Pop-Up @MSC 2026 - Youth Participation and Democratic Futures
Hosted by HfP, TUM, and the MSC, this Pop-Up convenes actors from academia, civil society, education, media, and practice to explore new pathways for participation and inclusion of young people in the digital age. The session builds on existing initiatives and practical experience, and focuses on conditions for inclusive, scalable “democracy making”, grounded in safety and agency. Insights from the Pop-Up will also feed into ideas for further projects, such as a “House of Democracy”, a longer-term platform idea that aims to connect and strengthen ongoing work across partners.
This event is held in German.
09:30 AM – 10:00 AM
Welcome & Registration
The Foundation: Why We Are Here
10:00 AM – 10:30 AM
We begin by confronting the cracks in our digital public sphere. Why does democracy currently feel like a process that happens to young people rather than with them?
- Welcome: Markus Siewert (Managing Director, TUM Think Tank) frames the Think Tank as the bridge between institutional policy and lived participation.
- The Impulse: Ruth Müller (Vice Dean for Gender & Diversity, TUM) on barriers to inclusive and meaningful participation (“participation gap”) and what is needed to enable youth engagement at scale.
- Young Voices: Jessica Wiehle (Jugendstiftung) on developing and facilitating new participation formats for young people, with a focus on inclusion and lived experience.
- Young Voices: Anna-Theresa Schlechter (Münchner Haus der Schüler*innen) on how participation actually manifests and feels today for young people.
The Laboratory: Innovation Spotlights
10:30 AM – 10:45 AM
The session shifts from problem framing to applied examples, highlighting selected initiatives and practical approaches to strengthening democratic resilience.
- Prevention & Resilience: Nicola Hieke (Head of the Bavarian State Coordination Office against Right-Wing Extremism) on coordinated prevention and response structures against extremist mobilization and hate.
- Social Architecture: Gerald Knaus (Social Scientist) on rethinking engagement structures..
- Public Interest Tech: Sebastian Pfotenhauer (Speaker of TransforM, TUM) on transformative technology for the public good.
- Youth-Led Practice & Enablement: Laura Pulz (Specialist Unit for Democratic Youth Education, District Youth Council / Kreisjugendring) on enabling and supporting self-organised youth initiatives and civic engagement.
- Digital Safety: Nadine Schön (Fellow, TUM Think Tank) on building protective architectures for youth in the digital world.
New Pathways: A Cross-Sector Dialogue
10:45 AM – 11:30 AM
Moving beyond the traditional panel, this session brings together those who study participation, shape the media, and lead civil society. We ask: How do we scale safety, belonging, and agency?
Discussants include:
- Günter Bressau (Member of the Governing Board, ERYICA)
- Sandra Cortesi (Professor for Participation and Diversity, TUM)
- Dirk von Gehlen (Director Think-Tank, SZ-Institute)
- Stefan R. Haake (CFO & Director of Development, Conference of European Rabbis)
The Roadmap: Inviting the Architects
11:30 AM – 12:00 AM
The session concludes by shifting from "what is" to "what will be," transitioning from a pop-up event into a long-term vision.
- The Blueprint: Urs Gasser (Rector of HfP / Dean TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology) reflects on key insights and next steps, including how learnings could inform a longer-term “House of Democracy” idea.
- The Build: The session transitions into an active networking forum. Guests are invited to share perspectives and connect around potential follow-up steps.