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Volunteer Award 2026: Two Initiatives Recognised for Outstanding Student Involvement
The 2026 Volunteer Award goes to two initiatives that have made a particular mark on student engagement this year: PunktPunktPunkt and the organising team behind the nationwide "Gremienkonferenz". Both initiatives offer formats that open up new opportunities for students to engage with one another and develop further.
Curricula and semester timetables often fail to keep pace with political developments. Three students studying Arts Management and Cultural Work therefore founded the PunktPunktPunkt initiative at the end of 2025. Their aim: to shed light on topics that are neglected in their degree programmes and to link them to culture. Five events held over the last two semesters have covered topics including cultural funding, anti-Semitism in art and culture, and the realities of working in the cultural sector. These events provide an open forum in which students can develop their own views, ask questions and make sense of social developments.
In early May 2026, the first nationwide Gremienkonferenz took place at Werbellinsee in Brandenburg. Over 60 students from across Germany came together to network, learn from one another and develop joint solutions to current challenges. The conference was organised in just three months by a team of seven students from the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam (FH Potsdam) and the Eberswalde University of Applied Sciences (HNE Eberswalde). This collaboration is a powerful example of cooperation between student unions at several Brandenburg universities and of a level of commitment that goes far beyond the norm.
The 2026 Volunteer Award, worth 250.00 Euro for each initiative, was presented at a ceremony on the 8th of July 2026 as part of the FHP’s summer festival. In doing so, the Alumni and Friends Association of FH Potsdam recognises commitment that opens up new opportunities and empowers students to take on responsibility.
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