Hur/K

18 days of events in commemoration of the revolutions in NAWA

2021 marks the 10-year anniversary of the wave of revolutions that erupted across the North Africa West Asia (NAWA) region in late 2010 and early 2011. This presents itself as an opportunity to commemorate the revolutions and a chance to critically reflect on their aftermath, including counter-revolutionary backlashes, waves of displacement and exile, and pervasive forms of state repression.

Inspired by the course of 18 days in which the Egyptian revolution initially unfolded (from the 25th of January to the 11th of February 2011) and by the diverse forms of expression that the revolutionaries used to communicate their demands, hopes, and dreams, Hur/k is a series of events that take place in Berlin on 18 different days throughout 2021 to engage the NAWA diaspora communities in Germany in a range of commemoration activities. Yet, our idea is to transcend commemoration beyond fixed dates and places, to trace the afterlives of the revolutions across the NAWA region as a continuum, as a constant flow of movement that does not confine itself to sheer remembering but attempts to shape new realities.

We understand our activities as interventions that seek to utilize different means and mediums to reflect, discuss, probe, debate, and imagine political possibilities. Our means and mediums will include but are not limited to storytelling, film, podcasts, and research.

We aim to depict and highlight continuous ‘movement’ as opposed to the narrative of ‘stagnation’ that is now frequently associated with the so-called failure of the revolutions. We aim to showcase and celebrate the ways in which NAWA revolutionaries and their diverse array of comrades from the region and beyond have continued to engage in various forms of activism, thinking about, narrating, and continuing the revolution in imaginative, inventive ways, all while moving across borders and between countries.