Are there actually prejudices in every head that runs around out there? And how many of them do I have? Where do they come from? What role does my history, my cultural and social background, the country I grew up in, my environment, what I have experienced, play in what I think? And if I express something, how do I know if the others understand exactly the same? Isn't their world, too, aren't their habits like ingrained patterns?

This and more is what we asked ourselves at the Long Night of Democracy (LNDD) 2021. We asked whether we as Germans, as Lebanese, Americans or Turks... are, according to a self-assessment, what is considered "typically German," "typically Lebanese," "typically American," "typically Turkish," etc.? Or whether influences from other countries and regions of the world, which are "typically" located there, might not also be within us.

In the interpersonal discovery course, which our chairperson Pia Beckmann and Philo Holland, expert for intercultural cooperation at the University of Würzburg, offered to the participants and visitors of the LNND 2021, we not only learned new things about ourselves, but also had a lot of fun.

For this event, we thought about what is needed or what hinders us to get a better grip on the challenges of our societies with regard to climate, environment, economy, poverty reduction, democracy and human rights. After all, we often fail because of little things in the interpersonal sphere. Why is that?

Don't we first have to understand ourselves, our dependencies, our culture and our ties? Do we not have to become aware of our habitual generalizations? Isn't it only then that we can better understand the situation of others, their dependencies and their behavior? Isn't it this basic understanding of ourselves and of others that makes understanding possible in the first place? And don't we need this elementary understanding in order to work together on solutions?

Many questions, which we approached to some extent in the course of our interpersonal course. We got an idea of what is possible and necessary. And a desire to continue working on it!