Life in Truth: The Legacy of Charter '77 and Human Rights-based Dissent in Times of Democratic Backsliding

How and to what extent does the normative, strategic, and organizational legacy of the Charter '77 and related human rights-based dissident movements shape the civic participation and the resilience of civil societies half a century later?
1976 was an extraordinary year for the international community. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights were ratified, and the Helsinki Final Act launched the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (later the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe). These events grew into civic movements that held human rights norms at their core. More than movements, becoming a part of these platforms meant an individual choice of civic courage, a choice of the "life in truth" that demasked the pretend ideology of the fossilized communist regimes. It was a moral choice of competent, responsible citizens.
Considering these dimensions of the individual, normative stance, the dimension of the community of truth in opposition to morally corrupt power, and the dimension of the transnational movement based on universal values of human rights, the panel will consider what these choices mean in the times of democratic backsliding, polarization of societies, and environmental crisis. Do Patočka and Havel still have something relevant to say to the citizens and civic activists of today, particularly to those for whom the era of anti-communist resistance may seem as distant as Napoleon? Do underground universities, house theatres, samizdat journals, and kitchen-politics circles leave any organizing wisdom for current communities of practice?
The present day calls for dialogue in the face of polarization, truth in the face of endless loud opinions, community in the face of loneliness, and hope in the face of despair. All those were byproducts of the civic movements half a century ago. Where can we find their sources today?