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In einer Kunstaktion stehen Menschen auf einer Fibonacci-Folge auf der Wiese vor dem Reichstagsgebäude in Berlin
News 16 February 2024

From citizens' councils to feminism on TikTok – task forces investigate democracies in transition

Liberal democracy is a basic prerequisite for a scientific landscape with independent freedom of research. But how can we protect our democratic structures? And what dangers are they exposed to? Ten newly funded research projects are dedicated to these and other highly topical questions of democracy research.

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Demonstrators in front of the Reichstag building in Berlin can be seen as well as a poster with the inscription "Defensive Democracy Now".
News 12 February 2024

Defend academic freedom!

In the following statement, the Volkswagen Foundation reaffirms its commitment to the protection of democracy and academic freedom.

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viele hochgestreckte Daumen vor einer dunklen Schiefertafel
Interview 12 February 2024

Volkswagen Foundation experiments with new peer review method

In the current call of the funding initiative "Open Up – New Research Spaces for the Humanities and Cultural Studies", the foundation is testing a new review process for the first time: "Distributed Peer Review". In this interview, Dr. Hanna Denecke, team leader in the "Exploration" profile area, explains the experiment.

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Funding offer 26 January 2024

zukunft.niedersachsen: Innovative diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to combat rare diseases (completed)

The new funding offer within the framework of zukunft.niedersachsen is aimed at professors and postdocs at universities and non-university research institutions in Lower Saxony. Funding is available for collaborative and individual projects on innovative diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to combat rare diseases.

Website zukunft.niedersachsen.de
Funding offer 25 January 2024

New call: Transdisciplinary Approaches to Mobility and Global Health

With this joint call, the Novo Nordisk Foundation (Denmark), Wellcome (UK) and the Volkswagen Foundation are funding multi-perspective research into the interactions between mobility and health. Deadline for pilot projects: March 25, 2024. Online Q&A on Feb. 15., 2024, 9 to 10 AM CET and 4 to 5 PM CET

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Funding offer 18 December 2023

Perspectives on Wealth: Repercussions of Wealth

The Volkswagen Foundation aims to initiate a shift of perspective from poverty research to facets surrounding the phenomenon of wealth. This current call for applications focuses on “repercussions of wealth” in a global perspective. Online Q&A on March 01, 2024, deadline for applications: May 8, 2024

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Stories

Eine Frau, die aufmerksam zuhört
Story 06 March 2025

So that everyone can have their say: Citizens' assembly on AI research

Rhetoric expert Anika Kaiser researches how people can make themselves heard on the major issues of our time – artificial intelligence (AI) being a case in point. She is the right person to take care that this grassroots democratic process does not remain too detached from reality: in her first life, she trained as a painter.

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Frauen mit Kopftüchern sitzen an Tischen und haben Steinblöcke mit Inschriften vor sich liegen, die sie betrachten.
Story 26 February 2025

Archaeology as reconstruction: Ancient Near Eastern Studies in Mosul

He came to Mosul with the task of excavating ancient Nineveh. In the meantime, however, the mission of the ancient orientalist Stefan Maul goes far beyond this: he is rebuilding the study of antiquity in Iraq. And he is teaching the people what the Islamists robbed them of: pride in their cultural heritage.

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