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18.04.2023 16:53

Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of Freie Universität Berlin

Dr. Japhet Johnstone Stabsstelle Kommunikation und Marketing
Freie Universität Berlin

University invites the public to special events throughout the year / Big celebration on June 1, 2023 / Pop concert and fundraising campaign planned

Freie Universität Berlin will be celebrating its seventy-fifth anniversary year under the motto “Seventy-five years of free thinking. Building responsibility. Inspiring change.” Many special events will be taking place throughout the year, with the public warmly invited to take part. Some of the highlights of this anniversary year will include events with prominent guests, an official ceremony for the year of celebrations followed by a party, the Long Night of the Sciences, and the Summer Fest and Campus Run. Be sure to check the event calendar on a regular basis, as new events are being added and updated frequently. The latest news and information on the anniversary year can be found on the website https://www.fu-berlin.de/en/sites/75jahre/index.html in both German and English.

“When Freie Universität Berlin was founded seventy-five years ago, freedom was one of its key values and its overarching goal. To this day, we stand for freedom not only in name, but also in action; it is one of our leading principles. Our university is tasked with educating ‘citizens of the world’ – as called for by then US president John F. Kennedy in his speech at Freie Universität sixty years ago. We will be celebrating this anniversary year in an interactive and informative way, with exciting events that will be open to the public, as well as our employees, researchers, students, and instructors. And you can expect one or two surprises along the way! This anniversary year, Freie Universität will be particularly visible within the city of Berlin, while also acknowledging the larger context of the world around us – a world filled with crises and tensions and in which freedom has yet to be achieved to the extent that we, as a ‘free university,’ stand for. This is why we continuously need to reevaluate our position within this world and participate in ongoing discussions of how to shape the university’s image to reflect our values. Part of this includes this year’s fundraising event in aid of the international medical relief organization Médecins Sans Frontières,” says president of Freie Universität Berlin, Professor Günter M. Ziegler.

A Selection of Our Upcoming Anniversary Events in 2023

June 1, 2023, from 4:00 p.m., official ceremony for the seventy-five-year anniversary of Freie Universität Berlin and party: Expect a wide range of guests from across politics, culture, and academia. The ceremony will be followed by a party on campus, complete with DJ, food, and cocktails. Location: in and in front of the Henry Ford Building,Garystraße 35, 14195 Berlin

June 7, 2023, from 5:00 p.m., concert on campus with surprise guest (an up-and-coming German pop singer) and various student bands as opening acts. Location: Square in front of the Holzlaube building, Fabeckstraße 23/25, 14195 Berlin

June 17, 2023, 5:00 p.m.‒12:00 a.m., Long Night of the Sciences on Freie Universität’s campus in Dahlem with spectacular experiments, exciting presentations, tours, and scientific showcases from different fields of research. Location: multiple locations across Dahlem campus, https://www.fu-berlin.de/langenacht

June 29, 2023, from 4:00 p.m., Summer Fest and Campus Run: Freie Universität Berlin’s Executive Board warmly invites all employees and students to this year’s Summer Fest. A big stage with live bands, food, and refreshments awaits, as does an exciting program of events filled with surprises. The annual Campus Run will also take place that day from 4:00 p.m. Registration is already open, and participants can sign up for a distance that best suits their fitness and energy levels (5 kilometers, 7.5 kilometers, or 10 kilometers). The Campus Run is also open to children, who have the opportunity to run their own one-kilometer race before the main event. Location: the Holzlaube building, Fabeckstraße 23/25, 14195 Berlin. http://www.campusrun-berlin.de/

December 1, 2023, Ernst Reuter Day, conclusion to the end of the anniversary year with a celebratory speech, exhibition launch, award of the Ernst Reuter Prizes for early-career researchers, and announcement of the total amount raised for Médecins Sans Frontières over the course of the anniversary year. Location: Henry Ford Building, Garystraße 35, 14195 Berlin

Freie Universität’s 2023 Fundraising Campaign

Due to its unique history and why it was founded, Freie Universität Berlin is very conscious of its responsibility to society. For this reason, it not only wishes to take this anniversary year as an opportunity to celebrate, but also to focus on the crises currently happening around the world. University members and friends of Freie Universität are therefore encouraged to take part in this year’s special fundraising campaign: “Seventy-Five Years of Free Thinking: Celebrate and Donate” in support of the international medical relief organization, Médecins Sans Frontières (www.fu-berlin.de/en/sites/75jahre/spenden/index.html).

Donations can be submitted via the official website of Médecins Sans Frontières
https://www.aerzte-ohne-grenzen.de/sich-engagieren/spendenaktion/online?cfd=kt8y...

or made directly to the following bank account:

Ärzte ohne Grenzen e.V.
IBAN: DE72 3702 0500 0009 7097 00
BIC: BFSWDE33XXX
Bank für Sozialwirtschaft
Reference: FU Berlin

Further Information
Freie Universität Berlin’s History

From the very beginning, Freie Universität Berlin has been a university based on the principles of democracy and freedom. It was founded in 1948 by professors and students with the support of the American Allies and various Berlin-based politicians. This act was in response to the persecution faced by students who took a critical stance toward the system in place at Berlin’s main university at that time, which was located in the Soviet sector of the divided city. They wanted to establish a university where its members were able to study, teach, and research free from political interference. The official statement calling to found Freie Universität Berlin was published on June 23, 1948, with the founding ceremony taking place on December 4, 1948, in the Titania-Palast in Berlin’s Steglitz district.

Thanks to support from both within Germany and abroad, Freie Universität Berlin was soon able to establish itself as a university of high international standing. Since it was founded, representatives from the humanities and the sciences around the world have regularly come to Freie Universität’s campus in Dahlem as guests and friends of the university. Freie Universität has been awarded the title of “University of Excellence” three times through the Excellence Initiative jointly sponsored by the German federal government and the governments of the German states. It received this title in 2007, 2012, and 2019, most recently as a member of the Berlin University Alliance together with Humboldt-Universität, Technische Universität, and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin.

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Wissenschaftliche Ansprechpartner:

Freie Universität Berlin, Executive Board Special Projects, Events Team, Email: event@kum.fu-berlin.de
For press inquiries please contact the Office of News and Public Affairs, Office of Communication and Marketing, Email: presse@fu-berlin.de

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Weitere Informationen:

https://www.fu-berlin.de/en/sites/75jahre/index.html, Anniversary website celebrating seventy-five years of Freie Universität Berlin
http://www.campusrun-berlin.de/, Information on the Campus Run
https://www.fu-berlin.de/langenacht, Website for the Long Night of the Sciences
http://www.fu-berlin.de/en/sites/75jahre/spenden/index.html, Fundraising page for Médecins Sans Frontières
https://www.fu-berlin.de/en/sites/75jahre/geschichte/index.html, History of Freie Universität

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Merkmale dieser Pressemitteilung:
Journalisten, Studierende, Wissenschaftler
fachunabhängig
überregional
Buntes aus der Wissenschaft
Englisch

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