Communicorn Conference
CREATING SOCIAL INNOVATION AND SHAPING CHANGE TOGETHER
The Communicorn Conference will take place on 16th and 17th of September 2025 at Leuphana University Lüneburg. Under the motto “What if we shape change together”, people from business, civil society, politics and science will come together to create new social innovations and scale existing ones. Together, we are shaping the future.
The Communicorn Conference invites you to break out of familiar ways of thinking and explore new paths together: ‘What if we stopped working against each other and started cooperating consistently?’ Instead of competition and profit maximisation, the focus is on community and solidarity. This is not about the next billion-dollar idea, but about creating Communicorns: communities that shape social innovation and sustainable change together.
Participate instead of just listening: the conference offers space to try out methods for cooperative economics directly and learn from those who are already leading the way: social entrepreneurs, collectives and pioneers show how community-oriented projects can grow and have an impact.
On the first day, we look forward to a keynote speech by Kübra Gümüşay. Kübra is the author of the bestseller ‘Sprache & Sein’ (Language & Being) and the initiator of numerous award-winning campaigns and associations, including the feminist co-creation space eeden in Hamburg. She is a fellow at the New Institute in Hamburg and moderator of the ‘Utopia Talks’ discussion series at the Thalia Theatre. She is currently researching alternative futures, real utopias and the politics of imagination. She will get us in the mood for the power of utopias and imagination and give us ideas on how we can jointly envision and shape alternative futures.
On the second day, we will start with a keynote speech by Professor Pablo Muñoz. Pablo is a social scientist and professor of entrepreneurship at Durham University Business School. He is one of the leading researchers at the intersection of communities, entrepreneurship and impact, and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Business Venturing Insights. He also transfers his research into practice in a variety of ways. Among other things, he co-founded the Social Science Enterprise Lab and Mind Your Business. He will show us how the generation, spin-off and dissemination of social innovations differs from technical innovations. Furthermore he will provide impetus for which approaches and methods are suitable for this.
Experience places of change and plan the next steps.
In the afternoon of the 16th of September, we will leave the campus of Leuphana University Lüneburg and visit selected places of change in the surrounding area. There, we will see how people and initiatives are already shaping social change in various areas. The visits tie in with the visions for the future discussed in the morning sessions and offer an opportunity to deepen inspiration, talk to local designers and develop concrete approaches to your own challenges. Planned visits include the Commons Centre, WerkStadt, Utopia and the Oberschule am Wasserturm secondary school (further stops to follow).
On the second day of the Communicorn Conference, we want to focus on hands-on future methods together with the FutureSEE project of the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE) and numerous method experts. Use AI to build sustainable supply chains, make current reality visible in Social Presencing Theatre and explore new possibilities for the future, or learn how different methods can be used to open up school lessons – there is a wide range of workshops to choose from. (Registration via the central registration link)
The Communicorn Conference is organised in cooperation with the FutureSEE project. FutureSEE brings together researchers, social entrepreneurs and other stakeholders with educators to discuss and advance the topic of social entrepreneurship education. The FutureSEE project is funded by the Foundation for Innovation in Higher Education.
‘Die neue gesellschaft’ (engl. ‘the new society’) is moderating the Communicorn Conference. Verena Riediger, certified psychologist and systemic consultant, and Markus Kosuch, professor of cultural and aesthetic education at the Technical University of Nuremberg and former founder and director of the Young Opera at the Stuttgart State Opera, will guide participants through the conference.
The conference partner is the Social Entrepreneurship Alliance Hamburg, a cross-sector alliance that was founded in 2023. As a link between various players in the ecosystem, the alliance is committed to raising awareness of Hamburg-based social enterprises and their needs. The alliance is supported by the Hamburg Investment and Development Bank.
Pitch Corner
The conference will not only provide you with good ideas, helpful methods and promising contacts. In the Pitch Corner, we will give you the opportunity to pitch your community and your idea(s) on camera. You will receive the video afterwards for free use.
Write to us now if you are interested in a 15-minute slot: communicorn@leuphana.de
Good to know
The Communicorn podcast presents best practice examples for community-driven companies – just have a listen!
