“People Are Realizing That Democracy is About the Bigger Picture”

“When I speak to extremists, I want to try and understand what’s hurt them.” Kathrin Schuchardt is sitting in her living room in Weimar. The walls around her are covered in paintings; on one of them, the silhouette of a woman with troubled eyes gazes into the distance – a gift from an addict that has long kept Schuchardt company. Kathrin Schuchardt is a streetworker, education consultant, queer activist. And above all, an example of how to keep the lines of dialogue open in an increasingly divided society. “The academic, lecturing route doesn’t work here,” she says. 

Around her sit three women nodding in agreement. Members of the Bosch Alumni Network (BAN), they are visiting Schuchardt as part of the annual Bosch Alumni Network Academy. The theme of this gathering in 2025 is social cohesion – and the discussion with Katrin Schuchardt is part of the program.

The BAN members in her living room are familiar with the challenge of keeping the conversation going with people who are becoming more and more radicalized. They work in public administration; one is a democracy trainer, one an equality officer in local government. Together, they are hoping to find some answers during the Academy to questions that also shape their own day-to-day work: How can we inspire more cohesion in a divided society? Where can we create safe spaces in which being different is not perceived as a threat? And what kind of engagement for democracy can have an impact in a highly charged climate?

In the face of heated debates and radical viewpoints, it is not always easy to make positive ideas stick. But what exactly is the situation in German society? Some of the feedback on this question at the network meeting in Weimar came from the organization More in Common, a strategic partner of the Robert Bosch Stiftung. 

In a large-scale study, the think tank analyzed how people in the country are currently feeling – and revealed a somewhat bleak picture: in 2024, 74 percent of respondents felt that things in Germany were pretty unfair, and 75 percent believed that many people only look out for number one. Only 43 percent were convinced they could change anything in society with their own engagement. “Since 2019 we’ve observed a noticeably increasing sense of injustice. At the same time, there is a longing for more togetherness,” is how Inga Gertmann from More in Common frames it.  

But there is still hope for all those who champion cohesion and dialogue: Especially in people’s personal neighborhood – where they have the most trust – there are opportunities to regain a sense of belonging. “In the public sphere, people often meet each other without really meeting,” explains Gertmann. Options for meeting in our actual living environments are therefore especially well-suited to strengthening the social infrastructure. “We must be mindful of what people really need: Open events to meet at with no tangible added value don’t always work. Looser formats of a fun nature, organized by actors who people trust – that’s a good strategy,” says Gertmann. 

Some of the Bosch alumni have had similar experiences, as they explained at the Academy. “I think we have to trust the local actors,” says Babette Scurrell. Since 2014 she has been chair of the association Neuland e.V., which emerged from the Neulandgewinner [Land Reclaimers] program of the Robert Bosch Stiftung. Now retired, she supports democratic campaigners in rural areas to find social innovations for social cohesion. She has supervised over 30 projects during this time. 

Scurrell is noticing several divisions in society, she reports – one of the greatest being the urban-rural divide. “We need to invigorate rural areas, so that places can develop there that bring people together. These local initiatives are my hope for a society in which we can grow stronger together again,” she says. In many members of Neuland e.V., she sees first-hand what engagement can set in motion. “One woman, for example, converted a former savings bank into a village café – and caused a domino effect: Now there is also a market stall there and people team up to order veggie boxes. That’s a lovely example of how a first step can lead to more community.” 

Other alumni, too, are confident in the future of democracy – like Eric Wrasse, co-initiator of the Weltoffenes Thüringen alliance and former grantee on the Robert Bosch Stiftung’s Lectureship Program. Through the alliance, which translates as “Thuringia is open to the world,”  he advocates to get democratic voices heard and seen in the public discourse – for instance, with a “Show Up!” campaign where Thuringians take a stand for democracy.

“The right are good at emotionalizing topics, stoking fears, and being loud. We believe in the opposite and look to things that connect us. There is a huge majority of people who stand for democracy,” says Wrasse. He feels that many people are simply looking for a place where they can get involved in a positive way. “Being quiet is no longer an option. I have the feeling that lots of people are now realizing that it’s about the bigger picture.”

It is vital for social cohesion that all voices are heard, agrees Kamila Schöll-Mazurek, migration researcher and federal board member of the Polish Social Council, and formerly a grantee on the project “Political Education in Action.” For her it is important, especially now, to approach politicians and not let certain topics be taken out of our hands. “I am mindful of the fact that people from abroad are often attributed certain roles – for example, ‘the seasonal worker’ or ‘the cleaner’. But beyond this, they are largely invisible in the social dialogue. I want to do something about this separation,” she says. 

The many and varied perspectives and approaches brought to light by the Bosch Alumni Network meeting demonstrate that there are no easy solutions for greater social cohesion; but there are plenty of actors engaged in the field, who mutually encourage each other and draw valuable inspiration and support for their work from a network like the BAN.