Future-oriented skills: Weimar discusses resilience in culture!

Future-oriented skills: Weimar discusses resilience in culture!

On November 1st, 2025, passionate minds gathered in Weimar at the event organized by Prof. Dr. Steffen Höhne and Prof. Dr. Jana Leidenfrost organized a symposium that lasted three days. The Franz Liszt University of Music became the stage to discuss the central question: What does it take to remain effective, resilient and future-proof in a constantly changing environment? Some renowned personalities took part in the opening, including Dr. Reinhard Laube and Prof. Dr. Michael Klaper. These experts are committed to creating a common understanding of culture, business and sport in order to equip young people with important future skills.

The focus was particularly on skills such as interdisciplinary work, allowing for mistakes and the ability to enable a change of perspective. These future skills include not only technical know-how, but also emotional intelligence, personal responsibility and critical reflection. A panel on future skills in cultural management, moderated by Prof. Dr. Volker Kirchberg and others, discussed the need for a positive error culture and the role of AI in the music industry.

Workshops and discussions

The second day was entirely dedicated to exchanges. In various workshops, topics such as “leading with inspiration”, “thinking digitally” and “staying resilient” were discussed in greater depth. The importance of leadership culture was also examined. Prof. Dr. In her lecture, Sigrid Bekmeier-Feuerhahn highlighted the role of digitalization and emphasized that universities should be learning spaces that create meaning. The NMZ highlights that Future Skills should be viewed as an ongoing process that emerges through dialogue and reflection.

Particular attention was also paid to the importance of psychological safety. In his keynote speech, Dr. Martin Schwemmle that a supportive environment enables teams to take risks and learn from their mistakes. This topic will also be addressed in June this year in a special online lab that deals with psychological safety and error culture. Future Skills Now explains that such environments are necessary to create innovative and adaptable work cultures.

A look at the future

The integration of future skills into university teaching is not only desirable, but essential. Universities are required to integrate these basic skills into all modules in order to optimally prepare students for the challenges of the future. This vision of a common anchoring of future skills is no coincidence and shows that Weimar is becoming a resonance space for development in the cultural sector.

A truly successful exchange that not only benefits the participants, but above all future generations. When it comes to facing the challenges of the future, this symposium impressively demonstrated that a strong culture of error and the courage to change can lead to a successful future.