His fictional knight-errant rescued ‘imaginary damsels’, and spawned the word ‘quitoxic’. Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes’ (1547-1616) Don Quixote de La Mancha is the first modern novel, and sits among the top 10 most translated books. An ex-soldier, Cervantes was captured by pirates and enslaved in Algiers before writing the Western literary classic.

A Catholic nun with Albanian roots, Mother Teresa (1910-97, born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu) founded one of the biggest female congregations in the world, with 4,500 sisters doing charity work in 133 countries. Supporting the sick and poor, she claimed that ‘by her calling’ she ‘belongs to the world’. For her charity work she was awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.

As a declared pacifist, Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), a Spanish painter, sculptor, poet and playwright, documented the most brutal conflicts of his times: The Spanish Civil War (Guernica), the horrors of World War II (Death’s Head) and the Korean War (Massacre In Korea). His abstract experiments with form gave birth to an entirely new Cubist movement. He is now considered one of the most influential artists of the 20^th century.

Fascinated with works of Sigmund Freud, Stefan Zweig (1881-1942) was an Austrian novelist, playwright, biographer and one of the most popular writers of the 1920s. Protesting against Hitlerism, together with his wife he left Europe and moved to Brazil. Depressed about the situation on the old continent, the pair committed suicide in 1942. Zweig saw Europe as a lasting community of culture and values.

Praised for exemplifying the multicultural face of contemporary Belgium, Paul van Haver, alias Stromae, (born 1985) is a Belgian rapper and songwriter with Rwandan roots. He combines hip-hop and electronic music with lyrics that touch upon such topics as growing up without a father, gaining a sense of identity and belonging, and the problem of HIV. He is now one of the most popular Belgian artists worldwide. Winner of the European Border Breakers Awards (EBBA) in 2011.

Despite living in a nationalistic epoch, French poet, novelist, and dramatist Victor Hugo (1802-85) promoted the theory of the ‘United States of Europe’ in his writings. Some ideas from his political speeches materialised in the 20^th century, such as monetary union or the disappearance of national borders within the Schengen area. A supporter of republicanism, he believed in the freedom of art and society.

French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher, Voltaire (1694-1778) advocated not only the freedom of religion and speech, but also the separation of church and state. The author of Treatise on Tolerance and supporter of civil liberties, he criticised religious dogma and the French institutions of his day. His heritage is still part of the European intellectual richness and cultural diversity.

A name synonymous with English literature, William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was an English poet, playwright, actor and a genius of his native tongue. His plays have been translated into every major language and have inspired countless other artists. Proving that art and business can go hand-in-hand, he was a successful co-owner of a theatre company.