Lecture Series "Interjections on Social Policy"

Whether it's citizen insurance, unconditional basic income or digital innovations - all social policy ideas and developments with far-reaching potential effects are put to the test. Sharp-sighted analyses, innovative reform proposals and theoretical reflections on social policy find a place here and complement the curriculum of the new bachelor's degree program "Sustainable Social Policy". Away from the usual institutional path dependencies of social policy and entrenched social policy controversies, new and unconventional socio-political perspectives are opened up and discussed.

In this context, the following questions are addressed, among others: What is the municipal administration actually responsible for, which external parameters does it depend on? Where else could we start to make participation in the municipality more successful?

After the lecture, there will be an opportunity for questions and discussion and time for further conversations over drinks. Participation in the lecture series is free of charge, prior registration is not required. We look forward to seeing everyone who is interested!

Upcoming guest lectures:
You will be informed about future lectures here.

If you would like to be regularly informed about our events, please send us a short email to: patrick.baues@h-brs.de

Past Events:

"Intellectual right-wing extremists: The New Right"
Speaker: Prof. Dr. Armin Pfahl-Traughber
Contrary to popular belief, there are also right-wing extremist intellectuals, who are usually referred to as the New Right. What views do they represent, who are their most important representatives, what influence do they have and what strategies do they use? All of these questions are the subject of a lecture on the topic of "Intellectual Right-Wing Extremists". It makes clear what this New Right intends to achieve with a "cultural revolution from the right" and what effect it has already had.
Date: December 7, 2023, Lecture Hall 3, Sankt Augustin Campus

"Evidence-based policy-making"
Speaker: Prof. Dr. Simona Helmsmüller
On Thursday, November 23, 2023, the lecture series "Interjections on social policy" took place on the Sankt Augustin campus of the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences (H-BRS). The lecture series was also Prof. Dr. Simona Helmsmüller's inaugural lecture. She spoke about the role of empirical evidence in social policy and linked this to her research project on health insurance in northern Pakistan. Numerous students of the "Sustainable Social Policy" and "Social Protection" courses as well as lecturers from the department attended her inaugural lecture.
Date: November 23, 2023, Lecture Hall 3, Sankt Augustin Campus

"The Last Generation"
Speaker: Maria-Christina Nimmerfroh
The last generation is particularly notable for its massive street blockades and symbolic actions such as those at the Brandenburg Gate. In their theories, they combine this with the high goals of saving people from climate catastrophe. The lecture is about the high demands of the organizations, their work on site and with activists, and how this affects a society that is itself ambivalent about climate protection.
Date: October 5, 2023, Lecture Hall 3, Sankt Augustin Campus

"Lobbyland" - Threats and solutions for our democracy
Speaker: Marco Bülow
What should a democracy achieve and what role does lobbying play in our democracy? This question was asked on Thursday, June 22, 2023 by teachers and students of sustainable social policy as well as some external guests as part of the lecture series "Interjections on social policy". The guest speaker for this lecture series was Marco Bülow, former member of the Bundestag and journalist.
Date: June 22, 2023, 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m., Audimax (Lecture Hall 1), Sankt Augustin Campus

"Less is more - reflection on sustainability"
Speaker: Ulrich Grober
What is the more in less? This was the question that the participants in the lecture series "Heckling of social policy" from the Department of Social Policy and Social Security dealt with on Wednesday afternoon. The guest was Ulrich Grober, a renowned author and sustainability expert who gave an inspiring lecture and shared his thoughts from his book "The Language of Confidence".
Date: May 24, 2023, 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m., Lecture Hall 5, Sankt Augustin Campus

"Future Laboratory Schleswig-Holstein"
Speaker: Prof. Dr. Michael Opielka
In cooperation with renowned research partners such as the German Institute for Economic Research, the ISÖ - Institute for Social Ecology took over the scientific support and coordination of the "Future Laboratory Schleswig-Holstein". In a scientifically guided public discourse, a vision for the future and sustainability of social security was to be developed and, above all, the role of a basic income was to be examined. In his lecture, Prof. Opielka discussed the results, experiences and perspectives of the project.
Date: November 3, 2022, 4:15 p.m.-5:30 p.m., Steyler Mission

"Social participation as a maxim in administrative action"
Speaker: Ali Dogan
In his lecture, Mr. Dogan drew attention to the hurdles to improving social participation in administrative action. He used practical examples to impressively illustrate that unclear responsibilities in authorities can prevent social participation. Many municipalities are therefore not living up to the great responsibility that comes with their numerous voluntary services. As a result, Dogan called for more mandatory services to be introduced at the municipal level.
Date: Thursday, October 6, 2022, 4:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m., Steyler Mission

"Towards social sustainability: Climate change from a child rights perspective"
Speaker: Prof. Dr. Kerstin Rosenow-Williams
In her lecture, Prof. Dr. Rosenow-Williams illustrated that the concept of social sustainability as a sustainability triangle includes a social, economic and ecological dimension. In addition, Prof. Dr. Rosenow-Williams was able to impressively demonstrate how the United Nations formally strengthens the rights of children in its Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Date: Tuesday, September 20, 2022, 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m., Steyler Mission

"Consumption, consumer policy and social inequality"
Speaker: Dr. Christian Bala, Head of the NRW Consumer Research Competence Center
Rising rents, energy and food prices have once again brought the social aspects of consumption to the public's attention. People are increasingly unable to adequately satisfy their needs. The lecture shows the different dimensions of social inequality and their connection to consumption and consumer policy.
Date: Thursday, April 7, 2022, 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. via Webex video conference

Research project "Sustainable labor migration": reading & public panel discussion
Location: Bonn Rhein Sieg University of Applied Sciences, Sankt Augustin
Impulse reading: Saša Stanišić (author, German Book Prize 2019)
Panel:
Olesja Mouelhi (Managing Director of the Dortmund Chamber of Crafts, tbc)
Dr. Petrit Beqiri (founder & CEO of Heimerer College, Kosovo)
Representative of the BMZ / GIZ (tbc)
Prof. Dr. Michael Sauer (H BRS, head of the research project)
Date: Wednesday, March 23, 2022, 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Born to run - do fitness trackers make our society healthier but more unfair?
Under the motto "Talk in the Forum Responsibility meets Interjections on Social Policy", Prof. Dr. Alena Buyx (Technical University of Munich, Chair of the German Ethics Council and Fellow at ZEV), Prof. Dr. Remi Maier-Rigaud (Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences), Dr. Alexander Schellinger (Head of Development of Care Management at Techniker Krankenkasse) and Prof. Gert Scobel met on September 28, 2021 for the panel discussion "Born to run - are fitness trackers making our society healthier, but more unfair?"
Date: Tuesday, September 28, 2021, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. via Zoom video conference

“The future of the welfare state in the ecological transformation. Deficits and requirements”
Dr. Hans-Jürgen Urban, executive board member of IG Metall and private lecturer at the Institute of Sociology at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, spoke about the task of putting production, consumption and lifestyle on a basis that is compatible with nature. This requires far-reaching upheavals in the economy, society and culture, which entail economic and social risks. In this constellation, the welfare state is faced with the task of reacting to old and new social risks and at the same time flanking the socio-ecological transformation process. This can only succeed if the state pursues four political goals: job security in the sense of good work, distributive justice to reduce imbalances, sustainability to bring consumption into line with ecological needs and state-intervening (economic) democracy.
Date: Wednesday, April 21, 2021, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. via Zoom video conference

Time to end voluntariness? The discussion about a supply chain law to respect human rights and environmental standards

Eva-Maria Reinwald, specialist promoter for global economy and human rights (SÜDWIND e.V. - Institute for Economics and Ecumenism), discussed the global background and current political developments in the debate about a supply chain law in Germany in her lecture. She presented the goals and demands of the civil society campaign "Supply Chain Law Initiative" and showed opportunities for engagement.
Date: Monday, January 13, 2020, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the small auditorium in the Steyler Mission, Arnold-Janssen-Str. 32, 53757 Sankt Augustin

Time for a major SGB XI reform

When is a reform a reform? Care policy is part of social policy and social policy is part of shaping social policy. The lecture by Prof. Dr. Schulz-Nieswandt, Professor of Social Policy and Methods of Qualitative Social Research at the University of Cologne, outlined key points and contours of a value-oriented municipalization of ageing policy.

Date: Thursday, January 9, 2020, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in Lecture Hall 8, Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, Grantham-Allee 20, Sankt Augustin

UN Refugee Aid: The brand and its fundraising

Peter Ruhenstroth-Bauer, Managing Director of UN Refugee Aid, reported on the global situation of refugees, particularly on the work of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Over 170,000 people are on the run following the current escalation in northern Syria. Many thousands of people are now in northern Iraq. UN Refugee Aid is mobilizing civil society to finance UNHCR's global, life-saving missions.

In his talk, Ruhenstroth-Bauer also explained why it is becoming more difficult to mobilize financial support - and why the right answers must be found to fake news and an increasingly less information-based public discussion.

Date: Wednesday, November 20, 2019, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the small auditorium in the Steyler Mission, Arnold-Janssen-Str. 32, 53757 Saint Augustine

Should I stay, or should I go? Migration and Sustainable Social Policy

Qualified immigration and integration are seen as promising ways to address the shortage of skilled workers in Germany. The social policy issues of labor migration, integration or reintegration and vocational training are increasingly becoming the focus of politics as well as the focus of employers' associations and chambers. In the interests of sustainable development, the aim of the discussion must be to focus on the effects of labor migration in the countries of origin and to take measures to generate positive effects and to better distribute these between the countries of origin, the destination countries and the individuals affected.

Prof. Dr. Michael Sauer has been employed as Professor for Sustainable Social Policy at the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences since October 1, 2018. Previously, he advised the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the Republic of Kosovo on the development and implementation of a sustainable labor migration strategy from 2015 to 2018.

Date: Wednesday, September 25, 2019 from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Audimax

Health care reform - a permanent construction site?

Why is the reform and management of the health care system a permanent political task? What challenges and negative developments is the German health care system facing? And what future solutions and perspectives are there?

Franz Knieps, board member of the BKK Dachverband e.V., as a lawyer and health insurance expert, took a closer look at these questions in his lecture "Challenges and reform perspectives of health policy" and reported on his experiences from his work as head of department in the Federal Ministry of Health under Minister Ulla Schmidt.

Date: Friday, June 7, 2019, 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., Lecture Hall 3, Main Building Sankt Augustin

Do good and earn money?

Another trend, namely thinking about and demanding social and financial return on investment at the same time, was debated by Dr. Philipp Degens from the University of Hamburg in his lecture on January 10, 2019 on the topic "Doing good and making money? Philanthrocapitalism and welfare state change".

Attractive incentive thinking in social policy

In her lecture on November 15, 2018 entitled “Stimulating incentive thinking in social policy. Notes on the necessary socio-psychological basis of social policy considerations,” Prof. Dr. Gisela Kubon-Gilke from the Evangelical University of Darmstadt questioned the sometimes dominant economic perspective on social policy measures.

The role of utopias for social policy

Prof. Dr. Remi Maier-Rigaud kicked things off on July 10, 2018 with a lecture on the topic of "The role of utopias for social policy." He asked about the orientation value of positive utopias, but also of dystopias, for practical social policy. The small-scale nature of many social policy reforms requires positive utopian orientation points, according to his thesis.