Social cohesion does not happen by itself. In times of crisis, polarisation, growing inequality and profound change, living together is under pressure. The Spring Academy of the Centre for General Academic Continuing Education (Zentrum für Allgemeine Wissenschaftliche Weiterbildung - ZAWiW) from 23 to 26 March at Ulm University has the motto "LivingTogether. Connecting instead of dividing". It asks what holds our community together and how togetherness can be reinforced. Registration for the continuing education week for all is now open.
Society is a shared task. The Spring Academy 2026 of Ulm University's Centre for General Academic Continuing Education offers impulses to rethink cohesion and explore ways in which solidarity can be reinforced. A total of five lectures allow for a multifaceted dialogue on democracy, justice, diversity and responsibility - and invite participants to rediscover commonalities and unifying factors. There will also be working groups, space for encounters and the popular Wednesday events.
The Spring Academy will be opened by Professor Dieter Rautenbach, Vice President for Careers, on Monday, 23 March at 9.30 a.m. in H4/5. Iris Mann, Mayor for Culture, Education and Social Affairs of the City of Ulm, will give a welcoming address. Afterwards, political scientist, journalist and author Gilda Sahebi will kick off the lecture series (starting at 10:00 am, H4/5) with a critical look at the narrative of a divided society.
On Tuesday, Professor Beate Küpper from the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences will analyse the state of democratic attitudes in Germany - between concerns about right-wing extremism and a stable democratic attitude among the majority. On Wednesday, Professor Nils Goldschmidt, Director of the Global Ethic Institute in Tübingen, will focus on justice as an ethical and economic compass for social cohesion and sustainable prosperity. On Thursday morning, migration and education sociologist Dr Anna C. Reinhardt (TU Dortmund University) will discuss living together in an ageing migration society. The final event on Thursday afternoon (starting at 13:30) will be Stefanie Bremer's plea for tax and wealth justice as the key to fair participation and sustainability.
The accompanying cultural event on Monday, 23 March at 17:00 in H4/5 invites you to sing together under the direction of University Choir director Manuel Sebastian Haupt. The focus is on enjoyment and the communal experience, not on reading music correctly. Throughout the Spring Academy, the travelling exhibition "VielfALT - Perspektiven auf das Leben im Alter" (Diversity - Perspectives on Life in Old Age) will be showing different faces of ageing in the Uni-Forum.
The working groups and Wednesday programmes once again offer a wide range of topics - from artificial intelligence and IT security to economic and biological issues and creative activities such as writing and painting. Lunch break activities round off the Academy Week programme.
Event details:
Spring Academy 2026 - LivingTogether. Connecting instead of dividing
Monday, 23 to Thursday, 26 March
Ulm University
Opening: Monday, 9:30 am, H 4/5
Registration for the Spring Academy is now open online, by telephone or in writing. Lectures and other programme items can also be booked individually. For questions regarding registration, please contact the ZAWiW secretariat on 0731/50-26601, fax: 0731/50-26609. Participation in the entire programme costs 90 euros, members of the ZAWiW pay 80 euros. Students can register free of charge!
Programme and registration (only in German): https://akademie.zawiw.de/
The programme online (only in German): https://akademie.zawiw.de/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/FA2026_OHNE_Anmeldeformular.pdf
Further information: Dr. Annette Wettstein, Deputy Managing Director ZAWiW, Tel.: 0731/50-26610, info@zawiw.de
Text and media contact: Daniela Stang