Democracy Talks North Hesse

Social media is a central part of our lives and is often used not only for sharing but also for general information gathering. But questions and difficulties arise here: Where does the information we use to form our opinions come from? How do we recognise disinformation/fake news and how do we deal with it? How do we create a fair democratic discourse in ever-changing media worlds? The lecture highlights phenomena of digital change, problems, opportunities and risks and provides a media pedagogical assessment. (Speaker: Julian Kasten)

NSU (National Socialist Underground), NSU 2.0 and the murderer of Walter Lübcke - all lone perpetrators? With a view to right-wing structures since the 2000s until today, the event will show that the right-wing scene is networked and organised regionally and supra-regionally. To this end, current events such as the NSU 2.0 bomb threat at the Walter-Lübcke School in Wolfhage, which can be seen as a reaction to the students' commitment to diversity and democracy, will be discussed and classified. In particular, the perspectives of those affected by right-wing violence play a role. (Speaker: Kirsten Neumann)

The right-wing terrorist murders in Wolfhagen and Hanau have shocked many people. But these were not the only acts that must be considered right-wing terrorist in Hesse in the recent past. There has been an active extreme right-wing scene in Hesse for many years that is prepared to use violence. However, many seemingly unorganised militants hardly appear in public, but operate in networks that are often hardly noticed. In contrast, parties of the right-wing spectrum or right-wing groups hardly ever appear in public. The lecture examines the strength of the extreme right-wing scene in Hesse, its influence on political and social developments and the potential dangers it harbours. In particular, he will look at the situation in North Hesse and the relationship between social media presence and the real balance of power of the extreme right. (Speaker: Sascha Schmidt)

Islamism is a broad phenomenon that is not limited to calls for violence, but can take on very different forms of expression. However, not every conflict that is based on religion is an expression of an Islamist ideology. In prevention work, it is above all a matter of knowing the questions and topics that are taken up in Islamist speeches and of asking about the motives and needs that can make these offers interesting for adolescents and young adults. And it is about developing alternative offers that are more attractive than what Islamist scenes promise.