Living Future! – The Future Forum’s Anniversary Project

In 1965, the Federal Republic of Germany and the State of Israel first established diplomatic relations. This formed a basis for rapprochement between the citizens of the two countries. During the fifty years that have since passed, forms of Israeli-German cooperation have expanded and intensified. For six years now, the Future Forum has been helping young adults to take an active role in shaping bilateral relations. The Forum supports proposals which address current social challenges in Germany and Israel.

On the occasion of the anniversary year, the Future Forum is carrying out a very special project - the Living Future! future labs: A large number of former and current project participants are invited to come together for two events – one in Berlin and one in Tel Aviv. The conferences are meant to bring together stakeholders from a range of professional fields in order to build networks and examine the added value of German-Israeli cooperation. The Forum will offer an inspiring and diverse program to enable open dialogue to take place and leave enough time for forming ideas and creative brainstorming.

The four-day event in Berlin involves the presentation of both ongoing and completed projects. Creative input sessions and interactive program components serve to foster exchange between the participants and stimulate debate. In addition, several workshops covering topics such as diversity, collaboration, and German-Israeli relations enable the participants to engage with problems relevant both to Israel and Germany.

After getting the ball rolling and making acquaintances in Berlin, the second part in Tel Aviv is about consolidation. Entitled “LivingFuture! Shared Societies”, the event is dedicated to the chances and challenges that emerges from living together in heterogeneous societies – thematic fields that are of huge relevance both for Israel and Germany. The participants take part in workshops that employ different perspectives and different approaches to grapple with such subjects as migration, diversity, prejudice, digital problem solving, the future of the nation state, and the significance of public spaces for co-existence. At the same time, they are given the opportunity to get to know new working techniques, develop inter-disciplinary methods, and discuss how these can be applied to German-Israeli cooperation projects. In this way, the Future Forum is provided with a forum for direct exchange with civil society stakeholders who can give impulses and suggestions for the Foundation’s funding priorities over the next years.

The Living Future! events are two conferences for former and current project participants organized by the Future Forum in Berlin from May 9 to 12, 2015 and in Tel Aviv from November 14 to 16, 2015. Young Israeli and German actress of civil society, artists, scientists, designers and many more are coming together for joint learning and to develop new project concepts, establish networks, generate ideas for the funding priorities of the Future Forum and invigorate German-Israeli relations.