Why is democracy in crisis? How can the quality of political processes and decisions be improved? Why do German universities often perform poorly in international comparisons? How can economic and moral progress be measured and promoted? The scholarship holders discussed these and other questions in the Open Space on Saturday. They also reported on their diverse involvement in civil society alliances and associations, citizens’ councils and university groups.
The previous evening, Anja Krüger-Chan (Humanist Association of Germany), Michael Schmidt-Salomon (Giordano Bruno Foundation), Ralf Schöppner (Humanist Academy of Germany), Konstantin Haubner and Laura Wartschinski (Federal Association of Humanist Students) presented the idea and aims of the Bertha von Suttner Study Foundation. The aim of the scholarship organization is to ensure that non-religious students and doctoral candidates have the same support opportunities as their religious fellow students.
Frieder Otto Wolf, philosopher and President of the Humanist Academy, gave an impulse for the concept of practical humanism in his evening lecture: it is important to always accompany science critically, not least with regard to its practical relevance for the concrete commitment against dehumanization and for humanization. After he had dismissed the scholarship holders to an evening of drinks and music, the next morning it was time for the practical side of things: in two panels, practitioners gave examples from their respective fields of work: Youth work and JugendFeier, hospice work and political commitment to a just law on assisted suicide, Humanist University Berlin and educator training at the Humanist College for Social Pedagogy. Saturday evening ended with cooking together and stimulating discussions.
The scholarship holders clearly enjoyed the weekend’s mixture of intellectual debate and cheerful interaction. They agreed to hold a digital follow-up meeting on their own initiative in the near future. They want to further specify their needs in the context of the diverse non-material support of the Studienwerk and agree on the practicability of a permanent exchange platform. The Executive Board unanimously welcomed this initiative and looks forward to receiving further suggestions from the scholarship holders.
In 2023, there will once again be two attendance weekends for the Suttner scholarship holders. Once again, the trip will be to Haus Weitblick in Oberwesel, the headquarters of the Giordano Bruno Foundation (gbs), and the second time to the Berlin House of Humanism of the Humanist Association of Germany (HVD). The next call for applications for the Bertha von Suttner Scholarship will be launched in spring 2023. Anyone interested in applying for the 2023 Suttner Scholarship can find all the relevant information on the BvS website.
