Protest, Petitions, Activism: Do we need political parties to make a political difference?

Our online event in May “version21: Ideas for the Democracy of Tomorrow” is dedicated to the theme “Protest, Petitions, Activism: Do we need political parties to make a political difference?”. Once again, the event will consist of an ideas workshop for selected participants together with a panel discussion involving experts and policy makers that is open to anyone with an interest. The digital ideas workshop will take place on 6 May, and the panel discussion will be available as a live stream at ZEIT ONLINEon 8 May.

Young visionaries and pioneers in new ways of thinking – who are aged between 20 to 29 – can apply immediately at http://z2x.zeit.de/events/version21-im-maerzhttps://z2x.zeit.de/events/version21-im-mai for free participation in the ideas workshop. In small groups, participants will be addressing the question of how we can best make our voices heard in the political arena. Digital prototyping will be used to develop visions and approaches for the political activities of tomorrow. Participants in the ideas workshop will receive some topical input from Lu Yen Roloff, who will be standing as an independent in the German general election later this year, and Ann-Kristin Kölln, an associate professor of political science at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Ann-Kristin Kölln will also be one of the guests for the panel discussion, together with Ellen Demuth, CDU member of the state parliament in Rhineland-Palatinate, Diana Arce, artist and activist, and Clara Mayer, climate activist and press spokesperson for Fridays For Future.

Z2X is a series of events by ZEIT ONLINE in cooperation with the German Federal Cultural Foundation and a community of young visionaries from a wide range of disciplines. So far, ZEIT ONLINE has recruited more than 7,000 pioneers and world changers aged 20 to 29 for its Z2X community. Since 2016, they’ve been meeting regularly – at Z2X events, in digital formats or in local groups in their own towns and cities – to work together on ideas for a better future.

Futurium is the house of futures in Berlin. Everything here revolves around the question: how do we want to live? In the exhibition, visitors can discover possible futures; in the Forum, they can take part in open discussions; and, in the Futurium Lab, they can try out their own ideas. The digital Futurium also offers a wide range of opportunities for interaction, from workshops and tutorials to debates and lectures, exhibition videos and online tours. Futurium, which was opened in September 2019, wants to inspire all its visitors to engage themselves with topics of the future and to play a part in shaping it.

The German Federal Cultural Foundation is one of the largest publicly funded cultural foundations in Europe. By promoting international projects in contemporary culture together with its own programmes on topics such as diversity, sustainability and the future, digitalisation and postcolonialism, it gives important impetus for the society of tomorrow. Going forward, the foundation intends to focus its activities more strongly on young perspectives.