A multigenre festival that creates space for open dialogue and meaningful encounters. Since its inception, it has aimed to address pressing social issues, confront historical injustices, and foster understanding between diverse communities.
We believe that understanding the past is key to shaping the future. That’s why we open dialogue between people, their stories, and historical experience. Each year, we offer encounters with inspiring individuals, unexpected perspectives, and space for meaningful discussion on vital social issues. Join us and discover the power of a shared story.
The festival emerged from the Year of Reconciliation initiative, during which the City of Brno expressed in 2015 its regret over the brutal expulsion of the German-speaking population after World War II. That same year saw the first Reconciliation March, a tradition that continues to this day. Today, Meeting Brno is a respected platform for Czech-German dialogue and was honored at the beginning of this year with the Gold Medal of Merit by the Sudeten German Landsmannschaft.
Another significant milestone in the festival’s history was the 2017 gathering of over 100 descendants of the Jewish Tugendhat, Löw-Beer, and Stiassni families. For many of them, it was a deeply emotional and transformative moment—meeting distant relatives for the first time and, most importantly, reconciling their relationship with the city of Brno, where they finally felt truly welcome. The theme of Jewish identity, as well as interfaith dialogue, has since become an integral part of every edition of Meeting Brno.
Another key theme the festival has explored is the relationship between Czechs and Slovaks. In 2023, Meeting Brno hosted a historic discussion between the President of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, and the President of the Slovak Republic, Zuzana Čaputová, marking the 30th anniversary of the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia. This exceptional dialogue took place in the gardens of the Tugendhat and Löw-Beer villas—the very place where the division of Czechoslovakia was negotiated in 1992. Through this symbolic encounter, a place once associated with separation became a space of mutual understanding and friendship.
