The 20th European Meeting of Cultural Journals

Changing places (What's normal anyway?)

Conference The 20th European Meeting of Cultural Journals will take place in Sibiu, Romania, 21-24 September. This year's meeting is organized by Eurozine and its Romanian partners Euphorion and Lettre International Romania, in cooperation with the Brukenthal Museum and the German Cultural Centre Sibiu. The conference is part of the official programme of Sibiu – European Cultural Capital 2007. More than 70 editors and intellectuals from Europe's leading cultural journals will participate in this event, and the programme includes seminars and debates as well as an exhibition displaying journals from more than 30 countries.

Theme

Changing places (What's normal anyway?)

"Normality" and "Writing in exile" Under the heading "Changing places (What's normal anyway?)", the conference will address the challenges facing cities and states as well as art, literature, and the media as the need for change meets the urge for normality. In the major conference sessions, featuring intellectuals, writers, and scholars from different fields, with different geographical and cultural backgrounds, two aspects of the main theme will be addressed separately: normality as an obscure object of desire and literature in exile. Confirmed keynote speakers and panellists include Slavenka Drakulic, Zinovy Zinik, and Alexander Kiossev.

Location

Sibiu, Romania

Cultural capital We are especially happy to be able to hold the meeting in Sibiu, a city that, in the midst of a turbulent, dynamic, and still unfinished chapter of Romanian and European history, represents this year's conference theme in a compelling way. Sibiu has for centuries been regarded as the cultural capital of Transylvania and it seems only natural that it also have the official status of a European Capital of Culture in 2007. This has led to major renovations in and around the historic city centre (a Unesco World Heritage site), which also houses the Brukenthal Museum, Romania's oldest museum, with a highly interesting art collection. That Romanian philosopher and aphorist E.M. Cioran ("The Real gives me asthma...") spent his sleepless nights walking the streets of Sibiu, before he emigrated to Paris, is only one more facet that makes the city the ideal location for this year's conference.

Travel

How to get there Although Sibiu has an international airport, it is highly advisable to book tickets well in advance because of the high volume of travel due to events in connection with the European Cultural Capital.

We realize that flights to Sibiu are quite expensive in many cases and it might be worthwhile to consider alternative routes.

There are relatively cheap direct flights to the Romanian capital Bucharest. From there, a flight to Sibiu takes about 45 minutes and is reasonably inexpensive. Romanian airline TAROM offers flights at around EUR 70. Tickets are limited and can be purchased directly online. It is also possible to take the train from Bucharest to Sibiu, which takes around 5 hours and allows you to see more of Romania than just airports and cities.

Another excellent and cheap option is to fly to Cluj Napoca, which is the historic capital of Transylvania and has regular flights to and from most European cities. From Cluj Napoca there are trains to Sibiu that take around 3.5 hours.

If you're travelling from neighbouring countries, the train might be a better alternative than flying. The functionality of the Romanian Railways website is limited, but it still might be helpful.

Hotel

Hotel Continental Forum

Accommodation For the nights of the conference, all participants will stay in the Hotel Continental Forum, currently under renovation. The hotel is located in the city centre, within walking distance of all conference venues. The address, phone number, and website of the hotel are:

Piata Unirii no. 10
Sibiu, Romania
Phone: +40 372 692 692
Fax : +40 372 692 693
Web: www.continentalhotels.ro/index.php?lg=en&page=news

Extra nights
As far as we know, the Hotel Continental Forum is booked out for the nights around the conference. To organize extra nights, please contact the agency directly where we booked the rooms for the conference:

Lidia Maruta
MARSHAL Turism SRL
Incoming Dept. Manager
43 Magheru Blvd., Bucharest
Phone: +40 21 310 0450
Fax: +40 21 310 0450
Mobile: +40 722 386 179
E-mail: hotel@marshal.ro
Web: www.marshal.ro

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