Many still consider Helmut Schmidt a global statesman and thought leader who stood up for international peace, economic cooperation, democracy and a united Europe. Therefore, the Bundeskanzler-Helmut-Schmidt-Stiftung (BKHS) commemorates its name giver by inviting a "thought leader of today" to deliver the annual Helmut Schmidt Lecture since 2021.

The lecture considers a topic that has already shaped Helmut Schmidt's life and that has not lost its relevance to this day. At our inaugural lecture in 2021, Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya delivered a lecture titled "Living democracy!". In 2022, Hatice Cengiz, human rights activist and fiancée of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, gave a lecture about "Speaking Up!". In 2023 Professor Dr. Moritz Schularick gave impulses on "Remaking Globalisation!". The motto of the lecture 2024 is "For a just democracy!". On this occasion, Turkish opposition politician Ekrem İmamoğlu, who has been the mayor of Istanbul since 2019, will talk about democratic resilience.

Each year, alongside the lecture, our three programme directors edit an open-access magazine that combines essays, photo series, statements and prose by established as well as up-and-coming academics, activists and artists. The BKHS Magazine approaches the topic of the lecture from multiple perspectives and places special emphasis on making different voices from all over the world heard.