BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//TYPO3/NONSGML Calendarize//EN BEGIN:VEVENT UID:calendarize-kaad-annual-academy-2026-self-portraits-and-demarcations-i n-search-of-belonging-in-a-world-of-crisis DTSTAMP:20251218T125322Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260611 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260615 SUMMARY:KAAD Annual Academy 2026: Self-Portraits and Demarcations – In S earch of Belonging in a World of Crisis DESCRIPTION:The world is characterized by profound crises\, including clim ate change\, political instability\, wars and global inequality. In this c risis-ridden world situation\, the question becomes more urgent: Who am I? Where do I belong? Because belonging can be a source of strength: in fami ly and neighbourhood relationships\, in communities of solidarity\, civil society engagement or interfaith dialog. Wherever people give each other r ecognition\, take responsibility for each other and create spaces of trust \, experiences of genuine belonging arise.However\, the answer to the ques tion of belonging is increasingly determined by demarcation. This takes ma ny forms: Authoritarian movements are gaining strength\, fears of migratio n\, cultural change or even scarcity of resources are being politically in strumentalized. In the course of an alleged clarification of "belonging"\, new exclusive images of identity are created\, which are often accompanie d by patriarchal and nationalistic thinking. Social networks give these se lf-images an additional\, enormous reach and effectiveness. In this conte xt\, the consequences of colonialism and cultural dominance continue to ha ve an impact today. In many places\, indigenous communities in particular are fighting for recognition of their identity\, their history and their l iving space. At the same time\, it can be observed that in some places rel igious movements and actors also contribute to exclusion - by emphasizing religious identity as a marker of demarcation. Church voices worldwide\, not least the late Pope Francis in his encyclical Fratelli tutti and Pope Leo XIV on many occasions\, are therefore urgently calling for fatal demar cations to be overcome and for spaces of genuine fraternity and open dialo gue to be created.With this in mind\, the 39th KAAD Annual Academy\, toget her with representatives from academia\, politics and the Church from arou nd fifty countries\, would like to reflect on self-images and mechanisms o f demarcation in their current dynamics and from a global perspective in o rder to recognize critical developments and compile approaches to solution s. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

The world is characterized by profound cri ses\, including climate change\, political instability\, wars and global i nequality. In this crisis-ridden world situation\, the question becomes mo re urgent: Who am I? Where do I belong? Because belonging can be a source of strength: in family and neighbourhood relationships\, in communities of solidarity\, civil society engagement or interfaith dialog. Wherever peop le give each other recognition\, take responsibility for each other and cr eate spaces of trust\, experiences of genuine belonging arise.

However\, the answer to the question of belonging is increasingly determin ed by demarcation. This takes many forms: Authoritarian movements are gain ing strength\, fears of migration\, cultural change or even scarcity of re sources are being politically instrumentalized. In the course of an allege d clarification of "belonging"\, new exclusive images of identity are crea ted\, which are often accompanied by patriarchal and nationalistic thinkin g. Social networks give these self-images an additional\, enormous reach a nd effectiveness. \;

In this context\, the consequences of colonialism and cultural dominance continue to have an impact today. In ma ny places\, indigenous communities in particular are fighting for recognit ion of their identity\, their history and their living space. At the same time\, it can be observed that in some places religious movements and acto rs also contribute to exclusion - by emphasizing religious identity as a m arker of demarcation. \;

Church voices worldwide\, not leas t the late Pope Francis in his encyclical Fratelli tutti and Pop e Leo XIV on many occasions\, are therefore urgently calling for fatal demarcations to be overcome and for spaces of genuine fraternity and open dialogue to be created.

With this in mind\, the 39th KAAD Annu al Academy\, together with representatives from academia\, politics and th e Church from around fifty countries\, would like to reflect on self-image s and mechanisms of demarcation in their current dynamics and from a globa l perspective in order to recognize critical developments and compile appr oaches to solutions.

LOCATION:Bonn\, Haus Venusberg (https://jugendpastoral.erzbistum-koeln.de/ haus-venusberg/) END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR