KAAD Annual Academy
Every year, the KAAD Annual Academy brings together guests from academia and the church with our scholars
to discuss topics that are important to our institution and our global network.
39th Annual Academy | June 11 to 14, 2026
Self-portraits and Boundaries: In Search of Belonging in a World in Crisis
The world is marked by profound crises, including climate change, political instability, wars, and global inequality. In this crisis-ridden world situation, the question becomes more urgent: Who am I? Where do I belong? Because belonging can be a source of strength: in family and neighborhood relationships, in supportive communities, in civic engagement, or in interfaith dialogue. Wherever people show mutual recognition, take responsibility for one another, and create spaces of trust, experiences of genuine belonging arise.
However, the answer to the question of belonging is increasingly determined by demarcation. This takes many forms: authoritarian movements are gaining strength, and fears of migration, cultural change, or even resource scarcity are being exploited for political purposes. In the course of a supposed clarification of "belonging," new exclusive images of identity are emerging, often accompanied by patriarchal and nationalistic thinking. Social networks give these self-images additional, enormous reach and effectiveness.
In this context, the consequences of colonialism and cultural dominance continue to have an impact to this day. Indigenous communities in particular are fighting in many places for recognition of their identity, their history, and their habitat. At the same time, it can be observed that in some places religious movements and actors also contribute to exclusion by emphasizing religious identity as a distinguishing feature.
Church voices worldwide, not least the late Pope Francis in his encyclical Fratelli tutti and Pope Leo XIV on many occasions, therefore urgently call for fatal divisions to be overcome and spaces of genuine brotherhood and open dialogue to be created.
With this in mind, the 39th KAAD Annual Academy, together with representatives from academia, politics, and the church from around fifty countries, aims to reflect on self-images and mechanisms of separation in their current dynamics and from a global perspective in order to identify critical developments and compile possible solutions.
