Saving the West? Leuphana Conference Week 2026 with Sigmar Gabriel and Maja Göpel
2026-02-20 What was long taken for granted is now being renegotiated: the very idea of the West. Wars, geopolitical shifts, and a changed security landscape are shaking the foundations of the existing world order. At the same time, the West is also internally unsettled – politically, socially, and in its fundamental beliefs.
Under the title "Saving the West? An Invention at a Tipping Point," Leuphana University Lüneburg invites you to its conference week from February 25 to 27. Students and interested individuals from the region will discuss the political, economic, and cultural upheavals of our time on campus.
This year's opening address will be given by philosopher and artist Liya Yu. She will examine the promises and entanglements of the West and question its assumptions and blind spots.
For approximately 1,500 students, the conference week marks the end of their first semester at Leuphana College. Together with distinguished guests, they will discuss the future of the West. One of the highlights is the public discussion in the Libeskind Auditorium between former Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel and transformation researcher Maja Göpel. Under the title "A Future Without Guardrails," they will explore responsibility and room for maneuver in a changing global landscape. MEP Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann joins from Strasbourg to discuss prosperity under the conditions of new security policies with taz journalist Ulrike Herrmann. Political scientist Emilia Roig reads from her book "Why We Matter" and discusses issues of intersectional justice. CDU thought leader Diana Kinnert and political theorist Thomas Biebricher examine the future of conservatism.
Conference director Sven Prien-Ribcke explains: "We are moving into a moment of no longer and not yet. The West was a political project with grand promises. And: with considerable contradictions. It is precisely this tension that interests us."
Film critic and podcast host Wolfgang M. Schmitt also addresses capitalism at a tipping point. Journalist Annika Brockschmidt analyzes the American right wing. Filmmaker Willy Rollé, together with Afrofuturist David Zabel, invites you to a screening of the film "Black to the Future."
Leuphana College welcomes visitors and prospective students from Lüneburg and the Hamburg metropolitan region.
Background: The conference week and the Leuphana semester
During the conference week, students present their project work from the first semester. In over 40 different project seminars, the next generation of academics, together with their instructors, developed more than 150 program items. These range from panel discussions and workshops to individual presentations. Renowned guests from politics, society, business, and academia engage in dialogue with the students and offer insights into their work.
The conference week marks the conclusion of the Leuphana Semester. It follows a unique, interdisciplinary concept in Germany. The three modules—Transformation, Methods, and DATAx—provide students with a cross-disciplinary introduction to academia. They gain insights into other disciplines, explore diverse perspectives, and thus learn the fundamentals of academic work. The conference week focuses on issues of sustainable development.