“Power and Powerlessness” is the general theme of the third Vienna Humanities Festival, which takes place from 27 to 30 September 2018. The festival will be opened with a speech of US historian Timothy Snyder on 27 September at 7 pm, organized by Wien Museum, the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) and the European Time to Talk network in the Festival Hall of the Vienna City Hall. In his talk,  in which Timothy Snyder presents his new and much-debated book “The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America”, he goes beyond the surprises and shocks to expose the true nature of the threat to the rule of law.

From 27 to 30 September, the third Vienna Humanities Festival will bring together leading minds from science, arts and culture for a multi-day urban salon. In about 40 events, half of them in English language, the big questions of our time are being negotiated under the motto “Power & Powerlessness”. The focus is set on topics such as the crisis of democracy, the rise of fundamentalist forces and the common search for alternatives and solutions.