The goal: Traveling to bring about change
(interviewed in 2024)
Dagmar Möbius
Lilith Diringer is 24 years old. After completing her Bachelor's degree in International Relations at TU Dresden, she completed two Master’s degrees in two years in the USA. She only recently returned home and continues to run the sustainable travel start-up she founded during her studies. She is also a singer.
Lilith Diringer says about her time at TUD: “I enjoyed studying in Dresden because of the hospitable city, the versatility of TUD, the warmth of my fellow students and the exciting content of the degree program.”
When Lilith Diringer left the Black Forest for her studies in Dresden in 2019, she didn't know exactly what she wanted to do later in her career. This young, athletic woman has many talents and interests: When she was nine years old, she published her first book, she sings, does acrobatics and cheerleading, performs in the circus...and the list goes on!
A unique viewpoint
After a few self-organized taster days in Dresden, she was certain that TUD's Bachelor's degree in International Relations was just right for her. Delightful and unique. “I particularly liked the versatility, while the depth is also not lost,” she says. “You don’t just scratch the surface, you really delve deep into each discipline, especially their international components, and learn a lot about different countries around the world.” The university's leisure activities and many opportunities for personal fulfillment also scored highly. Taking an interdisciplinary approach to problem-solving and looking at complex global issues from more than just one of the three perspectives of law, economics and politics was an essential insight for her.
Linguist and statistics enthusiast
The opportunity to learn languages as part of her studies appealed to Lilith Diringer. She learned Russian and quickly reached a very high level of proficiency, enabling her to complete her compulsory semester abroad at St. Petersburg State University. At the same time, she gained experience as a volunteer in the Humanitäre Geste program between the German Foreign Ministry and the German-Russian Meeting Center in Saint Petersburg. Because she is interested in science, she enjoyed data-based courses, especially quantitative and qualitative data collection, “This allowed me to understand how important decisions are made based on solid data and sophisticated analyses.” From her Bachelor's degree, she learned critical thinking, strategic development in highly complex subject areas, teamwork and methodical, interdisciplinary and socially responsible work.
Start-up founder by conviction
“Sustainable travel should be comfortable and inspiring,” says Lilith Diringer. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she founded a start-up for sustainable travel. “Intercultural relations are always linked to travel,” says Lilith Diringer, who is a travel enthusiast. "I don't want it to be demonized." She already had a passion for sustainability during her school years, when she was involved in a fair trade club and the WWF Youth Council, among other things. “And when I was a student, these topics grew in importance for me.” I was heavily involved in the Dresden start-up scene, also in collaboration with TUD.” Lilith Diringer, originally from Baden-Wuerttemberg, was also active in the student consultancy PAUL Consultants. As a member of the Executive Board, she headed the External Affairs division and built up the sustainability team. Her start-upChargeHorizons is intended to be of value to society as a whole, not just to maximize financial profits.
Lilith Diringer (l.) shares her knowledge together with her Co-founder Jeroen in a crowded auditorium with student entrepreneurs participating at the Madden Challenge Pitch competition.
Two US Master’s degrees in two years
After graduating from her Bachelor’s degree in 2022, Lilith Diringer went to the USA. At the University of Denver, she completed two Master's programs in two years: in Public Policy and in Jazz Singing. “I was offered quite a few scholarships, including from the DAAD and the German Academic Scholarship Foundation. And I couldn’t just turn down a fully funded degree,” she laughs. She continued to run her company from abroad.
Traveling to bring about change
Lilith Diringer has been back in Germany since 2024 and works full time for her start-up in a team of three. “We are applying for funding programs and we have income through our app,” she says. The app helps its users to find sustainable accommodation. “We don’t take any money for certification,” she emphasizes, “because we also want smaller accommodation providers to be able to afford it." The certification involves answering 130 questions. This is because, “There are over 150 sustainability certifications, and not all of them are fully transparent and you never know how much green washing is behind them.” ChargeHorizons currently lists 10,000 accommodations worldwide. And this number should only increase. “Over 70 percent of travelers want to travel sustainably, but the topic isn't number one yet. There still isn’t enough pressure.” Lilith has a lot of ideas for raising awareness. She also published a book on the subject. “Traveling to bring about change,” that’s her goal. She would like to raise awareness of good examples to inspire others. Her company also supports refugees during their training in the hotel industry. “There is a shortage of workers in this sector – in 2022/2023, 42% of training places could not be filled – and often staff are not treated well. In terms of work-life balance and mental health in the workplace, the travel sector has some catching up to do," explains Lilith Diringer. She wants nothing less than to “bring about systemic change.”
Collaboration and the Sustainability Detective Club
Education in sustainable travel at an early age.
Lilith Diringer has connections with TUD (and several other universities worldwide). She strives for collaboration that enables teaching staff and employees to use the sustainable travel planning tool, minimize emissions and make a contribution to mitigating climate change. Students can also plan their semester abroad conveniently, comfortably and sustainably. The Native Narratives Initiative aims to encourage international students to report authentically about their home region and dispel stereotypes. And as part of the Travelucation project, Lilith Diringer developed a Sustainability Detective Club for children with students from the TUD's Teacher Training and Education students. The aim is to promote education in sustainable travel at an early age.
To-do lists and jazz
How do you fit your workload into a 24-hour day? “I sleep well and I’m fit. And I have quite a few to-do lists,” reveals Lilith Diringer, “but I’m not so strict about sticking to them.” She makes music to relax. She is particularly active in the musical theater and jazz genres with drums, piano and vocals. “I'm just getting acquainted with the music scene in my new home of Hamburg and have already been able to jam with some amazing musicians in some of the city's jazz clubs,” says the Black Forest native. One thing is certain, we will be reading and hearing more about this young woman.
Contact:
Lilith Diringer