Guest Lecture Series

Invited guests sharing innovative insights, personal experiences, and thought proving perspectives on Environmental Governance.

The guest lecture series does not only target our students but aims at the wider Freiburg academic community to plant the seeds of sustainable development and thought leadership in a new generation of global citizens.

Guest lectures are organized on an irregular basis, often in co-sponsorship with other organizations.

Previous guest lectures and lecturers include:

  • Dr. Dan van der Horst, from the University of Birmingham, on "NIMBY or not? How to study the politics of voiced opinions in renewable energy siting controversies."
  • Dr. Ulrich Hoffmann, from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Trade and Sustainable Development Section, on "The Need to Profoundly Transform Agriculture: Assuring Food Security in Developing Countries under the Challenges from Climate Change," and "The Current Economic Crisis and Its Effects on Sustainable Structural Change in Economy and Trade."
  • Prof. Dr. Mark Swilling, from the School of Public Management and Planning at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, on "Governance and  Sustainability" and "Greening the Development State."
  • Ms. Eve Annecke, Director of the Sustainability Institute at Stellenbosch, South Africa, on "Sustainability and Action."
  • Ms. Sabrina Shahab, a manager of Grameen Shakti, on providing energy solutions to rural people in Bangladesh and empowering women in the community through technology training centres.
  • Prof. Lange, from the Research Center for Sustainability Studies Bremen, on "Nature and/or Environment and/or Sustainability?"
  • Prof. Dr. Helga Weisz, from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, on societal material flow in different agricultural systems.
  • Dr. Michael Schillmeier, from the LMU München, on the SARS epidemic from an Actor-Network perspective.
  • Mr Hans-Jochen Banhardt, Head of the corporate department for Health, Safety, Environmental and Fire Protection at Robert Bosch GmbH, on environmental goals from the industry perspective.
  • Mr Burkart Knospe, CEO of Testo AG, on the development of measurement/standard technology.
  • Dr. Willi Steul, head of the SWR broadcasting company, on the role of media in Environmental Governance.
  • Dr. Hans Schipulle, on his work with the Congo Basin Forest Partnership.
  • Ms. Barbara Unmüssig, from the Heinrich-Böll-Foundation.
  • Prof. Dr. Elshorst, from Transparancy International.
  • Dr. Monika Zimmermann, from ICLEI.
  • Dr. Jürgen Staeck, from the Environmental Safeguarding Department of the University of Freiburg.
  • Dr. Hans-Peter Meister (Director, IFOK LLC, Germany) on “Shaping Societal Change – Opportunities and Challenges in New Forms of Participation”.
  • David Bornstein, author of “How to Change the World – Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of Innovative Ideas”.
  • Prof. Dr. Bharat H. Desai (Chair in International Environmental Law at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India) on “International Environmental Governance: Legal and Institutional Issues”.