Katharina von Schnurbein was appointed the first European Commission Coordinator on combating antisemitism. Prior to this, she worked for five years as part of the advisory team of President Jose Manuel Barroso on the dialogue with churches, religions and non-confessional organisations. Her interest in building bridges and facilitating dialogue with other cultures was strongly impacted by her experience of liberation of Central and Eastern Europe and fall of the Berlin Wall, which ultimately led her to Slavonic Studies and perfect mastery of Czech language. Interested to hear how all of us can play a role in increasing tolerance in our society? In her interview with Lucia Klestincova for Lights on Europe, Katharina explains the sensitive nature of her function, outlines the origins of rise of anti-semitism in Europe and what can be done to combat it by mediating better dialogue at the European level. You will also learn whether there is any link between her current function and the knowledge of Central Europe she built when working for the Czech Commissioner Vladimir Spidla!

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Twitter: @kschnurbein