Opening of the 2026 conference week: What freedom means
2026-02-26 The conference week marks the end of the Leuphana semester for around 1,500 first-year students at the college. Under the heading “Saving the West? – An invention at a tipping point?”, they present their findings from the “Transformation” module to the university community – and the entire city. At this year's opening, philosopher Liya Yu spoke about neuropolitics, mentalization, and the future of the West.
“Freedom” sings the student music trio in the auditorium. 1,500 first-year students listen, then cheers erupt. “What does freedom actually mean?” concludes Liya Yu in her keynote speech. The German-Chinese philosopher and political scientist is best known for her approach to “neuropolitics.” This is Liya Yu's second time speaking at the conference week – the first was at the opening: “I always enjoy coming back to Leuphana: the atmosphere is lively and energetic. Something is happening here,” she says, picking up on the motto of this year's conference week with a question: “What does the West actually mean – and how can we save it?”
The author and artist is particularly critical of simplistic political narratives and advocates a new view of democracy that focuses more strongly on people themselves: “We need to radically rethink politics and ask ourselves: Who are we actually as human beings and how do we want to live together?”
Liya Yu engages in conversation with the students. She can hardly answer all the questions that are asked. The interest is great: “How can we manage not to dehumanize people?” one student wants to know.
Dehumanization often happens unconsciously, explains the researcher: for example, when quickly scrolling through news or ignoring suffering in everyday life. People are then no longer perceived as such, but as animals or objects. She recommends: “Mentalization is crucial: we have to put ourselves in other people's shoes. If we understand what is actually happening in this black box of our brain, there is great optimism in that,” explains Liya Yu.
In his speech, Leuphana President Sascha Spoun recalled the world of yesterday: “The wall fell, the Iron Curtain disappeared, the unbelievable became true: Europe seemed to be blossoming in peace and democratic freedom seemed to be spreading as far as Russia,” he said in the auditorium of the central building, emphasizing the importance of the conference week: “It is dedicated to a topic that is urgent, especially for you, because your future depends on it. Without social trust and cohesion, any future will be difficult. Therefore, this conference week is your space for discourse; it serves a discourse that can restore trust.”
He concluded by calling on the first-year students: “Use this place and its freedom for your own thinking! Only by taking liberties in your thinking can you preserve the university as a place of freedom.”
During the Leuphana semester, all participating students engage in academic study of real-world problems in 44 seminars and 255 project groups. In the seminar “Deepening Democracy,” for example, students created a performance with critical words about the state of democracy in the USA:
“Once there was a land of the free – but freedom fell into hands that stole it away more and more.”
“America First was promised. Elite First is what we got.”
At the poetry slam, the students also asked: “How do we endure the times when this storm rages?”
The opening was accompanied by music from students Jasmina Will, Martje Henkies (both vocals) and Konstantin Egensperger (piano), who received great applause for their emotional performance.