​“Authentic Connections” and food for thought - Report on the second TUD Global Citizenship Lab

On January 17 and 18, 2025, a group of almost 40 German and international TUD students from various disciplines and 12 experts from the fields of environmental protection, anti-discrimination and tolerance came together for the second TUD Global Citizenship Lab. 

The Lab took place at the COSMO Science Forum on Dresden's Altmarkt, which strives to provide a point of exchange between science and society. The focus of the lab this semester was on the topic of mindfulness. In this spirit, the program consisted of a comprehensive mix of theoretical input sessions and practical exercises such as Qi Gong.

The event was opened by the coordinator of the sustainability-oriented association “aha - anders handeln e.V.”, Maria Nelz. Tropical forester by profession, she took the participants on a mental journey to the oppressed of the colonial era. She explained in detail how the narrative of cultures being supposedly inherently less valuable than others still permeates our thinking today.

Lei Meng, education officer at the Gender Competence Centre Saxony, and Hàochéng Lóu, anti-racism advisor at the umbrella organization of migrant organizations in East Germany (DaMOst e.V.), added a current perspective to Maria Nelz's remarks. By means of illustrative group exercises they showed how even positive prejudices can exert negative pressure on those affected by racism. 

The second day of the GC Lab was kicked off by Nataliya Urban, a passionate QiGong teacher. The translation studies graduate grew up in the Urals and has been practicing the Far Eastern art of deep relaxation since the age of 16. Performing the exercises together gave our participants a palpable sense of calm and energy for the day ahead.

With Fatema Darbar, founder of the InterLokal Social Hub in Dresden, the participants were then able to practise techniques for interacting with others in a more authentic and profound way, both at a professional level and in personal relationships. Practices such as “active listening” alternated with a round in the hot seat with personal questions that invited people to open up. Fatema Darbar was supported by Camila Tapia. Born in Chile, she is a teacher of English and Spanish and is also involved with InterLokal.  

The presentation by Dr. med. Charlotte Großkopf, Rebekka Post and Dr. med. Gudula Keller from  Health for Future Dresden made it clear to the participants with sensitivity and the necessary seriousness how drastic the state of the earth is due to the climate crisis. Despite the gravity of the situation, they succeeded in demonstrating how each individual can do their bit to combat global warming and thus improve their ecological handprint. 

Afterwards, Michal Tomaszewski, Tarek Al Hammad and Richard Ebert, all members of Banda Comunale and music enthusiasts, not only ensured a good mood and correctly tuned instruments, but also led one or two songs together, the percussion accompaniment of which was improvised on plastic buckets from the hardware store.

The weekend was rounded off by a reflection session with Qin Hu, initiator and coordinator of the TUD GCC program, who invited participants to reflect and creatively process what they had experienced with the help of a drawing and writing exercise.

On both days, the participants were provided with a variety of hot soups courtesy of  Suppenbar Dresden.

We would like to thank our speakers and all participants for a successful and enriching second TUD Global Citizenship Lab and are already looking forward to the next introductory event of the GCC program in the summer semester!