Future Festival: Rethinking democracy and shaping it together!

Future Festival: Rethinking democracy and shaping it together!

The Helmut Schmidt Future Festival, which will take place from May 27th to 29th, 2025 at the Leuphana University of Lüneburg, promises a lively exchange between art, science and politics. Under the motto “Defend and reinvent democracy,” the festival will be characterized by the presence of numerous thought leaders.

The festival opens with a special dance performance: The piece “In C” consists of 53 simple movements that are individually implemented by dancers from Sasha Waltz’s company and students. Sasha Waltz, who plays a significant role in cultural participation as an outstanding choreographer, will be awarded the Helmut Schmidt Future Prize for her artistic and democratic commitment Leuphana reported.

Diverse perspectives and discussions

The festival offers a three-day space for more than 60 young future designers who deal with current social challenges. The aim is to develop innovative answers to issues such as protecting the climate without causing social division, defending democracy without losing freedom and using artificial intelligence for the common good. Creative minds such as Luisa Neubauer, Nora Sophie Griefahn and Philipp von der Wippel, who will contribute their expertise, are prominently represented.

Participants qualified for the festival with contributions in the form of videos or essays and come from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Among them is Paula Möhring, an engineer from Hamburg, who is using her first days of vacation in her new job for this important event.

A central element of the festival will be a jointly designed democracy manifesto, which will be presented as part of the award ceremony in the Thalia Theater in Hamburg. The presence of the AfD, which led to calls for a boycott, is also discussed and thus addresses the democratic commitment of all those involved. Marina Weisband, the founder of the digital participation project “aula”, will be awarded the Didacta Education Prize this year, but refuses it during the ceremony. She emphasizes the need for empathy and encourages students to question social conventions.

Cultural participation and its meaning

Cultural participation plays a central role in the discussion about democracy and social formation. Loud Politics culture Cultural participation promotes social participation and the ability to be democratic, which is reflected in the different approaches underlying them: While audiences and recipients of cultural offerings represent passive forms, active participation and co-determination are essential elements that flow into the discourse on democratic participation.

There is often debate about how cultural education, such as that offered to disadvantaged children and young people through programs such as “Culture Makes You Strong,” can help increase accessibility. The political requirement for a strong participation orientation encounters challenges in bringing people from different social and political backgrounds together.

The Helmut Schmidt Future Festival makes a significant contribution to promoting this discourse by actively involving young people in shaping their future. The high level of cultural funding in Germany, which amounts to 15 billion euros annually, underlines the relevance of cultural offerings for a diverse and democratic society.