Arts & International Affairs: Vol. 4, No. 2, Autumn 2019 | Page 23

ARTS & INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf4KVSIqmDU&feature=youtu.be
1. What factors shaped�or influenced�your vision for Wroclaw, which encompasses
reconciliation with the past, as well as an open and tolerant perspective on the future?
I cannot really give you a direct answer to this question, but instead, I will try to present
my point of view in response to subsequent questions. Back in the day, cities served the
role of main centres for the exchange of goods. These days, they increasingly become
centres for the exchange of ideas. I would like to use a certain metaphor to describe the
role of universities, as well as the exchange of ideas and thoughts in this process�the
metaphor of City�University. What does it entail? When a city is founded�as it happened
in the past�it becomes a living place for a certain group of people. Despite building
walls, the residents of the city also establish markets, where strangers are allowed to
enter. The strangers�or the others�are welcome both there and in the inns. Often, the
city also sends envoys to distant lands, who return with information about others and
their ways of living. Thus, we can find centres for the exchange of ideas in cities, and this
process is undertaken by the residents; however, as I already mentioned, it also occurs
between the locals and the others.
Another feature of cities is houses, which are erected as domains of particular privacy�
in their entirety or shared with other folk. However, even if we completely separate our
property and our lives, we should be aware that we should remain open�in at least two
senses of this word. First of all�we should let some guests in from time to time so that
our children can learn good manners, as well as understand that the world is bigger than
their immediate family as early in their lives as possible. Second�everybody knows that
heating is probably the most important function of a home; however, proper heating
also requires a functional ventilation system. Back in the day, it was ensured by cracking
open a window, these days such systems are far more refined. If there is no such system
in place, we become suffocated with our own vapours, so to speak�I do not know if that
is a polite enough term for human flatulence.
Universities serve as shared spaces in cities; they serve the same role as heating and
ventilation in homes. They ensure openness towards the community and enable the ex-
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