<div dir="ltr">NeMe, the Communications Department of The Cyprus University of Technology (CUT) and Brave New Culture present Q.E.D., a selection of six documentaries and artists presentations to be screened in the Pefkios Georgiades Amphitheatre on the 11, 12 and 13th of October 2013.<br>
<br>Q.E.D. (Quod Erat Demonstrandum), an abbreviation which signals the completion of proof or simply 'it has been proved' is an appropriate title for the current crisis in Cyprus together with all collateral events taking place which are described by the media as "unprecedented" catastrophe. This description reflects the Cypriots' tendency to forget other adversities that have occurred in recent history. Although Cypriot banks have never before collapsed, the living memory of a large number of the population can return us not only to the events of 1963 and 1974 but also the crisis of the tourist industry and the crash of the stock-market, all of which, in various degrees, had immediate and devastating effects upon most people.<br>
<br>The current bank crisis was foreseen by many, both in Cyprus and abroad, and was a subject of discussion as far back as 2007 when the so called Global Financial Crisis instigated by the US housing market collapse impacted many countries. In Cyprus there was either an over confidence or false optimism among the population, reinforced by the media which overwhelmingly published statements about the strengths of the economy recalling Marshal McLuhan's observation that "all media exist to invest our lives with artificial perceptions and arbitrary values" (1964). The selected documentaries expose vital truths about our world as well as offer methods of critical analyses regarding the many inappropriate decisions made on our behalf.<br>
<br>Reinterpreting Rahm's statement "Never let a serious crisis go to waste" (2009), Yiannis Colakides (NeMe) and Angeliki Gazi (CUT) have selected six documentaries and artists talks which generate the urgency of the much needed discussion and evaluation of the process by which we can determine the value rather than the price of lives referencing the "construction and transmission of meaning" (McGuigan 2004) interpreted by cultural parameters and not the tools and concepts of economics. Unfortunately, 'it has been proved' that this vital concern has been ignored by the imposed austerity measures, not only in Cyprus but several other EU countries, whose cost benefit analyses, at this point in time, are only calculated in monetary terms.<br>
<br>The documentaries to be screened are: !Women Art Revolution (dir. Lynn Hershman Leeson), The Corporation (dir. Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott), Strange Culture (dir. Lynn Hershman Leeson), The Yes Men Fix the World (dir. Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno, Kurt Engfehr), My Name Is Janez Janša (dir. Janez Janša) and Wonderful Macroeconomics (dir. Yorgos Avgeropoulos). Dr Steve Katz, Dr Joel Bakan, Prof. Paul Vanouse, Dr Lanfranco Aceti, Janez Janša and Yorgos Avgeropoulos will present their work and answer questions from the audience via skype.<br>
<br>Entrance to the event is free.<br><br><div><a href="http://www.neme.org" target="_blank">http://www.neme.org</a><br><a href="http://neme-imca.org" target="_blank">http://neme-imca.org</a><br></div>
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