Diversity is visible every day in Magdeburg: on campus, in lecture theatres and seminars, but also in the city’s districts, clubs and neighbourhoods. But how can this coexistence be transformed into genuine togetherness? With the Magdeburg Diversity Challenge ‘Thinking, shaping and living diversity’, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg and its partners invite you to reflect on precisely this and to develop your own ideas for fostering more interaction in the city and at the university.
The Diversity Challenge is a competition, but above all an invitation to get involved. We are looking for concepts, projects and creative contributions that open up new spaces for exchange and make diversity visible and tangible in everyday life. After all, many questions about our social coexistence can only be answered when different perspectives come together: How can we combat loneliness? How can communication succeed in a pluralistic society? How can people who would otherwise rarely meet in everyday life – for example in the neighbourhood, at university or in public spaces – strike up a conversation? And how can people who are new to Magdeburg find it easier to settle in?
To promote such ideas, the challenge is divided into two categories:
Category: ‘Creating spaces for learning’
This category seeks concepts for educational programmes and knowledge spaces that enable new ways of learning and exchange. These include, for example, inclusive reading circles, educational walks, lectures, podcasts or digital tutorials. Ideas on how existing spaces can be repurposed are equally welcome, so that as many people as possible can gain barrier-free and safe access to knowledge and engage in conversation with one another.
Category: “Shaping Urban Space”
Magdeburg offers numerous public spaces where people could meet – in squares, parks, at bus stops or on campus. We are looking for event and meeting formats that bring different people together and facilitate exchange on an equal footing. Possible ideas include joint street festivals, neighbourhood initiatives, pop-up events in public spaces such as playgrounds or at train stations, as well as concepts for collaborations between initiatives, associations and university groups.
The most compelling idea in each category will be awarded prize money.
The competition is open to students, staff and researchers at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, as well as committed members of the local community. Entries may be submitted individually or as a team, by a seminar group, an initiative or even on an interdisciplinary basis. It is precisely this openness that is intended to help bring people from different fields together.
Entries should be submitted in the form of a poster that clearly illustrates the respective idea. The deadline for submissions is Sunday, 13 September 2026. An expert jury will assess the entries according to the criteria of diversity, creativity and degree of innovation, sustainability, relevance and effectiveness. The winners will be honoured in January 2027 during the “A City for All” campaign week.
The Diversity Challenge was developed in collaboration with the State Capital of Magdeburg, the Saxony-Anhalt Society for International Relations (AGSA) and the Magdeburg Volunteer Agency, and is organised under the leadership of Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg as part of the European university alliance EU GREEN.
As part of the university’s so-called Third Mission, the project promotes exchange between the university and civil society. The aim is to jointly develop ideas that have an impact both on campus and in everyday urban life, thereby providing new impetus for an open, diverse Magdeburg.
