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überLeben

33. Heidelberger Symposium, 19. – 21. May 2022

Life is something very special. We know of no other place in the universe where it exists. At the 33rd Heidelberg Symposium, we dared to look together into the future of humanity: How do we have to equip ourselves, where do we have to rethink and where do we have to act now, so that life for all is guaranteed in our world? How can we work for human rights, environmental protection, social justice and peace? Under the motto "überLeben," the 33rd Heidelberg Symposium featured an exchange of ideas on various (over)life strategies - we illuminated the stories of individual human lives, which at first glance may seem unremarkable, as well as the stories of the fates of entire groups.

Patronage: Erik Marquardt Photographer, politician and Member of the European Parliament (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)

Some participating speakers

• Prof. Dr. h.c. Christel Bienstein President of the German Professional Association for Nursing Professions (DBfK)
• Prof. Dr. Lars Castellucci SPD Member of Parliament and Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Internal Affairs
• Prof. Dr. Isabella Eckerle Director of the Geneva Centre for Novel Viral Diseases
• Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hegerl Chairman of the Board of the Stiftung Deutsche Depressionshilfe e.V.
• Olaya Argüeso Pérez Editor-in-chief of the investigative research centre CORRECTIV
• Dr. Thomas Schäfer former German ambassador to North Korea
• Andreas Sturm deputy education policy spokesman of the CDU parliamentary group in Baden-Württemberg

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Unruhe bewahren

32. Heidelberger Symposium, 20. – 22. May 2021 (Online)

The 32nd Heidelberg Symposium lived up to its motto in two respects. When the organizing team decided on the theme of Preserving Unrest in 2019, no one could have guessed that it would actually be two very unrestful symposium years. When the Corona crisis threw the world into turmoil in 2020, the Heidelberg Symposium had to be cancelled for the first time in its more than thirty-year history, only to be made up for a year later in a refreshingly different way - this time as an online event.

Patronage: Dr. Ulf Buermeyer Chairman of the Society for Freedom Rights e.V.

Some participating speakers

• Dr. Marie von Mallinckrodt journalist
• Prof. Dr. Susanne Baer Federal Constitutional Court Judge
• Dr. phil. Katja Gentinetta Philosopher
• Philipp Kölmel Composer
• Sandra Norak Activist
• Kathrin Vogler MdB, DIE LINKE

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von WELTen

31. Heidelberger Symposium, 23. – 25. May 2019

Alexander von Humboldt already knew: We have to take a closer look at the world and the different views of it. Because: We are not alone. More than seven and a half billion people live on our planet Earth - each of them in their own world and yet in the same world. Every day we have to keep the balance in our own world and at the same time understand, consider and include the world of the others. In the context of the 31st Heidelberg Symposium, we tried to get to the bottom of this individuality and diversity.

Patronage: Noam Chomsky Emer. Prof. for Linguistics at MIT

Some participating speakers

• Michael Hartmann Sociologist
• Helga Kromp-Kolb Professor of Meteorology
• Matthias Quent Sociologist, political scientist, historian
• Heike Rauer Director of the Institute of Planetary Research at the German Aerospace Center
• Markus Eisenbraun Head of the Cybercrime Department at the LKA Baden-Württemberg
• Franziska Brantner Member of the Bundestag and spokesperson for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, European policy spokesperson for Die Grünen

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Gleichgewicht

30. Heidelberger Symposium, 24. – 26. Mai 2018

In today's world, where increasing complexity and global dynamics obscure the view of crucial interrelationships, Walter Gropius' words are more apt than ever: "Man, in his eternal curiosity, has learned to dissect his world with the scientist's scalpel and in this process has obviously lost his sense of balance and unity". The endangerment of the ecological balance, increasing strains on political relations as well as the cultural and social changes taking place today create the impression that our world is out of balance.

Patronage: Federica Mogherini High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

Some participating speakers

• Jürgen Trittin Bundesminister a.D.
• Prof. Dr. Thomas Fischer Judge at the Federal Supreme Court, retired
• Prof. Dr. Christoph Butterwegge Political scientist, poverty researcher, candidate for the office of Federal President
• Dr. Constanze Kurz Spokeswoman of the Chaos Computer Club
• Dr. Gunter Pleuger Former Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations in New York
• Prof. Dr. Jan Wörner Director General of ESA

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verAntworten

29. Heidelberger Symposium, 11. – 13. Mai 2017

Every action we take, every daily decision we make, we have to answer for; decisions we have to answer for to ourselves, but also actions towards our fellow human beings. verAntworten, however, contains a second component besides "accountability"... "answers". For just as we are constantly taking responsibility, we are constantly giving and receiving answers that affect our everyday lives, but also answers that can shape our lives.

Patronage: Winfried Kretschmann Prime Minister of the State of Baden-Württemberg

Some participating speakers

• Christian Wulff Former Federal President
• Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger Former Federal Minister of Justice
• Prof. Dr. Peter Praet Chief Economist and Member of the Executive Board of the EZB
• Prof. Dr. Hansjörg Geiger Former State Secretary, former President of the BND
• Prof. Dr. Paul Kirchhof Judge of the Federal Constitutional Court (ret.)

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anTRIEBE

28. Heidelberger Symposium, 19. – 21. Mai 2016

What drives us? What gives us the motivation to keep going? Is it the sense of achievement, the people we love or our own ambition? The answers can be very different - this can make us different from each other, but also create connections to each other.

Patronage: Dr. Gregor Gysi Lawyer, advocate, politician

Some participating speakers

• Nikolaus Blome Journalist and author. Editor-in-chief of the BILD newspaper
• Giovanni Cavallini Business Manager
• Christoph Eichhorn German Ambassador to Estonia
• Ronny Ziesner Paralympic track and field athlete
• Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Joachim Funke Psychologist
• Dr. hc. Gerhard Strate Lawyer and criminal defence lawyer

zurZeit

27. Heidelberger Symposium, 07. – 09. Mai 2015

There is probably nothing that accompanies and determines our everyday life as much as time. We plan, make appointments, organise - in short: structure our lives according to it. But what actually is this time and do we really have less and less of it? What are the perspectives at the moment?

Patronage: Dr. Ursula von der Leyen Federal Minister of Defence

Some participating speakers

• Nikolaus Brender Journalist, former editor-in-chief of ZDF
• Dr. Theo Sommer former editor-in-chief and publisher of DIE ZEIT
• Prof. Dr. Herbert Henzler management consultant
• Dirk Müller Stockbroker and author

Grenzen[los]

26. Heidelberger Symposium, 08. – 10. Mai 2014

We are surrounded by borders. But do borders constrict us? Or do they give us a foothold? Boundaries are often fluid and must first be explored. How can we therefore overcome boundaries or show them to others?

Patronage: Frank Plasberg Journalist and Moderator

Some participating speakers

• Ernst Uhrlau former president of the Federal Intelligence Service
• Jörg Armbruster journalist
• Prof. Dr. Dr. Ernst Messerschmid Professor of Astronautics and Space Stations, former astronaut and Head of the European Astronaut Centre of the ESA
• Prof. Dr. Paul Kirchhof former Federal Constitutional Court Judge, Senior Professor distinctus University of Heidelberg

überMacht

25. Heidelberger Symposium, 02. – 04. Mai 2013

Power has many faces and we enter into power structures every day. The question is not whether power is good or evil but rather: What facets of power are there? How does power and powerlessness determine the individual and society?

Patronage: Winfried Kretschmann & Jean-Claude Juncker Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg, or Prime Minister of Luxembourg

Some participating speakers

• Prof. Dr. Hans-Jürgen Papier Constitutional law scholar and former President of the Federal Constitutional Court
• Prof. Dr. Heiner Flassbeck Economist, former State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Finance and Chief of Macroeconomics and Development at the United Nations Organisation for World Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva
• John Kornblum Former American Ambassador, Chairman Lazard & Co. GmbH, Berlin
• Sir Simon McDonald, KCMG, KCVO British Ambassador to Germany

Mut zur Moral

24. Heidelberger Symposium, 03. – 05. Mai 2012

Morality accompanies us every day without being specifically named. What is the orientation of our society with regard to moral issues?

Patronage: Ulrich Wickert Journalist und Autor

Some participating speakers

• Henryk M. Broder journalist and author
• Thilo Bode Managing Director of the consumer protection organisation Foodwatch, former manager at Greenpeace
• Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul Politician (SPD and former Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development)
• Günther Nonnenmacher Co-publisher of the FAZ
• Aiman A. Mazyek Chairman of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany
• Prof. Dr. Reinhard Bettzuege Former Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Belgium, Vice-President of the Federal Academy for Security Policy

Achtung, Freiheit!

23. Heidelberger Symposium, 05. – 07. Mai 2011

Freedom. A term that is familiar to everyone and yet difficult to describe. Is man free? Should the economy be free? What are the new media doing to our freedom? What does freedom mean in other cultures?

Patronage: Martin Walser Schriftsteller

Some participating speakers

• Wolfgang Huber former chairman of the council of the protestant church in Germany
• Peter Schaar Federal Commissioner for Data Protection
• Frido Mann Writer and psychologist
• Martin Sonneborn Former editor-in-chief of TITANIC, statiricist, politician
• Prof. Dr. Wolf Singer
• Prof. Dr. Kurt Biedenkopf Former Minister President of the Free State of Saxony