In the Helmut Schmidt Forum, together with our guests, we take a look into the "engine room of democracy": Where do we encounter democracy in everyday life? How can we actively work towards a vibrant democratic society? And what new answers does democracy need in the face of current challenges, such as growing social inequality or the loss of trust in political processes?
Our events combine well-founded impulses with open dialogue. Together with experts and the audience, we look for ways to actively shape democracy and strengthen it in the long term - in an understandable, everyday and dialogue-based way.
Venue: Helmut-Schmidt-Forum, Kattrepel 10, 20095 Hamburg
Why it's worth a visit
- Current topics relating to democracy and society
- Comprehensible insights into political processes
- Exchange with experts and the audience
- Relevant impulses for your own everyday life
- Central location in Hamburg
You can find current events in our event calendar.
Looking back
The previous events in the "Schaufenster Demokratie" series address key issues of the future and remain highly topical beyond the day of the event:
Game Changer - Understanding the history of democracy through play (March 2026)
How can games contribute to democracy education? Together with experts from the gaming and media industry, the potential of digital games for political education and social dialogue was discussed. Historical games in particular open up new approaches to the history of democracy and encourage discussion about democratic values.
The focus was also on the question of how digital spaces promote community - and what opportunities they offer for active democratic participation.
The panellists were:
- Martin Dietrich, gaming expert and freelance journalist, works for ZDF, "GameStar" and the Federal Agency for Civic Education
- Sebastian Tyzak, journalist and expert on digital culture, worked for "Game Two" for a long time
- Dr Martin Thiele-Schwez, game designer and managing director of Playing History, a production company for games with historical, political and scientific content
Update for democracy? Between pragmatism and principles (December 2025)
Based on Helmut Schmidt's understanding of democracy, we discussed how democratic processes are changing in the area of tension between the ability to compromise and growing polarisation. Issues such as climate change, social crises and the shift to the right in society show this: Democracy is under pressure and needs to evolve.
The event shed light on what updates democracy needs today, how dialogue can succeed despite social division and which voices need to be heard more in order to make democratic processes fairer.
