needed.

The most senseless of wars and the dissolution of the European Empires that had ruled the world for four and a half centuries have created new economic and military balances of power. Faced with the USA, China, Russia and the emerging powers, Europe can only hold its own if it intelligently pools all the human, political, financial, scientific and cultural resources of its states.

In fact, in this still disorientated, unstable and dangerous world, Europe can be a model to follow. As a defender of freedom, the rule of law and social solidarity, with a wealth of happy and disastrous experiences to draw on, Europe is an example to billions of people living in difficult conditions in Asia, Africa and the Americas.

But we Europeans know how far away we are from the possible.

So there is always a need for clear-sighted citizens to meet and discuss fundamental problems and solutions, and to develop and disseminate ideas and concepts effectively in a complex political, cultural and linguistic context.

The Luxembourg initiative, launched 25 years ago, is part of this patient approach.

The Rencontres européennes de Luxembourg are designed to move things forward in a small but inexorable way, providing an opportunity for lively discussion of issues that may exasperate or anger. Their objectives: to encourage open, multidisciplinary exchanges on a European scale; to stimulate the development of ethical, social and political debates on the future of European society(ies).

The organisation

Les Rencontres Européennes de Luxembourg is an open, independent association run by a team of volunteers.

Each year, a coordinating committee organises a conference (traditionally on the third Saturday in October) on a specific working theme. Each time, over a hundred participants from different countries and backgrounds come together to debate with speakers from Luxembourg, France, Belgium and Switzerland, as well as Spain, Italy, Germany, Sweden, the United States, Algeria, Morocco and Israel. These speakers, actors and thinkers - elected representatives, journalists, scientists, representatives of the business world and the administration, academics, etc. - lead the debates, respecting each other and the complementary nature of each, contributing in turn a stone to the European edifice that we are all building together.

The Rencontres have also developed a number of 'tools' to ensure a wider audience:

• The "Club des Amis des Rencontres" brings together people from all geographical and philosophical backgrounds who wish to support the Rencontres européennes de Luxembourg, both financially and through their work in the run-up to the conference.
• The Rencontres website http://www.relux.lu is designed to communicate both the preparatory discussions and the conclusions of the work. The history of work from previous years is currently being transferred from the old site to the new one, to make it accessible to as many people as possible.