Eröffnungsrede Lessingtage 2026 mit Jagoda Marinić

In the organizer's words:

Jagoda Marinić, one of the defining public voices of our time, will open the Lessingtage 2026. In her speech, she will express impressive thoughts on the social phenomena of our time: How can we revive democracy after populism? Taking political developments in Europe as a starting point, we turn our attention to Poland, where a right-wing populist government was voted out of office. What can we learn from this situation? How can democracy remain resilient? How can social polarization be overcome?

The question of how societies can 're-democratize' runs through the Lessing Days - and begins with Jagoda Marinić's words. An invitation to learn together from experience, to open up perspectives and to hear what freedom means today.

Jagoda Marinić devotes herself - in her books, columns, podcasts and on stage - to questions of freedom, identity and social change. As a writer, publicist and podcaster, she has been shaping debates in German-speaking countries for years and has also published internationally, including in the New York Times. With her ARD podcast FREIHEIT DELUXE, she sets new impulses every week - and was nominated for the Grimme Prize for her arte talk show Das Buch meines Lebens. In 2022, she received the Cultural Journalist of the Year award and most recently the Ernst Toller Prize in 2025 for her literary work.

Price information:

from 11 € / reduced from 7 €