Helmut Schmidt Future Festival 2025: Against uncomfortable powerlessness
2025-05-22 Together with the weekly newspaper DIE ZEIT, the Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt Foundation and the NEW INSTITUTE, Leuphana is hosting the Helmut Schmidt Future Festival for the third time. Marina Weisband, psychologist and participation pioneer, spoke with participants about confrontation, the AfD and democracy.
Thereare 53 small, simple movements. A turnoftheshoulder, a pointofthefingeror a step. The sequenceofthedancepiece ‘In C’ followsrules, but theexecutionis individual – just like in a democracy. At theopeningofthe Future Festival, dancersfrom Sasha Waltz'scompanyrehearsefourofthesefigureswiththestudents. The choreographer and operadirectorisbeingawardedthe Helmut Schmidt Future Prize for her artistic and democraticcommitment. Forthefestivalparticipants, theperformancemarksthestartof a three-dayexchangewithscientists, publicists and politicians: Leuphana professor and politicaltheorist Astrid Séville, ZEIT journalist Yasmine M'Barek and politicaladvisor Johannes Hilljeanswerquestionsfromthestudents. Duringthefestival, they draft a democracymanifesto, which will bepresented on stage at theawardceremony in the Thalia Theatre in Hamburg.
The participantsappliedforthe Helmut Schmidt Future Festival with a videooressay. Theycomefrom Germany, Austria and Switzerland. ‘On thefirstdayalone, I alreadyjotted down lots ofthoughts and ideas,’ says Paula Möhring, pointingtothenotebook in her hand. The engineerisfrom Hamburg and hastaken her firstdaysofholidayin her newjobforthe Future Festival. ‘The exchangeisinspiring and Marina Weisbandis a strong leader,’ saysthestudent at the Leuphana Professional School afterthediscussionwiththepsychologist and Uwe Heuser (DIE ZEIT).
Marina Weisbandfounded ‘aula’ in 2014, a digitallysupported and democraticparticipationprojectforschools. She was tobehonouredwiththe Didacta Education Award thisyearfor her commitment. The AfD was also represented at the fair, whichsparkeddiscussions and callsfor a boycott. Marina Weisbandrejectedtheawardduringtheceremony. ‘Where do you find thestrengthforconfrontation?’ asked Uwe Heuser. Marina Weisbandreplied, ‘I knowhowuncomfortablepowerlessnessis.’ Shetoldthestudents, ‘Youhavetodecidebetweencomfortable and right.’ And shepleadedforempathyinsteadofconflict: ‘Break social conventionswithsomethingyouenjoy. Be radicallyfriendly!’
‘Defending and reinventingdemocracy’ istheheadlineofthisyear's Helmut Schmidt Future Festival: "Democracy is a prerequisitefor so muchofwhatweexperience, whatwewantto do, forourhopes. Democracy is a livingorganism. Itthrives on ourcommitment. Wesee social responsibilityas an individual responsibility. That'swhyit's also aboutyou: yourprojects, yourcontributions, yourthoughts,‘ said Leuphana President Sascha Spoun, encouragingthestudents: ’It'saboutyour well-consideredself-confidence, your belief in your own abilities and yourabilitytodevelopthem."