Dear readers,

Since 2008, we have been organising an annual oe-day, usually in the weeks between the end of May and the beginning of June. Once - during the coronavirus pandemic in 2021 - we refrained from doing so. In this respect, it is a new experience for us not to announce an oe-day this year. At the oe-tag, it was (and is) important to us to open up spaces, invite people and encourage dialogue on a topic that is close to our hearts. We have always received very positive feedback from you and - despite all the preparation and effort involved - we also draw a lot of energy, inspiration and thought-provoking questions from the day. This year, however, there will be no oe-day.  

This break is also linked to the hope that the oe-tag will have a stronger impact on our event year in future: less as a highlight in its own right and more as a source of inspiration for topics, questions and formats that will accompany us throughout the year. We want to use the break to think about which key topics we can derive from the oe-tag and how they can be linked to other events - and what specific consequences this will have for our events and their formats next year. If you have any thoughts or ideas on this, we would be delighted to hear from you. We will get back to you with the next update towards the end of the year at the latest.

And it's not as if there aren't any events that are comparable:
Just last weekend, Julia and a large team organised the Art of Hosting in Leipzig with the question: „How do we shape our togetherness in uncertain times and live differences as a source of connection?“. Nicola said: "It was as exciting as an experience and the atmosphere was like an oe-day lasting several days - if that's nothing else. Some impressions come with this letter today and in the next SOCIUS brief we want to tell you more about our experience.

As always, there are also labs and even a new training series, as well as some other exciting topics that we hope you will enjoy reading. 

Kind regards

Christian Baier