Democracy and Society

Peace-building does not take place solely within international organisations or in conflict-affected regions. Schools, local communities, youth work and digital spaces shape the way young people experience safety, participation and social cohesion. Recognising these places as YPS sites can raise the profile of existing work and strengthen it in the long term.

Themed tour as part of Hamburg Press Freedom Week

In the podcast ‘Der Weltökonom’, Elisabeth Winter and Lea Holst talk to experts about the interrelationships between the economy, security and justice.

15 October 2026 | 6.00 pm On the critical infrastructure of democracy

Across the Pond – A podcast on the future of transatlantic relations, a joint podcast project by the Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt Foundation (BKHS) and the Europa-Kolleg Hamburg.

Conference: “Strengthening Democracy – Resilience as a Task for Society as a Whole” | 15 and 16 October 2026

Reading of letters on the SPIEGEL affair | Helmut-Schmidt-Forum

Yara Itani was a BKHS Fellow in the “Gen P(eacebuilder)” project

Das „Global Europe Lab“ bringt 12 Nachwuchswissenschaftler:innen und junge Fachkräfte aus verschiedenen Disziplinen und mit unterschiedlichem Hintergrund zusammen, um eine Vision für die künftige Rolle der Europäischen Union (EU) auf der globalen Bühne zu erörtern und zu entwickeln.

A political scientist and ECFR Policy Fellow is the newest researcher to join our team

Wednesday 16 September 2026, to mark International Democracy Day: “Crafting for Democracy” in the exhibition space of the Bundeskanzler-Helmut-Schmidt-Stiftung.

The Schmidt International exhibition uses ten stations to illustrate just how closely Germany, Europe and the world are intertwined: How can political cooperation across borders succeed? How should Western democracies respond to autocratic states? How do we safeguard freedom and the rule of law in the long term?

Panel discussion with Emily Haber, Aydan Özoğuz and Elisabeth Winter

Global trade conflicts, sanctions and the reorganisation of international supply chains are changing work, income and everyday life. In the port city of Hamburg, international developments are having a direct impact on everyday working life. Visit our panel discussion as part of Hamburg Sustainability Week.

A guided tour of our exhibition as part of Sustainability Week Hamburg

Reading of letters on the SPIEGEL affair | FULLY BOOKED

Boris Pistorius delivered the fifth Helmut Schmidt Lecture in Berlin on 22 June 2026. At the event organised by the Bundeskanzler-Helmut-Schmidt-Stiftung at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, he recognised the former Minister of Defence and Federal Chancellor as a politician who spoke his mind.

Peer Steinbrück delivers the welcome remarks at the 2026 Helmut Schmidt Lecture featuring Boris Pistorius

Since 2021, the Bundeskanzler Helmut Schmidt Stiftung has commemorated its namesake with the annual Helmut-Schmidt-Lecture and invites a current "thought leader of today". The Helmut Schmidt Lecture focuses on social and political topics that have already shaped Helmut Schmidt's work and have lost none of their relevance to this day. The series of events brings together international personalities from politics, academia and civil society and creates space for debates on democracy, human rights, globalisation and social cohesion.

The Federal Minister of Defence delivered the fifth Helmut Schmidt Lecture on 22 June in Berlin

Introducing an inclusive geoeconomics strategy for Germany | Thursday, 18 June 2026, 10 a.m. | Language: English

The Bundeskanzler-Helmut-Schmidt-Stiftung and Die Zeit present the Helmut-Schmidt-Zukunftspreis annually. This award honors an international figure who, through their significant work, stands for democracy and the common good.

At the EU summit in Brussels, the European heads of state and government get stuck due to a lift breakdown. A youth group spontaneously takes their seats in the European Council and has to make important decisions for the future of Europe - from peace and security to healthcare, climate protection and the fight against hate on the internet. But the documents are encrypted: Only by working together can the young people decipher clues, analyse information and make the right decisions in time.

Three questions for Kirsten Hartmann on the Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agenda and our new project "Gen P(eacebuilder) - Implementing the Youth, Peace and Security agenda".

Below you find a series of interviews with experts on Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) that were filmed during our Gen P(eacebuilder) workshop in Hamburg in July 2025. They outline the relevance of the YPS agenda, stress challenges in implementing it and outline concrete examples from the contexts what it means to operationalise it. Whom should we interview next?

Brutal conflicts worldwide, democratic backsliding in many places, geopolitical power struggles, technological threats, the climate emergency: the list of current challenges seems endless. The effective participation of young people is central to the prevention and resolution of conflicts and lasting peace.

The collapse of the canopy at Novi Sad train station in November 2024, which claimed 16 lives, ignited a struggle for justice in Serbia that was met with repression. Student-led protests have since shaken Serbia, creating a society-wide front demanding the rule of law. This text examines the crisis through the lens of the UN Youth, Peace and Security agenda, showing how government actions threaten three of its pillars – participation, protection and partnership – and how youth are experimenting with new democratic practices.

Latin American youth have always been peacebuilders: university reformers, student resisters, Indigenous organisers, feminist activists. Their struggles anticipated many of the principles later enshrined in the UN’s Youth, Peace and Security agenda. Yet, paradoxically, the agenda itself has failed to resonate in the region. For the framework to matter in Latin America, it must stop speaking about youth and start speaking with them, on their own terms, in their own vocabularies.

The connections between climate, youth, peace and security are gaining traction in global policymaking and research, highlighting the deep interdependencies between sustainability, conflict and the power of youth engagement. This article explores the challenges for young people engaging in climate action and/or peacebuilding, outlines innovative youth-led responses and maps out a shared path that depicts young people as not just being on the journey, but at the centre of it.

In 2015, the UN Security Council Resolution 2250 established the Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agenda and recognised the important and positive role of young people in preventing conflicts and building sustainable peace. Despite this important milestone and although young people are leading change worldwide, their expertise on peace and security is still often dismissed.

Join us for a chat over coffee on 12 April | Helmut-Schmidt-Forum

A look into the engine room of democracy | Wednesday, 18 March, 6 p.m. | Helmut-Schmidt-Forum

4 March to 10 May 2026 | Hamburg State and University Library

The Bundeskanzler-Helmut-Schmidt-Stiftung (BKHS) is launching a platform on Youth, Peace and Security (YPS). In 2015, the UN Security Council Resolution 2250 established the YPS agenda and recognised the important and positive role of young people in preventing conflicts and building sustainable peace. Young people are leading positive change worldwide – yet, a decade after the YPS agenda was formalised, youths’ expertise around peace and security is often dismissed.

Every two years, the Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt Foundation, in cooperation with the Europa-Kolleg Hamburg, offers a distinguished Scholar-in-Residence program. The program is aimed at outstanding scholars from Germany and abroad whose research focuses on Europe and international relations. During their stay in Hamburg, the Scholar-in-Residence plans an academic conference on a previously under-explored aspect of historical, political science, legal, economic, or cultural issues.

The exhibition “Schmidt! Living Democracy” provides insights into a century of German and international contemporary history and highlights the – still highly topical – issues of conflict, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s. In the spirit of Schmidt, we also invite our guests to join in the discussion and ask questions about the future of democracy in Germany, Europe and the world.

The BKHS’s “Inclusive Geoeconomics” research project is developing recommendations for geoeconomic practices that will establish a global economy that is resilient and competitive, as well as fair and sustainable.

At the Ministerial Conference on UN Peacekeeping, states reaffirmed their support for peacekeeping missions and announced numerous contributions. Despite global austerity measures, this momentum must be maintained and rhetorical commitments must also lead to tangible effects on the ground.

The Future of United Nations Peace Operations

Alliance brings together the expertise and brain power of close to 100 peace operations experts from around the globe

Plea for a focus on peacebuilding against the backdrop of the uncertain future of the crisis-ridden UN peacekeeping missions

The Evolution of United Nations Peacekeeping Operations: Challenges and Prospects

UN peacekeeping missions are in crisis. Germany has a duty to take on more security policy responsibility.

Ekrem İmamoğlu, Turkish opposition politician, finds clear words for the success criteria of functioning democracies at the Helmut Schmidt Lecture in Berlin.

Peer Steinbrück opens the Helmut Schmidt Lecture 2024

Turkish opposition politician Ekrem İmamoğlu opened Helmut Schmidt Lecture in Berlin

Mayor of Istanbul Ekrem İmamoğlu speaks at the Helmut Schmidt Lecture 2024 on the success criteria of functioning democracies

FOTAR (Future of Transatlantic Relations) is a conference format conceived and organized by the Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt Foundation and the Europa-Kolleg Hamburg, and generously funded by the Hamburg Ministry of Science, Research, Equality, and Districts. It brings together high-level international experts from academia and politics, as well as representatives of civil society from the U.S. and Europe, to discuss the future of transatlantic relations. FOTAR takes place in Hamburg every two years.

In conversation with the guests of the Helmut Schmidt Lecture 2023

February 2024 | Report | An international network of representatives from academia, civil society, and politics releases a new report on the future of peacebuilding

More than 200 guests discuss the reshaping of globalisation at the Helmut Schmidt Lecture in Berlin

President of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy Moritz Schularick holds the third Helmut Schmidt Lecture on 4 December in Berlin

held by Peer Steinbrück on 4 December 2023

BKHS and FES are bringing together a diverse group of peace experts in Hamburg and creating a space for meaningful dialogue

What’s Next for Global Peace Work? – An Interview with Julia Strasheim and Tina Blohm

Der Bericht „Neue Perspektiven: Friedensförderung und Konfliktbearbeitung in einer sich wandelnden Weltordnung“ steht hier kostenlos zum Download bereit.

Human rights activist Hatice Cengiz holds the second Helmut Schmidt Lecture in Berlin

Hatice Cengiz finds powerful words for the fight for justice at the Helmut Schmidt Lecture 2022

The Saudi government critic Jamal Khashoggi was violently killed in his country’s consulate in Istanbul. 2 October 2022 marks the fourth anniversary of his death. The case is escalating into a growing crisis in the kingdom. An overview of the events.

A brief introduction to the speaker of our Helmut Schmidt Lecture 2022

Exhibition at the Hamburg State and University Library | 22 April to 22 May 2022

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya opens Helmut Schmidt Lecture in Berlin

Welcoming speech by Mr Peer Steinbrück, chair of the board of trustees of the Bundeskanzler-Helmut-Schmidt-Stiftung

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya holds the inaugural speech for the Helmut Schmidt Lecture series