Prof. Martin Hartmann:
Trust under Pressure – Culture between Politics and the Public in Times of Accelerating Change

Martin Hartmann, Professor of Practical Philosophy and Rector of the University of Lucerne, used his keynote to explore how relationships of trust between culture, politics and the public are changing. Compared with other institutions, cultural organisations still enjoy a high level of trust – yet shrinking budgets, political interference and attacks on established bodies of knowledge are putting it under growing strain. Hartmann’s central argument: trust is often mistaken for unquestioning acceptance. What is needed instead is critical trust – trust that cannot simply be taken for granted but must be earned time and again. In the video, Hartmann explains what endures, what is lost and what might emerge anew.