Forum Recht Foundation Launches Its 2022 Annual Program

Karlsruhe. The Forum Recht Foundation will launch its program activities this spring. Two annual themes will guide the focus of the events and accompanying formats for various target groups in Karlsruhe, Leipzig, across Germany, and online: „Law in Everyday Life“ and „Law and Justice.“ Using everyday situations, selected case studies, and artistic interventions, the foundation explores how the law shapes our daily lives. Director Henrike Claussen explains: „Although rules and laws permeate our daily lives—from traffic regulations to data protection on social media to infection control measures—and there is a basic awareness of one’s own rights, many people find it difficult to grasp what the rule of law actually means.“The second annual theme, „Law and Justice,“ is based on the fundamental human need for justice as the starting point for the desire for a fair legal system. It explores the tension between justice and the rule of law and combines sociological and cultural-historical approaches to the question of what is fair and just.

Strategic Partnerships and Networking with Civil Society
During its start-up phase, the foundation is placing a strong emphasis on building networks with partners and local initiatives at its two locations and nationwide. Kicking off the foundation’s activities at its new premises in Karlsruhe on April 26 will be a roundtable discussion featuring an artistic intervention, organized in cooperation with the Centre Culturel Franco-Allemand (CCFA), on Franco-German border experiences in the context of legal factors during the pandemic.
To mark the 30th anniversary of the Constitution of the Free State of Saxony, a panel discussion organized in cooperation with the Saxon State Ministry of Justice and for Democracy, Europe, and Equality, will explore how people experience the Saxon Constitution 30 years after it came into effect. Jessy James LaFleur, a poet living in Görlitz, will accompany the discussion with a spoken-word performance.
The resources and risks associated with data, the law, and consumer protection in the digital society will be the focus of an event on May 24, hosted by and in collaboration with the German Hygiene Museum in Dresden and the Barkhausen Institute in Dresden. The following month, on June 27, the authors of the 2021 study „Staatsschutz im Kalten Krieg“ (State Security During the Cold War), Christoph Safferling and Friedrich Kießling, will provide insights at the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig into the history of the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office between the Nazi era and the Cold War. The event, organized in cooperation with the Federal Prosecutor General at the Federal Court of Justice and the Faculty of Law at the University of Leipzig, will also examine the study’s implications for the present day, such as its impact on legal education.

Digital Symposium 4.0 on the Establishment of the Forum Recht
The Forum Recht Foundation will construct its own buildings in Karlsruhe and Leipzig. A digital symposium on July 13–14, titled „BEYOND THE MUSEUM: Architecture for a New Way of Living Together,“ will address issues relevant to the architecture of these future buildings. This fourth symposium on the development of „Forum Recht“ will focus on how to translate the vision for an institution of the future into architectural form.
Podcast with Accompanying Program on „Law and Justice“
In September 2022, a podcast on the topic of „Law and Justice“ will launch, accompanied by a program exploring justice in film and literature—because love, hate, and the pursuit of justice are at the heart of (almost) every compelling story. In cooperation with the Kinemathek Karlsruhe, two film evenings (October 19 and November 23, with additional dates in 2023) will explore surprising aspects of justice through film examples ranging from Pasolini to Tarantino, followed by discussions with the audience. Together with the Academy for Human Rights at the University of Cologne, the foundation is planning a literary evening under the theme „Literary Investigations: Between Truth and Justice“ in November. Sports will also be featured in the Year of the World Cup: Two events in Karlsruhe and Leipzig in November will address the topic „Fair Play, Soccer, and Human Rights.“.

Job Placement Opportunities for Young People
Under the theme „Unboxing the Law,“ as part of the Bavarian Children’s & Youth Film Festival (BKJFF, July 3–17, 2022) in Würzburg, around 150 young filmmakers aged 12 to 26 from all over Bavaria will produce short film clips on the afternoon of July 9 exploring the themes of law and the rule of law. Various props and prompts will serve as creative inspiration for exploring these themes—ranging from fundamental rights such as freedom of expression to questions of justice and dystopian visions. The resulting videos will be presented that evening.
Through the „Junges Forum Recht“ program, young people develop projects with the support of the foundation’s team and present them in the form of an exhibition. Digital and analog contributions creatively explore the relevance of the rule of law to young people’s everyday lives.

Admission to all events is free. For more information and to register: www.stiftung-forum-recht.de