Successful start to the awareness conference

On 4 May 2024, the interdisciplinary awareness conference took place on the city campus of the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE). Students of the university were able to gain a variety of impulses on the topics of awareness and consciousness for our fellow human beings and the environment through specialist lectures, interactive workshops and an open panel discussion. It was also about coming to terms with one's own privileges and refining argumentative skills, e.g. in political discourse and ethical reflection.

The awareness conference was organised by Oseit Höpfner from the Bachelor's degree course in Sustainable Economics and Management (NOEM) and Prof. Dr Uwe Demele, Dean of the Faculty of Sustainable Business and Head of the NOEM degree course.

After the welcome address, Prof Dr Demele gave an interactive lecture on the topic of "Higher Mindset through Awareness - Significance for Individuals, Companies and Society". Prof Dr Wittich from Leibniz Universität Hannover then spoke about the relevance of visual language in social contexts in her specialist lecture. The aim was to sharpen awareness skills, i.e. to look closely and recognise with what intention and by whom certain types of visual communication are used. The fact that the topic of awareness also has a political dimension was made clear by the lively debates in the panel discussion on the topic of democracy moderated by Cécile Meier. The workshops "Future Skills - Future as a Source of Responsibility" and "Critical Thinking", led by Prof Dr Wittich and Cécile Meier respectively, provided the crowning finale.

The awareness conference was organised as part of the Mensch.Natur.Gesellschaft project, which campaigns for democracy in nature conservation and against right-wing extremism. Thanks to the project sponsorship, free catering was provided for everyone in between for refreshments.

The event was a complete success and made a great impression on all participants - a reason to make this event format permanent. In this way, the exchange between students across faculty boundaries can also be promoted.

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