Democracy Festival in Bonn: 75 Years of the Basic Law

On the 75th anniversary of the Basic Law, numerous visitors celebrated democracy together with the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the city of Bonn. Especially in times of global crises, it is important to emphasize the significance of democracy worldwide.

On Saturday, 25 May 2024, the BMZ invited to its headquarters in Bonn to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Basic Law. Numerous citizens and exhibitors participated in the event. IDOS was also present with a stand, informing interested citizens about its research, policy advice, and training programs, including the Postgraduate Training Programme, the Managing Global Governance Academy, and the Shaping Futures Academy.

A key focus was on the BMZ-funded project “Social Cohesion in displacement contexts.” IDOS researcher Dr Susan S. Ekoh presented the latest activities and current research on social cohesion at IDOS. She pointed out the increasing importance of social cohesion for the stability of societies and the well-being of their members, especially in times of multiple crises that challenge societies.

IDOS addresses these challenges by investigating how sustainable social cohesion can be achieved in different contexts. Against this background, Susan S. Ekoh also presented the research activities of the Ghana research team from the current course of the Postgraduate Training Programme, which she led together with Dr Charles Martin-Shields. Under the title “Social Cohesion in the Context of Environmental and Climate-Induced Internal Displacement in Ghana,” Nina Küssau, Merle Platen, Mario Pfeffer and Theresa Reinel examined how climate and environmental-induced mobility affects social cohesion in Accra, Ghana, and the role climate resilience plays in shaping social cohesion in Accra.

Susan S. Ekoh also discussed the importance of the relationship between loss and damage and social cohesion with State Secretary Jochen Flasbarth (BMZ).

Prof. Eckart von Hirschhausen, a member of the NRW Sustainability Advisory Board along with IDOS Director Prof. Anna-Katharina Hornidge, engaged in a substantive exchange on health and climate policy issues at the IDOS stand.

The IDOS stand was led by Senem Berfin Kaya from the Communications Department, Dr Christian Böber, Advisor to the Directorate, and Dr Susan Ekoh.

For more on 75 years of the Basic Law watch our “99 Seconds With”