Reception on the occasion of the 44th International Writers' Meeting

Bled, 16.5.2012  |  press release

The Slovenian President, Danilo Türk, hosted a reception on the occasion of the 44th International Writers' Meeting. In his address to the participants, he touched upon one of the the meetings' topics, raising the question of whether Western rationalistic civilisation is heading towards new horizons or is retrogressing.

President Türk pointed out that this is a very serious and wide-ranging question, one which has been repeatedly raised in Europe since at least the publication of Oswald Spengler's works. He himself has joined the deliberations on the current state of affairs and possible paths forwards that are characterised by optimistic normativism. He added that such deliberations are typical of the Western civilisation and its rationalism, a prevailing concept over recent centuries. However, they also include dimensions that are sometimes not sufficiently considered.

To illustrate his point, he highlighted human rights, which are the nucleus of the Western civilisation and, among other rights, include the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion or the right to freedom of expression. Moreover, Article 28 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights contains a provision proclaiming that 'everyone is entitled to social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realised'.

President Türk emphasised that this simple provision reflects the optimism of the Western world to its full extent. He expressed his hope that the discussions of the participants of the International Writers' Meeting would also be permeated by this optimistic view, which is of such vital importance to the Western civilisation and its future.