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The programme is aimed at professors at US universities who are conducting research on the future of democracy, fundamental rights and academic freedom, or the future of transatlantic relations and who would like to work simultaneously in both the USA and Germany for a period of three years.

The VolkswagenStiftung has granted approximately €1.6 million to support nine innovative projects addressing current democratic challenges: from digital deradicalisation strategies and democratic structural reforms to protecting museums from far-right attacks. These projects adopt transdisciplinary approaches with practical relevance. 

What holds our society together in the face of the crisis of democracy? What concepts does science offer us to keep democracy strong and vibrant? We explore these questions in the latest issue of our magazine IMPULSE (in German).

Germany is at the centre of a maelstrom of global crises and conflicts. Right-wing populists are enjoying growing popularity. And many solutions are expected from the new federal government. And quickly! A conversation between sociologist Steffen Mau and Georg Schütte, CEO of the Volkswagen Foundation, about the end of the 'fair-weather democracy' (Mau) and the journey into the unknown.

Have your say on artificial intelligence and help shape the future of research on the topic.  Forty randomly selected citizens from Baden-Württemberg have set themselves this task. They came together over a period of several months in the Citizens' Council called ‘Artificial Intelligence and Freedom’.

Hostility towards democracy is on the rise in Germany. Yet politicians and academics pay little attention to the attitudes of a particularly important group: young voters. An interdisciplinary project in eastern Germany is determined to change that.