Our Patrons 2026: Prof. Dr. Katrin Horn und Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Kesselheim

Dear (future) guests of the GrIStuF 2026,

Under the motto “Shaping Spaces – Creating Communities,” the International Student Festival is returning from its pandemic-induced hiatus and will once again help make Greifswald a place of encounter and international exchange. The theme is both fitting and timely, as GrIStuF 2026 is dedicated to so-called “third places”—that is, places that are neither our homes nor our workplaces, but public spaces where “I/we” and “the others” come into contact. Over five exciting festival days, GrIStuF offers an opportunity to rethink spaces and their significance for our community: what do we do with places that have supposedly lost their purpose for the community? What do different spatial contexts demand of us, and what do we expect from them? Where is there room for encounter, for sustainability, for engagement—whether in person or digitally? What interventions through art, politics, activism, or shared use are necessary and possible to create new spaces for community or to open spaces for new communities? Students from all over the world will grapple with these and other equally exciting and important questions. Their answers will also be shaped by the place where they are created: right in the heart of Greifswald.

As patron, I wish the volunteer organizers every success with their preparations, a safe journey to all participants, and every success to the festival!

 

Dr. Katrin Horn

Professor of Gender Studies at the Department of English and American Studies, University of Greifswald
 

[translated by gristuf]

Dear students, I warmly welcome you to Greifswald.

I find the topic of this year's Student Festival incredibly fascinating. Space is not an immutable, external reality. On the contrary, it is the result of social construction processes.

Think about a city such as Greifswald. Its urban space is not only constructed through century-long building activities, but also through social discourses that tell us what we can and cannot do in public spaces. And the urban space is constructed by us, every time we sit down watching passers-by in the city center, we participate in a neighborhood flea market or attend a political demonstration. This take on space allows you to ask how you can participate in those construction processes and shape space in order to foster community building.

As a linguist, I am especially interested in how space is constructed through language and other signs. So, here are two linguistic exploration tasks for your stay in Greifswald. The first task: When you stroll through Greifswald watch out for signs in other languages than German. Is the city constructed as a place that is open for other languages and cultures? Are there languages that can be heard, but are not seen? And the second task: How do people in Greifswald separate their private spaces from public space? Are there transition zones that facilitate interaction between neighbors (or even strangers)? Try to strike up a conversation with a resident. What places made it easy/hard?

 

I wish you lots of inspiring moments during the festival’s workshops and cultural events, and I look forward to seeing you!

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Kesselheim