Richard von Weizsäcker Forum

    Festival of Ideas

    The world in conversation. You’re invited. Discover our public event.
     

    5 and 8 October 2026 in Berlin

    Richard von Weizsäcker Forum panel discussion
    Festival of Ideas, Weizsäcker Forum

    Academy Talks

    Eight talks, eight minutes each. Join us for back-to-back speakers as they provide insight into often overlooked aspects of complex topics. 

    Someone giving a presentation
    Festival of Ideas, Weizsäcker Forum

    Round Tables

    Experts are welcome to join round table discussions with our Richard von Weizsäcker Fellows.

    Richard von Weizsäcker Fellows at a round table discussion
    Festival of Ideas, Weizsäcker Forum

    Panel Discussions

    Our panels reframe hardened debates and offer insight from a variety of perspectives. 

    Richard von Weizsäcker Fellows on stage at a panel discussion

How can we build partnerships across borders and divides? This question guides this year’s Festival of Ideas at the Robert Bosch Academy.

The festival opens the Academy’s Richard von Weizsäcker Forum, welcoming the public to the Robert Bosch Stiftung at Französische Straße 32 in Berlin. Academy Talks, panel discussions, and round tables offer opportunities to engage directly with international experts. 

Under the theme Forging Partnerships and Building Alliances, join around 100 international leaders from politics, academia, culture, business, and civil society to challenge assumptions and explore cooperation across divides. We look forward to welcoming you.

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Round Table

Migration as an opportunity: How can we bridge differences in our societies?

Migration has long shaped societies, economies, and cultures, yet public discourse often frames it through the lens of crisis, division, and insecurity. As migration continues to define the twenty-first century, there is an urgent need to reimagine the narratives that shape public perception and policy.

This session explores how migration can be understood not as a challenge to overcome, but as an opportunity to build more inclusive, resilient, and connected societies. How can we foster narratives that emphasize belonging, dignity, and shared humanity? What role do governments, civil society, media, and communities play in bridging differences and strengthening social cohesion?

Speakers

  • Landscape_Ratna Omidvar_Robert Bosch Academy_c_Senate of Canada.jpg
    Ratna Omidvar

    The Honourable Ratna Omidvar has built and led organizations at the intersection of civil society, policy, and research, all aimed at improving immigrants' access to education and the labor market, and she served in the Senate of Canada. She was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2011. She received the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2014 in recognition of her work on behalf of immigrants and integration.

  • Harsh Mander
    Harsh Mander

    Harsh Mander is a human rights and peace activist, writer, and Director of the Centre for Equity Studies in Delhi, a research center on social and economic justice. He founded Karwan-e-Mohabbat (Caravan of Love), a solidarity campaign with victims of hate violence. He previously served on India's National Advisory Council.