Details
Livestream
3Q
Democracy is not a sure-fire success. Democracy thrives on participation and also on the debate about political solutions. In the age of rising populism and polarization, this process seems laborious. Are the democratic achievements fit for the future? What about democracy?
Under the title "World in Disarray?! 70 Years of Political Education – Our Democracy. Our responsibility. Our Future" at the Day of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation on 08.10.2025, we will address these questions. In line with our motto "Shape.Democracy.Together", we participate in the political debate and stand up for democracy. We talk about the dangers to which our democracy is exposed and show that democracy is an indispensable basis for peace and freedom, security and prosperity.
Agenda
DAY OF KAS - YOUTH POLICY DAY
(by invitation only)
9:00 – 10:00 a.m. Introduction
Dr. Mark Speich
Secretary General of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
Musical Opener Greeting Message & Democracy Song
Jakob Wöllenstein
Head of the Regional Programme Political Dialogue South Caucasus
Opening panel
World in disarray?! Our democracy. Our responsibility. Our future.
Catarina dos Santos-Wintz MdBCDU-CSU parliamentary group in the German Bundestag
Sasinan Thamnithinan
Member of the Thai Parliament
Move Forward Party
Luis Brückner
Member of the Youth Advisory Council of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation
Moderation
Bastian Kaiser
Freelance journalist, foreign reporter
10:15 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Democracy Lab
WORKSHOP I
"Journalistic work in a world in disarray"
Bastian Kaiser
Freelance journalist, foreign reporter
Radu Hossu
Communications Consultant, Political Influencer Romania
Workshop on fact-checking, crisis reporting and multimedia formats
Location: Forum of the Academy
EN/DE Translation
WORKSHOP II
Hybrid threats and their impact
Lena Strauss
Representative for Board Work and Social Media, Federal Association for Security Policy at Universities (BSH)
Julie Noe
Commissioner for the Basic and Advanced Academies of Security Policy, Federal Association for Security Policy at Universities (BSH)
Group work on various case studies of hybrid threats. Analysis and recommendations for action for the political and social level.
Location: JKS Academy
EN
WORKSHOP III
"Through the Iron Curtain: A Time Machine into Surveillance, Censorship, and Fear"
Daniela Popescu
Director and founder of "Asociația Culturală Istoria din Casă în Casă"
"History from house to house"
A workshop on the lack of freedom in communist Romania – how did it shape society and young people in particular? Evidence of a totalitarian regime and its tangible consequences.
Location: Academy/Bernhard Vogel Hall
EN
TAG DER KAS
(by invitation only)
12:30 – 13:15 LUNCH BREAK
13:15 – 14:00 EVALUATION OF THE WORKSHOPS
Location: Forum of the Academy
DE/EN
15:00 - 17:00 Challenge of Democracy in a Digital Society
15:00 – 15:30 Introduction
Prof. Dr. Norbert Lammert
Chairman of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
Former President of the Bundestag
Keynote
Karin Prien
Federal Minister for Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth
3:30 – 4:30 p.m. Panel discussion
Prof. Dr. Jeanette Hofmann
Research and Founding Director of the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society
Meinolf Ellers
Managing Director of #UseTheNews gGmbH
Dr. Melanie Piepenschneider
Head of Political Education at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation
Moderation
Jens Henning Fischer
Coach and Moderator
16:30 – 17:00 Award ceremony
Photo Contest #NurZusammenLäufts
With our competition, we are calling on committed people, amateur and hobby photographers as well as those interested in photography to send us their photo of the motto #NurZusammenLäufts!
The three winning photos will be published online, awarded a cash prize and honored at our event in Berlin .
Place: Forum of the Academy
18:00 – 19:00 Challenges of democracy from within and outside
Welcome
Prof. Dr. Norbert Lammert
Chairman of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
Former President of the Bundestag
Keynote
Julia Klöckner
President of the German Bundestag
Conversation
"Three questions - three answers"
Julia Klöckner
President of the German Bundestag
Volker Resing
Head of the Berlin Republic Department Cicero
Place: Forum of the Academy
DE/EN Translation
From 7:00 p.m. RECEPTION
Topics
The leitmotif of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation "Together.Democracy.Shape" is supported by a thematic focus. With the three main topics of innovation, security and democracy needs participation, it is made clear which topics the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung will deal with intensively in the coming years.
Our safety cannot be taken for granted. On our focus page on "Security", our experts explain why and where democracy, the rule of law, peace, freedom, prosperity and solidarity are at risk and what we can do to counter this.
Innovations are indispensable if we want to solve the great challenges facing humanity. For us, these are first and foremost peace and security, freedom and justice, the preservation of creation and our prosperity. At the same time, innovations raise ethical and socio-political questions. On our focus page on the topic of "Innovation", our experts explain how we are positioning ourselves in this area of tension and promoting an innovation-friendly climate.
If we are asked what we do, the answer might well be short: We care about democracy. Here in Germany and elsewhere in the world. On our focus page on the topic "Democracy needs participation", we explain how we do this, what challenges we face and who our partners are.
