CCGES is pleased to present a visit to Toronto by Dr. Jens Reich, one of Germany’s leading scientific ethicists and a prominent figure in the citizens’ movement which helped topple East Germany’s communist regime in the peaceful revolution of 1989.

While in Toronto on Tuesday, May 19th, Dr. Reich will participate in two events. The first will take place in the CCGES Meeting Room (230 York Lanes) beginning at 11:30 am and is intended to give the York students and faculty a chance to discuss the legacy of the citizens-based movements which helped redefine Europe’s social and political landscape with one of their most important actors.

The second event is a talk by Dr. Reich on the same topic and is being presented in cooperation with the German General Consulate  Toronto and the German-Canadian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (AHK). The talk will take place in the offices of AHK (480 University Avenue, Suite 1500) and begins at 6:00 pm to be followed by a reception. This event is open to all interested indiv iduals, however due to space limitations, attendees are requested to RSVP to ccges@yorku.ca

Jens Reich studied medicine and molecular biology at (east) Berlin’s Humboldt-University before proceeding with an academic career. After becoming a Professor and Department Head at the GDR’s Central Institute for Molecular Biology in 1980, he lost these positions for organizing a discussion circle for citizens critical of the East German regime. In the fall of 1989 he was a prominent figure in Neues Forum, the grassroots social movement key in helping topple the GDR’s communist dictatorship. Dr. Reich was subsequently elected to the East German Volkskammer in elections in the spring of 1990, and later received the Theodor-Heuss Medal for his role in the peaceful revolution. In 1994, Dr. Reich contested the election for Bundespräsident as the candidate for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, an alliance of the West German Green Party and a variety of progressive political parties from the former East, including Neues Forum. In addition to his work in politics, Dr. Reich has continued to be active in the world of natural science and has been a member of Germany’s National Ethics Council since 2001.

For more information on either of these events, please contact CCGES Coordinator, John Paul Kleiner, at jkleiner@yorku.ca