On November 11, 2025, the University Council and university management hosted a high-profile and very well-attended panel discussion in the university auditorium: Under the motto "It has something to do with you. Democracy as a way of life", Andrea Bähner, spokesperson for the Rhineland-Palatinate state government, and political influencer Nina Poppel (nini_erklaert_politik) engaged in a discussion with HWG LU students.
On Tuesday, November 11, 2025, the Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society (HWG LU) dedicated two events to the socially highly relevant topic of "democracy": The first was the Studium Generale lecture entitled "Stress test for democracy - the fight against disinformation and narratives" with Tim B. Peters, consultant for media and democracy at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. Afterwards, the University Council and university management invited guests to a high-profile panel discussion in the university auditorium: Under the motto "It has something to do with you. Democracy as a way of life", Andrea Bähner, spokesperson for the Rhineland-Palatinate state government, and political influencer Nina Poppel (nini_erklaert_politik) first provided brief impulses and then entered into a discussion with HWG LU students: David Sielmann (Bachelor Business Administration with a focus on Management, Controlling and Information), Yuliia Serediuk and Theo Strupp (both Bachelor International Business Management (East Asia), Amalie Wandernoth and Luis Chelius (both Bachelor Business Administration with a focus on Finance) as well as Paul Konrath and Sofie-Meret Schmitt (both Master Social Work) represented the students on the podium and discussed the topics "Democracy on the ground", "Political education processes", "Political orientation" and "Politics and university" with Bähner and Poppel. The audience also took part in the lively discussion.
In their welcoming address, University President Prof. Dr. Gunther Piller and the Chair of the University Council, Heike Arend, first briefly outlined the motivation for the event: "Studies show that trust in democratic institutions is dwindling, even among young people. As a university, we see it as our duty to be a place of open thinking and critical reflection, but also a place of appreciative and respectful discussion," explained Piller in his welcome address. "We wanted to talk to students about what positive experiences of democracy are. Because democracy has to do with all of us and must be supported by everyone," added Heike Arend.
Government spokesperson Andrea Bähner, who had stepped in at short notice for the head of the State Chancellery, Dr. Fedor Rose, who had been called away to Berlin, then started the actual event with some good news on the subject: according to the latest Mitte study by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the vast majority of people in Germany support democracy. Over three-quarters of those surveyed also rejected a closed, right-wing extremist world view. At the same time, however, the study also shows that, conversely, trust in democratic structures is waning, according to Bähner. She localized the shift in the mind set around 2014 with the rise of the Pegida movement and social platforms that are not committed to the "principle of truthfulness". This makes the Digital Services Act (DSA) of the European Union (EU) all the more important, which is intended to oblige major online platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram to be liable for content published on them in order to curb misinformation and hate speech.
Political scientist, journalist and political influencer Nina Poppel also warned against disinformation and fake news on social networks and stated that this was also the motivation for her own involvement on Instagram: "Five years ago, in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, I started my information channel because I noticed that people in my circle of friends were starting to fall for misinformation on social media and continue to share it." The book "How Democracies Die" also shook her up at the time and made her explain politics in a way that made it accessible, tangible and understandable again. She is convinced that democracies do not simply collapse, "but quietly erode when we stop feeling and living them." Her quintessence: "Democracy is not an abstract concept, but a promise. Democracy is not a spectator event, but a participatory project".
This was also demonstrated by the subsequent lively panel discussion with seven students from all four Departments, Nina Poppel, Andrea Bähner and lively interaction with the audience. A wide range of opinions and attitudes to the topics discussed were revealed, which once again made it clear that it is not possible to speak of "the" young generation or "the" student body, but that a more differentiated view is needed. However, everyone agreed on one thing: "It is important to remain in dialog and this dialog should be respectful." And: critical media education is needed - not just for young people, but for all generations. The students also gave Andrea Bähner one more thing to say to the state government: it is important to the students that people talk to them and not just about them.
The discussion evening "It has something to do with you. Democracy as a way of life" was the first in a new series of events organized by the University Council and the university management and will be continued next semester.
