
Details:
The Institut Pierre Werner (IPW) is organising, together with the Abbaye de Neumünster (neimënster), a new edition of the "Nuit des Idées" (Night of Ideas) event on Thursday 23 October 2025, starting at 19:00.
The 2025 edition, taking place at neimënster in Luxembourg-Grund, centres around the theme "Pouvoir Agir" ("power to act" or "empowerment"), a concept that invites us to reflect together on our ability to transform the world. From Jakarta to Paris, from Tokyo to Mexico City, via Luxembourg, the public is invited to explore how ideas can make a difference in the face of major contemporary challenges (climate, technology, democracy).
At a time when separatism and identity-based withdrawal are fracturing societies, the Night of Ideas aims to bring to life what makes us human. For this 2025 edition, the IPW and neimënster are asking themselves the question: In the face of rising abstention, how can we reinvent public engagement?
Originally, the event was set to begin with an English-language play directed by Orly Noa Rabinyan: The Appeal. Due to illness, however, the play has been cancelled.
A roundtable (initially scheduled for 20:20) will kick off the event at 19:00. Dedicated to the theme "Pouvoir agir, démocratie et participation citoyenne" (Power to act, democracy and citizen participation), the debate asks questions such as: If citizen consultations respond to a desire among citizens to participate more in public life, what does the increase in abstention from our democracies reveal? What form could public debate take in our democracies?
Bilingual French-German journalist Shila Behjat will moderate the roundtable (held in English, French and German, with simultaneous translation into English), which brings together: Pascal Perrineau, political scientist, professor emeritus of universities at Sciences Po (France) where he directed the Centre for Political Research from 1992 to 2013; Raphaël Kies, lecturer-researcher at the University of Luxembourg, head of the Luxembourg Platform for Participatory Democracy; and Isabelle Roth Borucki, professor of political science methods and democracy during the digital transformation at the University of Marburg-Philipps (Germany).
The upcoming roundtable was preceded by a tour of "Et maintenant" (And now) workshops in schools, with the support of Educ'ARTE and CePAS (6 to 9 October 2025). More than 600 students from secondary schools in Luxembourg City, Differdange, Junglinster, Wiltz and Thionville (France) debated topics such as democracy, voting and Europe, with moderation by journalist Anne-Lise Carlo.
Entry is free, although registration is required.
Further information is available at https://www.neimenster.lu/evenements/table-ronde/
Venue: Abbaye de Neumünster (neimënster; 28 Rue Münster, L-2160 Luxembourg)
Organiser: IPW; neimënster
Price: Free
Reservations: See above
URL: For details, see https://www.neimenster.lu/evenements/table-ronde/