"The world is facing many challenges. People are very worried about their future and at the same time the number of people with mental illnesses is increasing. With this series of events, we want to encourage people to shape their lives in a fulfilling way and to see challenges and crises as opportunities," explains Prof. Dr. Mike Hoffmeister from Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences. Hoffmeister is an intercultural expert on the topic of happiness and is the initiator of the event series.
The series of events is organised together with the Rotary Club Gifhorn-Wolfsburg and takes place under the patronage of the Wolfsburg Health Region. The Dean of the Faculty of Business, Prof. Dr. Denis Royer, emphasised the close cooperation between the Faculties of Business and Health and Health Care Sciences and the Wolfsburg Health Region. City Councillor Jens Hofschroer supported the joint active commitment and thanked Ostfalia for this important topic. "Hope is a driving force in overcoming challenges," he said. Prof. Dr. Sven Sohr, Professor of Life Coaching and Positive Psychology at the German University of Applied Sciences for Health and Sports in Berlin, gave the opening lecture "Principle of hope in the 21st century? Areas of tension between man, nature and technology." Afterwards, the founder of the Swiss Hope Barometer, future and hope researcher Dr. Andreas Walker, presented his most important findings on "Hope as a self-competence and future competence". Ostfalia students Alina Schefer and Omkar Bairagi presented the results of various international online and face-to-face workshops on the topic of young people's concerns about the future from an intercultural perspective. In a subsequent panel discussion, the topics were discussed in greater depth with Henrike Richter, psychologist at Ostfalia and chair of the youth counselling service mondoX e.V., and Christina Hadler, Head of Occupational Health Management at Ostfalia.
Finally, Hoffmeister interviewed Andries Oosthuizen, South African Deputy Ambassador in Berlin. In moving words, Oosthuizen described the transformation path of the forgiveness workshops initiated by Nelson Mandela and their impact to this day, as well as the hopes that South Africans have today. At the end, Hoffmeister invited all visitors to a get-together. There, the topic of hope was discussed with the speakers and visitors until late in the evening. In addition, voluntary organisations presented their services, such as the Wolfsburg Drug and Youth Counselling Service, the Wolfsburg Child and Youth Protection Association, Bildungshelden gGmbH, the KISS self-help contact point in Wolfsburg, BE YOUR OWN HERO e.V. and the MondoX youth counselling service.
At the event, the Rotary Club of Gifhorn Wolfsburg collected donations for children and young people in need in the region and South Africa. The President of the Rotary Club of Gifhorn-Wolfsburg, Ingo Krüger, announced that every small donation would be doubled by Rotary. "We want to give the children and young people a perspective," added Krüger. "The event was a complete success and I am delighted that this concept has been so well received," hoffmeister summarises and is already looking forward to the 12th Ostfalia Happiness Event in spring 2026 - then with a focus on "Positive Leadership".
The happiness event was recorded and is available on the YouTube channel "Happiness and a fulfilled life": www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMeQWwy0caw (external link, opens in a new window)