The area of the West Midlands is
sometimes overlooked as an unattractive, grey and dull industrial region, but this
could not be further from the truth as the region, and especially Coventry has
a rich and vibrant history, especially in the area of assembly. The city has
gone through times of prosperity, which are still visible today, as well as
times of turbulence, especially within the dark chapter of the Second Great
War. Nevertheless, the people stood defiant and as a result we were able to
experience the beauty of medieval England as well as the English countryside.
Our story begins long before setting
foot in old Blighty. Back in Slovenia, armed with a unique research topic and
an inquisitive spirit, we went adventuring through the dusty corridors of
various archives of Slovenia and other Habsburg domains. From the national
archive in Ljubljana, to a regional archive in Maribor, and an autonomous
archive of the Slovene Bar association, all the way to the archives in Austrian
Graz, and even Jerez in sunny Spain. There our skills were truly put to the
test; with many documents simply missing, and those we could find being mostly
in German (a language most of us struggle with at the best of times) and
written either in gothic script or, worse still, “Kurrentschrift” - a truly
dreadful handwriting used by forefathers. Others, however, got swamped by an
incomprehensible quantity of records, we couldn’t possibly hope to filter
through. At times we felt like giving up. But through sheer grit and
determination we managed to uncover some truly remarkable documents, telling the
tales of long forgotten fights of individuals and collectives alike, of
struggles with bureaucracy, defiance in the face of fierce opposition, and of
new ideas making their way in an often hostile environment. This way we each
managed to piece together a story, which we would take to the Peak Event in
Warwick.
Day 1
Six students from the Faculty of Law at the University of Ljubljana - Teja Benčič, Domen Bogdan, Luka Držić, Nives Košnjek, Kristjan Krapež, and Ajra Šišernik - took part in the EUTOPIA Peak Event. Our delegation was not complete, as our professor, Katja Škrubej, and one of the students, Benjamin Marenče, unfortunately had to stay in Slovenia due to illness. Our journey to England began on Thursday, March 17, 2025. After arriving at Brnik Airport in the morning and grabbing a quick bite to eat, we boarded a flight to Munich, where we transferred to a connecting flight to Birmingham. From there, we traveled to our hotel in Coventry, where delegations from other countries were already awaiting our arrival. In the evening, we all headed to a Mexican restaurant for dinner, where we had the opportunity to connect with fellow students and professors in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, discussing our studies, upcoming event etc. Despite just having had dinner, some of us couldn’t resist visiting Five Guys for a proper cheeseburger. To round off the evening, local students took us to a traditional English pub, giving us a taste of British culture. Afterward, we returned to the hotel for one final rehearsal of our presentations in preparation for the following day.
Day 2
On Friday, March 14th, the now nearly traditional
"Peak Event" took place at the University of Warwick. This year’s
overarching theme was Individual and Collective Rights in Legal History, with a particular focus on their
genesis, explored through case studies covering the period from 1789/1848 to
the 20th century.
The conference commenced
with presentations by five students from VUB, who delved into the complex
history of collective and individual rights in Belgium. Their research offered
insightful perspectives on the impact of collective action, the politico-legal
battle over monastic wealth, the battle for primary schools, the long fight for
women’s suffrage from the 19th to the mid-20th century and on Belgian feminism
in connection with the struggle for abortion.
After the Brussels
delegation, it was our team's turn to present our research on The rights of
association and assembly between assertion and resistance among Slovenes with
an outlook to Spain in the long 19th century. Topics ranged from the Loški
Potok parish appeals to the struggles
of the Sokol associations in Ljubljana and Ljutomer, as well as the Tabori
movement. In addition, students also explored the development of the Slovene
Bar Association during the time of »National Awakening« and the influence of
the University of Graz as a cultural center. One of the students even dedicated
his presentation to the Jerez uprising.
After our lunch
break, our colleagues from CY Cergy Paris Université took the stage. Their
presentations explored topics such as freedom of speech and literary censorship
in France, animal rights, and children’s rights in France and finally, the
strike of Azin and its impact on the labour legislation.
Closing the stage
were the students at this year's hosting university, the University of Warwick,
expanding the discussion of the central topic overseas to Latin America and
beyond. The key focus was thus on Latin America with presentations on the
abortion and reproductive rights in Cuba, ‘the Zapatistas and agrarian reform
in Mexico and the impact of sports on collective and individual rights in Latin
America. Other topics included the Venetian appropriation of social rights
through patronage in the Renaissance and minority rights in South Asia.
Throughout the
day, we took part in dynamic discussions, exchanged ideas, and offered each
other advice on research. We left the conference with a deeper understanding of
the central theme, having explored the development of collective and individual
rights in various contexts. Tired from the event, we headed back to the hotel
to rest, where we were able to recharge and continued hanging out late into the
night.
Day 3
Saturday was marked to be a day for exploration. After a hearty hotel breakfast, we made our way to the city centre, to be precise to Coventry Cathedral - both of them. The imposing old gothic cathedral, deroofed and heavily damaged by German bombs of 1940 made a great impression on us and made us remember of our own university town of Ljubljana, first bombed during the great war by Italian bomber planes and then in the second world war both by the axis and later the allied powers. May the Almighty prevent humanity from unleashing such destruction upon itself ever again.
We were divided into groups and local guides made a great effort to
explain the marvels of the new Coventry Cathedral, a gem of non-secular
modernist British architecture – somewhat to our dismay as we were much more
interested in the old cathedral. Luckily for us though, an ascent to the top of
the majestic old cathedral tower was planned and we looked forward to seeing
Coventry from a birds-eye view.
As that was planned to take place in an hour or so, our gracious hosts
invited us to partake in a protest by members of Coventry University. Some of
us accepted the honour while others, more keen on mass rallies in the 19th
century (Tabori) and less so on ones in our present time, instead took this
time to explore wonderful timbered Tudor houses and some examples of the world-renowned
English gothic architecture.
We returned to St. Michael’s for our much-anticipated ascent to the top
of the belfry but were sadly informed that the tower opens but after Easter,
that is in five weeks’ time. We were instead shown a small room inside the
Cathedral, used by guild members, much less known than the famous Coventry
Guildhall just some meters away.
After having some time for lunch, we
all hopped on a public bus for an excursion to the countryside. The plan was a
visit to Kenilworth Castle, a truly magnificent formation and a monument to the
grand first Elizabethan era, not only because of its ties to Sir Rober Dudley,
Elizabeth’s most famous favourite. The castle’s outsides indeed looked
marvellous but for the insides we cannot say as we had arrived too late and the
sandstone palace-fortress was no longer admitting visitors.
Not taking this minor setback to heart we instead took a lovely tour of
Kenilworth’s adorable and very well-preserved high street, which gave us a fine
lesson of how one ought to take care of one’s heritage and ancient buildings –
preserving them as they once were, so that they may bring joy and pride for the
future generations as well.
Much to our delight we were led into one of these respect worthy
buildings, which turned out to be a respectable institution on its own – an
ancient English pub. How lovely. We sat down to enjoy a meal but as the whole
pub was (due to its benevolent reputation) already booked, we had to disperse.
Some left due to fatigue of either body or mind while others stayed,
positioning themselves in different still available corners of this respectable
institution and there enjoying good cider and good company.
Day 4
As our trip was approaching its end,
we spent our final hours in Coventry exploring the town by ourselves. We
wandered through the streets, trying to discover a few things we haven't seen
before, appreciating the relaxed atmosphere after the rush of the past few
days.
For our last lunch, we found a small traditional pub,
where we ordered a range of local dishes accompanied by cider (that was,
according to Kristjan and Luka, the best food they tasted during the whole
trip), and enjoyed the warm and homely ambience.
After that, we strolled around the town for a short
while and bought some last-minute souvenirs, before heading back to the hotel,
where the driver was already waiting to take us back to the airport.
The way back home included a stop in Munich, where we
had to make a changeover. There was some panic in the transfer, but it was all
worked out in time with the help of some considerate staff, and the remainder
of the journey was uneventful. After arriving in Zagreb, we were greeted by yet
another driver, who brought us back to Ljubljana.
Even though we were all tired from the journey, we
were glad to be home and grateful for the memories and experiences. Our trip to
Coventry was a fulfilling and enjoyable, and our final day was the ideal
combination of relaxation and reflection before returning to our normal
routines.
Participating in this research, this
exchange of ideas, allowed us not only to discover new and interesting historic
events and facts relevant to other European countries, yet also receive an
insight into how our colleagues understand individual and collective rights
based on their cultural background. It showed us that despite living hundreds
of kilometres apart and having a different history and understanding of
collective rights we agreed that their nurture and expansion is necessary for
the nurture and expansion of democratic plurality. Likewise visiting Coventry
we were shown, apart from the majestic scenery and historically and culturally
rich society, the resilience of a people in the face of tyranny and their
undying desire for freedom, the ruins of the Cathedral standing as its
monument.
Authors: Teja Benčič, Domen Bogdan, Luka Držić, Nives Košnjek, Kristjan Krapež, Benjamin Marenče and Ajra Šišernik
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