FIZE Dialogues

Ideas. Experiences. Perspectives

We bring together people, institutions, and ideas to create sustainable solutions for global challenges.

FIZE Dialogues

Ideas. Experiences. Perspectives

Cooperation begins with conversation. New ideas emerge where people share different experiences, perspectives, and expertise. This is exactly the space we aim to create through FIZE Dialogues.

 

FIZE Dialogues is our platform for exchange, knowledge transfer, and shared reflection. We seek to bring together people from education, academia, business, public administration, politics, and civil society – regionally, nationally, and internationally.

 

At the same time, our focus is not limited to major global issues. Many challenges begin close to home. For this reason, FIZE Dialogues also serves as our regional platform for engagement. We aim to bring current developments, societal questions, and international perspectives into the region while placing local experiences within a broader context.

 

Planned activities include public lectures, discussion formats, expert dialogues, and thematic events related to FIZE’s areas of work. In addition, we intend to establish a regular Breakfast Club in the coming months. In an informal setting, participants will be invited to discuss current topics from society, education, public administration, business, academia, and international cooperation – openly, across disciplines, and on equal footing.

 

On this page, you will find announcements of upcoming events, reports from our projects, and insights and perspectives from our professional discussions.

 

We look forward to engaging with people who are willing to look beyond their own perspective and help shape the future together.

 

Dialogues & Perspectives

64,000 Young People Leaving School Without a Qualification – Time for a Debate?

 

Wolf Hannes Kalden, Managing Board Member of the Forum for International Future and Development Partnerships (FIZE), has addressed an open letter to Germany’s Ministers of Education. The letter responds to recurring debates about reducing or abolishing compulsory schooling in Germany. While FIZE regards compulsory education as a cornerstone of learning, social participation, and democratic development, the letter raises a different question: Should Germany today be discussing an extension rather than a reduction of compulsory education?

 

 

The discussion focuses on two key considerations. First, whether nine years of compulsory schooling still meet the requirements of a modern knowledge-based society. Second, whether the completion of compulsory education should be linked more closely to the attainment of a first general school-leaving qualification.

 

The background to these questions is the continuing high number of young people who leave school each year without a formal qualification. For many, this creates long-term barriers to vocational training, employment opportunities, and full participation in society.

 

The proposal is explicitly not intended as a call for additional legal obligations. Rather, it is an invitation to a broader educational policy debate about which educational standards society should consider indispensable in the future and how as many young people as possible can be supported in achieving them.

 

These reflections are informed both by the author’s professional experience and by current international projects and educational partnerships, including the MICT UA initiative. Together with universities, ministries, and regional partners in Ukraine, MICT UA explores questions of education, integration, and future opportunities for young people in the context of long-term societal development.

Project Insights

From Odesa back to Germany - The next steps for Mict UA
2026-08-04 22:39 From Odesa back to Germany - The next steps for Mict UA   After three intensive weeks in Ukraine and the beautifull city of Odesa, our Chair Wolf Hannes Kalden has now returned to Germany.   The ...
MICT UA im Dialog mit der Regional Development Agency of Odesa Region
2026-07-14 15:59 MICT UA in Dialogue with the Regional Development Agency of Odesa Region   On 14 July, our Chairman Wolf Hannes Kalden had the opportunity to visit the Regional Development Agency of Odesa Region an...
Building a Future for Ukraine Together – Support MICT UA
2026-06-07 00:06 Building a Future for Ukraine Together – Support MICT UA   Ukraine's future will not be determined solely by rebuilding roads, bridges and buildings. Above all, it will be shaped by the people who w...
Rarely Does the Solution Come First
2026-05-20 01:02 Rarely Does the Solution Come First   Major challenges often appear surprisingly simple – at least from a distance. However, anyone who seriously engages with issues such as reconstruction, workforc...