The Leibniz Association is funding a new format called "Leibniz Labs" for the first time. The HBI is involved in one of three labs which is dedicated to the topic of "Upheavals and Transformations". The labs will be funded over a period of three years from April 2024 with a total of three million euros each.
Leibniz Lab "Upheavals and Transformations"
The world is currently changing rapidly due to numerous overlapping crises. The Leibniz Lab "Upheavals and Transformations" shows how politics and society have reacted to fundamental challenges in the recent past. In this way, the Lab generates knowledge for action in the future. It pools the expertise of 28 Leibniz institutions.
The Lab examines how different social upheavals of recent times have been dealt with and relates them to each other. These include the transformations following the end of the Cold War in 1989/90, the challenges posed by globalization and the current challenges posed by climate change. The lab focuses primarily on how these upheavals were overcome. The focus lies on the links to current challenges and the relationship between crisis and resilience. For example, the lab provides new perspectives on de- and re-industrialization, democracy and right-wing populism or the social consequences of new technologies.
The lab shows how upheavals are experienced by different actors and how solutions to problems are sought under time pressure. It focuses on the question of how societies can better cope with crises and develop resilience. By assessing and integrating relevant bodies of knowledge, the aim is to create innovative knowledge for action and introduce it into social discussion forums. To this end, the Lab engages in dialog-oriented research communication with different target groups with the active participation of the public and develops innovative formats for science communication. These include exhibitions, social media, policy briefs and citizen science projects. The Leibniz Lab aims to create a social dialog on how transformations can be better managed and shaped in the future.
A total of 28 Leibniz institutions are involved in the "Upheavals and Transformations" Lab. The HBI contributes particularly with its expertise in media and communication science, experience in quantitative and qualitative social science as well as a media and communication history perspective. One of the planned work packages will be dedicated to the topic of "Transformation in Social Media". At the same time, the lab will develop new social media offerings to address target groups that would otherwise be difficult to reach. To this end, audiovisual social media formats (such as TikTok and YouTube) will be realized in collaboration with external partners (science journalists, influencers, podcasters), as these are too costly for the individual institutions to implement on their own. The social media activities experimented with in the Lab are to be continuously evaluated, the products developed will be secured in the participating institutions and the formats will be reviewed by the institutions regarding their transferability.
The Leibniz Labs instrument aims to make the best possible use of the Leibniz Association's interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary experience, expertise, and potential to make a strong contribution to solving pressing social issues. Leibniz Labs primarily rely on the integration of the diverse existing knowledge of all Leibniz institutions. Leibniz Labs cross disciplinary boundaries and incorporate knowledge and perspectives from politics, business, and society to develop products that support stakeholders in solving problems.
In addition, the Leibniz Senate decided to fund a network project for a period of three years from 1 April 2024 with a total of 700,000 euros. The project serves to exchange and evaluate experiences between the Leibniz Labs and aims to strengthen the inter- and transdisciplinary excellence of the Leibniz Association. The joint kick-off event of the Leibniz Labs will take place in Berlin on 16 May 2024.
Further information can be found at
www.leibniz-gemeinschaft.de/en/research/leibniz-labs/
Contact:
Dr. Hans-Ulrich Wagner
Photo by
Pawel Czerwinski on
Unsplash
