At the invitation of Publix and Correctiv, the Federal Minister of Education, Karin Prien (CDU), joined us for a live discussion on Tuesday. Together with the audience, we talked about her education policy agenda, about the question of resilience in the face of right-wing extremism, as well as the criticism surrounding the restructuring of the Demokratie leben! ("Live Democracy!") funding program: "When the state provides funding, it must do so in a pluralistic manner. And civil society is not comprised solely of those who criticise a centre-right government from the left," the minister said in defence of her overhaul of the scheme. She stressed, however, that there would be no cuts to the overall budget of approximately €180 million per year. You’ll find a video with the whole discussion in this newsletter.
Demokratie leben! has been covered extensively over the last few weeks, with detailed reports appearing in DER SPIEGEL and DIE ZEIT among others. I’m pleased to have been able to ask the minister for her own perspective after the affected organisations had already made their voices heard in several articles and an open letter. Debates on the right way forward for politics, and for society more broadly, can only be productive if a broad spectrum of perspectives are brought into dialogue. MIDEM, a research institute at the Technical University in Dresden, recently published research demonstrating that fomenting diverse opinions, rather than extreme ones, provides journalism with an effective means to reducing polarization. Their paper – Reducing Affective Polarization: But How? – was presented here at Publix last week, and I can only encourage all journalists and editorial teams to read it carefully.
The question of what – and who – deserves our attention will also be at the heart of events on World Press Freedom Day and Local Journalism Day on May 5th, when nearly 150 students will be coming to Publix. At the first Newscamp Neukölln, they will experience firsthand how news reports are produced and how we can critically assess them as users. I’m very pleased to be organising this day together with #UseTheNews – an initiative of the German Press Agency (dpa) – and many other organisations from the Publix Building. If you're interested in Newscamp Neukölln as a teacher who would like to participate with your class, just get in touch!
A few months ago, I told you that we would be making room for even more organisations here at Publix. Well, the new office spaces are now finished and occupied: We are delighted to welcome Medico International and the Fun Facts team. Each new organisation and each new person in the building expands our network, and with it our capacity to learn from one another and become more effective together.
Wishing you all a sunny start to May!
Yours,
Maria Exner
Publix is an initiative of the Schöpflin Stiftung with support from Stiftung Mercator Schweiz and ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS.
The key points made by the Federal Minister for Education and Family in conversation with Publix Director Maria Exner and CORRECTIV Editor-in-Chief Justus von Daniels
On child protection in digital media and a potential social media ban for young people:
"Anyone who believes that a 'simple' social media ban could solve the problem is mistaken."
"If it is to have any effect, it will require robust measures that hold the platforms to account – and in a way that genuinely hurts."
"Violations of child protection regulations must carry real, painful consequences."
"I believe the argument must be made on public health grounds. (...) Screen time for children aged nought to three: that is simply not acceptable."
On resilience against far-right extremism and the Demokratie leben! funding programme:
"I place myself in the centre of the political spectrum. And I would say our democracy is under threat to such a degree that we (...) must ensure we reach those people in the quiet middle – those who are at risk of losing faith in the political system entirely, who are sceptical of democracy. That is my approach. It is a somewhat different approach from that of my predecessor. I am also, for instance, genuinely averse (...) to identity-politics thinking, which does find expression within this programme."
"When the state provides funding, it must do so in a pluralistic manner. And civil society is not comprised solely of those who criticise a centre-right government from the left."
"The arrogance of believing that the survival of our democratic system could be secured by the few – and in some cases extremely self-referential – groups funded under Demokratie leben! is frankly absurd."
"If we fail to address this erosion of trust in the democratic system, which has now spread into broad sections of society, we will lose this battle."
The whole discussion in a video:
Federal Education Minister Karin Prien on the Publix stage, 28 April 2026
Reporting on the far right: How do you cover the AfD, in eastern Germany and across the country as a whole?
This autumn sees state elections in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern – two contests that bring into sharp focus questions confronting Germany as a whole: what makes the AfD so popular? Why are the mainstream democratic parties failing to cut through? And what responsibility do the media bear for the shift in public debate and the AfD's political rise?
Publix Director Maria Exner explores these questions with Ann-Katrin Müller, political correspondent at Der Spiegel's Berlin bureau and one of Germany's foremost experts on the AfD. Together they consider how to report on a party that weaponises journalists and casts them as the enemy – and that could soon, for the first time, provide a state premier.
#PressefreiheitMachtSchule: News literacy in the classroom
Young people should learn early how to evaluate information critically, assess sources, and understand journalistic standards. The German education system has so far fallen well short of meeting this challenge. How can news literacy be embedded as a permanent feature of classroom teaching? The policy paper Fighting Disinformation by Journalism Goes to School examines how other countries are approaching the issue.
With Jochen Fasco, Ulrike Gruska, Konrad Schaller, and Annette Kuhn, moderated by Martin Spiewak.
Artificial intelligence is becoming an increasingly routine part of daily work in public administration. But under what conditions should it be deployed? What requirements apply to data, models, and operations? And how can the state remain capable of acting when key technologies are provided by a handful of companies and platforms?
This symposium, organised by the Technologiestiftung Berlin, brings together perspectives from public administration, research, and practice to examine the implications of AI use by the state.
Who shapes the future, if not us? Concerted action by actors from business, politics, media, and civil society creates the conditions for genuine change.
What stories speak of transformation successfully achieved? What frameworks enable effective action? And how do we move together from knowledge to practice — in the service of a society fit for the future?
These are the questions the SocialSummit 2026 sets out to explore.
"Publix is a place where different perspectives can meet and become productive. That is precisely where I want to start – working with the team to develop the organisational and operational foundations further," says Benjamin Nick. He brings extensive experience in the fields of coworking and flexible office environments.
Re:publica in Berlin is Europe's largest conference dedicated to questions of our digital future. From 18th to 20th May, many of the Publix residents will be presenting their work or taking part in panel discussions there.
Each issue of our newsletter features a person or organisation working out of the Publix building. This time: Julian Ungerer, Project Officer at Journalismus macht Schule("Journalism Goes to School")
What is at the heart of your work?
Our focus is on news literacy and media competence among young people. Journalismus macht Schule ("Journalism Goes to School") is a nationwide network that connects existing initiatives and stakeholders, and supports joint projects. A central element is placing journalists in schools to lead classroom discussions – explaining to pupils, for instance, how news is produced, how to identify disinformation and manipulation, and why a free press matters. We also offer continuing professional development for journalists and teachers alike.
What cause are you championing?
We want to address the growing news fatigue among younger audiences. We firmly believe that news literacy is a form of democratic literacy. At the same time, we are advocating politically for it to be embedded as a permanent fixture in the school curriculum.
Where is your focus at the moment?
The 3rd of May is World Press Freedom Day. Under the banner #PressefreiheitMachtSchule – Press Freedom Goes to School – we are organising a range of events and activities across the country.
What would you recommend reading to understand the current moment?
I am drawn to historical texts, because they so often reveal patterns that remain relevant today. Thomas Mann's Deutsche Hörer (German Listeners) has made a particular impression on me: during the Nazi era, he broadcast radio addresses to Germany from exile in the United States. Transcribed some years ago, they contain striking parallels between the political promises of that period and developments we are witnessing today.
The new platform Unlock takes a fresh approach to access to quality journalism: it aims to bundle content from various publishers and news agencies into a single subscription. Multiple sources, no advertising, one login. Publishers receive a direct share of the revenue.
Unlock has launched its beta phase with two news agencies, with further media publishers set to join. Anyone who registers at app.unlock-it.news before mid-May will have free access for the first month.
We want to get to know our neighbours, and we catch up with Anais (26) on her way home after work. She is a trainee early years educator at a Kita in Neukölln.
What's on your mind at the moment? Screen time! It's a topic that comes up with adults, but what strikes me most is how much time very young children are already spending on electronic devices. I worry about the consequences. Many of the little ones here know memes like "6-7" or explain the concept of Love Island to me. In a way, it's quite funny – but it also gives me pause. When I ask some of the children what they're looking forward to at the weekend, the answer is often: watching telly.
How do you keep up with what's happening in Neukölln and the wider world? I have a lot of friends here in the neighbourhood, and I get on well with my neighbours too. Through them, I pick up a great deal – local goings-on in Neukölln and Berlin. For broader news, I follow social media, channels such as Tagesschau and ZDF. I also listen to various podcasts – for instance A Bit Fruity, which covers politics and pop culture from an American perspective.
What's your favourite spot in Neukölln? After work, there's nowhere I'd rather be than Tempelhofer Feld. I simply love the vast open view; I sit there and watch the world go by. But I'm also terribly fond of Körnerpark: I bring a blanket, read a little, or meet up with friends for a picnic.
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