EU Climate Commissioner Frans Timmermans opens Leuphana's Digital Conference Week

2022-02-24 NEW DEAL: Green and Colourful - 15. Leuphana Conference Week

Lüneburg. The 15th Leuphana Conference Week invites you to explore a new social contract in times of uncertainty under the title "NEW DEAL: Green and Colourful" from 1 to 4 March. The central question is how a European departure could succeed that combines climate protection with social justice, economic reason, and respect for human rights? Because of the Corona pandemic, Leuphana College is organising the conference week digitally again this year.

For around 1,300 students, the conference week marks the end of their first semester at Leuphana University Lüneburg. They will discuss earth policy and the future of European democracy with renowned guests from all over Germany. Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice President of the EU Commission and responsible for European climate protection, will open the conference on 1 March at 4:30 pm. Other guests at the conference week include the writer Navid Kermani, the Social Entrepreneur of the Year Henrike Schlottmann, the rapper and linguist Reyhan Şahin, the migration researcher and inventor of the "EU-Turkey Deal" Gerald Knaus, the foreign policy expert and feminist Kristina Lunz, and the climate and ocean researcher Stefan Rahmstorf.

The second digital conference week traces the most pressing questions of Europe's future and invites participation in the public livestreams. "We have prepared a programme that is just as appealing for the public as it is for students. A special highlight will be the Utopia Studio on 1 March at 7 pm," reports conference director Sven Prien-Ribcke. The transformation researcher Maja Göpel will welcome the lawyer and civil rights activist Bijan Moini to talk about new fundamental rights for Europe and the initiative "EVERYONE HUMAN". The Utopia Studio will also show the film premiere "Der Gegenwart aufs Dach steigen" (Climbing on the Roof of the Present) - a retrospective of the Utopia Conference in summer 2021 - with impulses from ex-Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser, philosopher Eva von Redecker, science journalist Eckhart von Hirschhausen and CDU thought leader Diana Kinnert. All livestreams will be publicly available at www.leuphana.de/konferenzwoche.

The live broadcast "Zukunftsstadt-Magazin" has become an integral part of the conference week. On 2 March at 7 p.m., Leuphana sustainability researcher Daniel Lang will be reporting directly from the campus to talk about Lüneburg's Future City together with local actors and experts. Guests include democracy activist Marina Weisband, the new head of Lüneburg's city marketing Gitte Lansmann and Jan Orthey, managing director of the Lünebuch bookstore.

The organisers offer an overview of the numerous programme items on the internet at: www.leuphana.de/konferenzwoche.

 

HIGHLIGHTS IN THE CONFERENCE PROGRAMME

NEW DEAL: GREEN AND COLOURFUL
Opening with Frans Timmermans [Executive Vice President of the EU Commission and Climate Commissioner] and others
// Tuesday, 1 March 2022 | 4:30 - 5:30 pm

CLIMBING ON THE ROOF OF THE FUTURE
Utopia Studio with the film premiere of the Utopia Conference 2021 and discussions on European fundamental rights and a New Rurality with MAJA GÖPEL [transformation researcher] & BIJAN MOINI [lawyer & civil rights activist], among others.
// Tuesday, 1 March 2022 | 7:00 - 8:15 pm

EVERYONE SHOULD TAKE A STEP CLOSER FROM WHERE THEY ARE
Studio talk with NAVID KERMANI [Writer & Reporter]
// Wednesday, 2 March 2022 | 4:30 - 5:30 pm

SCIENCE BEARS RESPONSIBILITY: WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM THE PANDEMIC FOR CLIMATE PROTECTION?
Studio discussion with KATHARINA FEGEBANK [Second Mayor and Science Senator of Hamburg] and STEFAN RAHMSTORF [Climate and Ocean Researcher].
// Thursday, 3 March 2022 | 4:30 - 5:30 p.m.

All livestreams can be followed at www.leuphana.de/konferenzwoche.

 

Background Information:

The Conference Week and the Leuphana Semester
At the conference week, students present their project work from the first semester. In around 50 different project seminars, the young academics developed more than 300 programme items together with the lecturers. The spectrum ranges from panel discussions and workshops to individual presentations. Renowned guests from politics, society, business, and academia enter a dialogue with the students and provide insights into their work.

The conference week marks the end of the Leuphana Semester. It follows an interdisciplinary concept that is special in Germany. The four modules "Science transforms: responsible action", "Science problematises: critical thinking", "Science produces: methodical knowledge" and "Science has limits" give students an introduction to science. They gain insights into other subject areas, deal with different points of view and thus learn the basics of scientific work. The focus of the conference week each year is the topic of "sustainable development".