That was a fabulous Evening,

said YouCan Talk host Gabi Mohr. Such constructive discussions are very rare. This happened at the first YouCan Talk in Berlin. Some 25 guests turned up for the first YouCan Talk in Berlin. Frank Freiherr von Coburg gave a presentation and comprehensive overview of voluntary work and its significance, backed up by the numbers of citizens taking part. Each year, some 4.6 billion hours of voluntary services are spent. This amounts to 7.5% of all paid working hours in Germany. At an average of 7.50 Euros per hour, these voluntary services amount to a value of nearly 35 billion Euros. A fundamental point is: the more projects that are able to maintain their character and independence from third parties, the more attractive they are for voluntary engagement.

Max Seedorf, just 14 years of age, presented his own view on the subject of voluntary work. “If one has stood in front of 150 people and one knows it is the result of one’s own efforts, that is already very exciting. And one knows then also to what one is committed. That feeling stays and motivates to keep going.” Max is, apart from his involvement with the Association against Child Poverty (Verein Gegen Kinderarmut), also engaged with the “Drinking Water Project” (Trinkwasserprojekt) in a voluntary capacity. In his just 8 minutes of presenting, he cam straight to the point on his chosen topic, a fact that was rewarded with lots of applause.

Looking at humanity with different eyes

This was the plea of Herbert Haberl in his presentation on having a “condition-less basic income”. His appeal says: don’t always consider the worst of all possibilities with regards to other people! Only a small percentage of people are abusing the social system and most of the time, all attention is given to this fact. He admits that in the beginning he too thought that having a “condition-less basic income” cannot work – the mere thought of it is nonsense. But by examining the issue closer, he changed his mind fundamentally, taking into account actual studies made by Prof. Dr. Thomas Strabhaar (“A basic income for all – holistic solution instead of partial mishmash”) and Prof. Theo Wehner (“Rehumanizing Society”). A very informative presentation!

More links and information on this theme, put together by Herbert Haberl:
Innovative Middle Blog
Innovative Middle Facebook
Innovative Middle Twitter

The subsequent two hours of discussion proved how current this topic is. One of the guests (who traveled all the way from Switzerland to attend YouCan Talk) heard about this topic for the first time and therefore contributed to an interesting discussion, which lasted until late into the night. And besides, Herbert Haberl was surprised by the written feedback he received on his presentation from Max. Luckily, Max Seedorf praised him throughout. A really exciting first event for YouCan Talk in Berlin. We thank all speakers and guests for a successful evening!

The next YouCan Talk in Berlin is scheduled for 15th of May 2010. This event is in conjunction with the “Action Days for Political Education” from 5th to 23rd May. Information on individual topics will be published shortly but one we can already disclose today: there will be a presentation on Nobel Peace Prize Muhammad Yunus.