Opening of the Utopia Conference 2024: "We need a second Enlightenment"

"The worst thing for the future is the indifferent," warned the philosopher, lawyer, publicist and presenter Michel Friedman in the central building. Trusting that people are capable of getting involved and making a difference with their commitment is one of his fundamental convictions: "I trust that people who want to can change the world."
However, trust always includes mistrust of democratically elected representatives: "That is the basis of the democratic idea. We want power to be distributed. As citizens - despite all the trust we have - we want to scrutinise, discuss and differentiate," argued Michel Friedman.

He sees a direct link between trust and knowledge. He therefore emphasised the importance of education in his statements: "The greatest social injustice is educational injustice." He spoke in favour of a "second enlightenment" and the willingness to commit and renounce as the basis for solving current problems.

Philosopher Eva von Redecker called for an "unconditional provision of basic needs that everyone receives. Simply because they are human". It should consist of a basic framework of medical care, energy and housing, for example: "We are a rich society. The resources are there. We should work to ensure that there are no more stronger than weaker people. I also understand enlightenment as a process in which all people become human beings who can live freely and use their intellect," argued the philosopher in the central building. She described trust as the "core of utopian thinking".

Writer Jagoda Marinić was one of the hosts of the Utopia Conference for the first time: "We live in times in which there is a lot of mistrust - towards politics, towards political parties. The fact that we are sitting here together and thinking about trust right now is appealing. Trust and hope are needed. For me as a writer, this is incredibly important. I tell my stories in the hope of making a difference."

Other guests on the conference stage include the actress and UNICEF ambassador Katja Riemann, the research director of the NATO Military Academy Florence Gaub and the sociologist Heinz Bude.

Alumna Jana Schulte Hürmann studied environmental sciences at Leuphana. She travelled to the Utopia Conference from Austria. She is studying the Socio-Ecological Economics and Policy Master's programme at the Vienna University of Economics and Business. "Many of the topics that Eva von Redecker spoke about are also being discussed in my degree programme, such as unconditional public services," reports the 25-year-old. Jana Schulte Hürmann is taking the impetus from the Utopia Conference with her to Vienna: "I am organising the 'Economic Policy Academy' there together with other students. We are a student initiative that focuses on pluralistic economics and thus gives space to discussions that have often been neglected in the university setting." The student is particularly enthusiastic about the cross-generational discourse at the Utopia Conference: "Committed people from all age groups come together here."

Journalist Carsten Axel Kintzinger from Hamburg attends the Utopia Conference privately: "I've just read Eva von Redecker's new book. I've known Michel Friedman as a TV viewer for many years. There are a lot of speakers at the Utopia Conference that I find very interesting."

"We are in uncertain times. Getting together with people and talking together gives me confidence. It gives me the feeling that I can make a difference," says retired journalist Reiner Scholz.

Charlotte Decker studied Management & Entrepreneurship at Leuphana. The alumna has travelled from Hanover: "I benefit from the exchange at the Utopia Conference and get a lot of good food for thought here. Sustainability is also very important to me in my private life."