It is now 20 years since Facebook went online as the first social media channel. Since then, the functionalities and breadth of the social media have mushroomed. Today, the social networks are a firm part of society and Facebook has to vie with many other Apps for users’ attention. In its second exhibition, BE.LIKE.ME. Social media and me, Stiftung Welt der Versuchungen (the World of Temptations Foundation) is highlighting an everyday phenomenon that has long since come to define our lives, our health, and how we interrelate – and can most definitely be addictive. The largely interactive exhibition opens on Thursday, August 15, at 7 p.m. at Anger 28/29 (entrance on Lachsgasse) and will run thru’ November 15.
Since the Noughties, Apps such as Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), Insta and BeReal, Youtube, Snapchat and TikTok have been booming – almost each and every one of us has a profile somewhere, posts items, images, and videos, and frequently comments on those of the others. In the Smartphone age, these media permeate our personal, political and social lives, our professional and private lives. Irrespective of where, it is always: Now! We use social media to keep in contact and for information, social participation, to search for partners, to consume, to distract ourselves, for stimulation, and not least in order not to miss anything, and to reinforce our self-esteem in the chase for likes.
The one side to all this is that these changed living habits on the one hand offer us opportunities while, on the other, demanding a lot of us mentally, physically and in terms of defending our privacy. The flip side is that they can promote addictive behavior. The exhibition will discuss these aspects from the users’ perspective with all interested parties and with a special focus on young people and families.
Among the wealth of possible topics, the exhibitions will specifically spotlight these issues by drawing on current positions in science and art: What human needs do the social networks address? What are the benefits and the risks? How is my behavior as a user influenced by algorithms? Why do we need likes and why can they put us under pressure? How do they generate FOMO (the Fear of Missing Out) and a fear of rejection? How does the use of social networks impact on our system of rewards: passively as children, and actively as teenagers and adults? Where is point when user behavior tips and becomes addiction? How can I defend myself against this or break with habits?
BE.LIKE.ME. Social media and me
A Stiftung Welt der Versuchungen exhibition
Venue: Anger 28/29, entrance on Lachsgasse
Duration: August 16 thru’ November 15, 2024
Press Q&A: August 15, 2024, 1 p.m.
Vernissage: August 15, 2024, 7 p.m.
Opening hours: daily 11 a.m. - 6 p.m., Thursday 11 a.m. - 8 p.m., Tuesday closed, open for school classes by reservation from 9 a.m.
Image: Key Visual, BE.LIKE.ME. Social media and me – a project by Stiftung Welt der Versuchungen. Created with Midjourney by Naroska, 2024.
The construction and furnishing of the exhibition house is supported by:
With the support of:
Partners:
Media partner:
HOW ARE YOU – THE SOCIAL MEDIA AND YOU
... was the question that the World of Temptations Foundation asked school students at the IGS Erfurt and the TGS Albert Einstein schools in Sömmerda, accompanied by workshops and a handout for the teaching staff. It asked the young people to give on answer each in the form of an image and a short text. The exhibition features over 30 Smartphones with single-image stories, often accompanied by lyrical texts. They encourage visitors to swipe the screens and give an idea of the lifeworlds relating to social media usage by the 14 to 17-year-olds.
The results are astonishing. They attest to impressive creative power and lock into the liberating scope art offers. Some of the young people used the texts and images to demonstrate how through the platforms they give greater depth to the their analog interests; others show how they are well aware of the excessive time they spend on-screen, the pull of Instagram, TikTok et al., the news that initially seem real and then prove to be fake news and leave on perplexed.
One thing often expressed in the workshops was: “I can’t stop myself using the social networks simply because everyone else does”; “I grab my mobile because I don’t want to think of something unpleasant”; or “at dinner, even my parents’ mobiles lie on the table next to them”.
This series is meant to prompt visitors to explore the topic, discuss it with families and friends, and negotiate some Golden Rule: How shall we handle Smartphones when at table? How to deal with them when meeting friends? Where are social-media-free zone?
Take part with your school class! The handout provided here for teaching staff was compiled together with the SiT’s Prevention Center and contains exercises and methods for a critical discussion of the social media.
Download:
handout for teachers (in German)
handout Maria Mavropoulou (in German)
handout Volker März (in German)
ERFURT CALLING
A project for participation, empowerment, and addiction prevention among young people
July 2023
The Foundation Welt der Versuchungen invited two school classes in the state of Thuringia to redesign two old telephone booths. The goal: little islands of wellbeing. The designers: students from the ninth grade of the Albert Einstein Staatliche Gemeinschaftsschule in Sömmerda and the IGS Erfurt.
In workshops and in collaboration with two artistic mentors – Julia Heinemann from the Bauhaus University in Weimar and Michael Künstler from Erfurt – the students developed design concepts for the conversion. Ideas were discussed. There was some thinking, talking, negotiating, measuring, calculating (limited purchasing budget), sketching, and building. And it quicky became clear that music would play a key role – as part of this generation’s lifeworld, their own identity, and an expression of creativity.
Grade 9b from IGS Erfurt redesigned their telephone booth as a club toilet that from the outside looks like a “confessional” (Beichtstuhl) – both places where gossip and dark secrets are exchanged, where frustrations and joys are shared. TGS Albert Einstein in Sömmerda used graffiti, books, and photos for their “dance party” (Tanzi) and created a feel-good place to hang out, listen to music, read, dance, and reflect.
With an open-air presentation, the finished booths were exhibited for a week (July 6–12, 2023) in downtown Erfurt and made available to the public – as a social mini-space, as a temporary private capsule, and as a place of music and exchange to span the generations. Visitors were able to connect their smartphones to the built-in Bluetooth speakers and listen to their own playlists or those of the students. The old, recycled telephone booth in the public space was thus given a new, cultural use in the public space by the cellphone generation.
“What does ERFURT CALLING have to do with addiction prevention? Various things: three days of thinking, sketching, exchanging ideas, and negotiating, all done in an entirely analog way, to find out what constitutes a feel-good place within just 1 x 1 x 2.20 square meters. The key question: What is good for me? The answer: most of all music, as well as dancing, community, and unleashing your own creative resources. Making music and art oneself is soothing and empowering in all situations in life. Then there’s the attention from the public when the work is exhibited. Being seen, being praised. This brings happiness and joy. All this is empowering and helps prevent addiction,” says Susanne Rockweiler, curator and first chairperson of the Foundation Welt der Versuchungen.
The booths will be on display again in the ON A NIGHT TRIP exhibition from October 20 to December 10, 2023, in the Defensionskaserne barracks on the Petersberg.
Stiftung Welt der Versuchungen exhibition closes, and the overall assessment is positive.
3,400 visitors, of whom one third were school students. 40 objects by up-and-coming and internationally renowned artists and from the world of science. No deterrents, no finger raised in moral admonishment: With its “ON A NIGHT TRIP. Between a feeling of happiness and crashing to the earth?“ exhibition at the Defension Barracks on Erfurt’s Petersburg, in fall 2023 Stiftung Welt der Versuchungen embarked on a new direction in addiction prevention. The overall assessment of the show is favorable, both retrospectively and looking forwards.
“Visitors exceeded our expectations in two respects,” comments Susanne Rockweiler, Chief Curator of Stiftung Welt der Versuchungen. “On the one hand, as regards the number of school classes, families, and individual visitors who took part in our guided tours or interacted with our education staff. On the other, in terms of their openness and the quality of the discussions that evolved.” The interaction with visitors took place during guided tours, in the exhibition, and in the framework of the countless events organized as part of the accompanying program. In the Foundation’s slightly unconventional Counter-Top Conversations, among others internationally famed musician Tabea Zimmermann and renowned researcher into addiction Prof. Rainer Spanagel discussed “Addiction, Music, Happiness, and the Neurosciences”; scientists Gregor Burkhart and Maximilian von Heyden analyzed international differences in handling psychoactive substances; and Prof. Christiane Stock, who works at the Charité Berlin, used the Virtual LimitLab to explain new findings in alcohol prevention. At the Kinoklub Erfurt movie theater, visitors together viewed the topical feature film One for the Road and then discussed dependency and the way out of it with people affected by addiction and persons active in addiction prevention / support.
The press response to the exhibition was likewise good. The German national press reviewed it positively, and this included the print media dailies, from “FAZ” to “BILD”, radio stations from Deutschlandfunk to Radio F.R.E.I., and TV channels from MDR to Salve TV.
The insights gained with ON A NIGHT TRIP will now be brought to bear in our next exhibition, which Stiftung Welt der Versuchungen is busy planning for summer 2024 on the topic of “social media” – and naturally also in our new exhibition hall, which the German federal government is helping fund and is scheduled to open in winter 2026-7 in Erfurt. “ON A NIGHT TRIP spawned many a conversation, encouraging people to ponder and revisit their thinking. At the same time, we ourselves learned a lot for our future work,” says Susanne Rockweiler. “Our assessment: We’ve made a first mark. This was possible thanks, not least, to our partners and supporters. We would in particular like to thank our Scientific Advisory Council with Gregor Burkhart, Katja Naie, Sarah Ancelle Schönfeld, Rainer Spanagel, and Maximilian von Heyden, SiT Addiction Support in Thuringia, as well as all our backers, the Thuringia Ministry for Labor, Social Affairs, Health, Women, and the Family, AOK Plus, and Sparkassen-Kulturstiftung Hessen-Thüringen.”
Participating artists were: Nevin Aladağ, Asana Fujikawa, Stefani Glauber, Anatol Hanau, Martin Parr, Adrian Piper, Alona Rodeh, Sarah Ancelle Schönfeld, Philipp Stöckel, Nasan Tur and Paula Wolber.
Catalogue: 10 EUR*
Poster: 5 EUR*
Edition "Ritus" by Asana Fujikawa: 320 EUR* (Edition: 20 uniques, picture variant)
*plus shipping fee
If interested please contact us via E-Mail to
The non-profit foundation 'Welt der Versuchungen' is the initiator of an innovative project. Its approach is to combine addiction prevention, health promotion and the arts in a new exhibition space. In this way, the foundation seeks to address as many people as possible, reach them in their very different worlds and draw them in with music, visual art or powerful installations which invite discussion and self-reflection. The aim is to break down clichés in order to enable an honest approach to the topic.
The exhibition concept goes hand in hand with cultural education work that addresses different target groups. The visitors – regardless of age – are invited to become active themselves. After the tour of the exhibition, visitors can respond to what they have seen and experienced in their own works. For school classes, special visual and practical workshops are offered. Participants can create drawings, sculptures, raps or comics. Furthermore, the house will offer lectures, discussions, readings and concerts, as well as further training for multipliers. The intention here is for the exhibition to become a special, open space for sociopolitical debates on the topics of addiction and intoxication at the interface of science and art.
The Foundation has a Foundation Board. It currently consists of five individuals from different disciplines – such as addiction prevention, health management or cultural education.
An advisory board has been set up to provide scientific support for the exhibition house.
TEAM
Dr Susanne Rockweiler
First Board Member | Chief Curator
Phone: +49 361 - 30 25 79 31
Denise Seifert
Project Development
Phone: +49 361 - 30 25 79 36
Susn Kuchenreuther
Administration | Board Office
Phone: +49 361 - 30 25 79 30
Sara Stehr
Research Associate
Phone: +49 361 - 30 25 79 34
Saskia Hüger
Research Associate (Neurosciences)
Phone: +49 361 - 30 25 79 34
Andrea Radtke
PR and Marketing Officer
Phone: +49 361 - 30 25 79 32
Marieluise Hörner
Research Assistant
Phone: +49 361 - 30 25 79 30
Saly Dabaa (currently not on duty)
Administration | Assistance
Phone: +49 361 - 30 25 79 33
Vera Jurickova
Administration | Assistance
Tel.: +49 361 - 30 25 79 33
Justus Borzym
Trainee PR and Marketing
Tel.: +49 361 - 30 25 79 32
Julia Meyer
Social Media
Tel.: +49 361 - 30 25 79 32
f.l.t.r. 1. row:
Marieluise Hörner (Student assistant),
Susn Kuchenreuther (Administration)
f.l.t.r. 2. row:
Thomas Bader (Chairman of the Foundation Board),
Denise Seifert (Project development),
Dr. Susanne Rockweiler (First Board Member, Chief Curator),
David Fritzlar (Second Board Member, Management Suchthilfe in Thüringen),
Katrin Schnell (Vice Chairwoman of the Foundation Board, Head of the SiT Präventionszentrum)
ON THE GENESIS OF THE FOUNDATION
Addiction prevention and preventative healthcare face particularly great challenges in an era hallmarked by change and the coronavirus pandemic. In times of such health burdens on society, it is essential for addiction prevention to offer particularly effective and attractive services.
Addiction prevention should help to change and stabilise people’s behaviour in such a way that they can return to alternative ways of behaving, especially in critical life situations. Effective prevention techniques should generally be invisible and established in our everyday living environment.
The question of how this can be done effectively has been addressed for many years by the staff at the prevention centre of SiT – Addiction Support in Thuringia – on behalf of the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Health, Women and Family. In this context, the idea arose to address citizens about addiction and health in new ways and to create a forum for encounters and dialogue that arouse their curiosity.
A visit to the German Emigration Centre in Bremerhaven sparked the fuse that led to the idea of developing attractive places and services for addiction prevention. Why shouldn't we dare to think bigger and beyond the usual in our work?! Why shouldn't there also be a house for addiction prevention and dealing with addictions, a place where visitors can actively experience and learn new things?
We conducted the professional discourse with our Thuringian partners in addiction support, the Thuringian Ministry of Health, the state offices for addiction prevention, addiction support and health promotion, the Finder Academy Berlin and the ginko Foundation for prevention in Mühlheim an der Ruhr as well as the nationwide addiction self-help network. There was consultation, discussion, philosophising and construction, and we finally landed on an idea for this overdue step in a new direction.
Ultimately, we had a vision in 2017: All focal points of addiction prevention should be reflected in this house, e.g. alcohol and tobacco prevention, "addiction in old age", prevention of addiction in companies, pathological gambling, excessive media behaviour, self-help, etc.
It would be possible for new materials and methods developed on a statewide or national scale to be adopted promptly and by different target groups (kindergartens, schools, parents, anyone interested in the topic, companies...).
We imagined the following programmes:
The Experience House as an opportunity for all visitors to gain knowledge and participate; should take on a special position in the museum landscape as an innovative place of exploration and mediation.
But what use are all the good concepts in the world without basic funding?
What great luck it was then that we were able to convince Carsten Schneider, now Minister of State, Federal Government Commissioner for Eastern Germany and Erfurt Member of the Bundestag, as well as Heike Werner, Thuringia’s Minister of Health, of our idea. They were the ones who created the financial basis for the idea of the exhibition centre that would become 'Welt der Versuchungen'.
At this point, we would like to express our immense gratitude to all those who are committed to and inspired by the 'Welt der Versuchungen'.
Katrin Schnell, Head of the Prevention Centre for Addiction Support in Thuringia
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FOUNDATION
The Foundation Welt der Versuchungen celebrated its establishment in Erfurt, the state capital of Thuringia, on 28 March 2022. This marked a milestone on the path to realising the exhibition centre. The Foundation Welt der Versuchungen is the initiator of a new exhibition centre at the interface between science and art. It is dedicated to old and new temptations and addictions – from drugs to social media – and will explore them from different angles.
The federal and state governments have joined forces in response to this important socio-political issue: the exhibition centre will receive 20 million euros from the German Bundestag as well as support from the Thuringian Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Health, Women and Family. It is being developed in cooperation with “Suchthilfe in Thüringen”, a charitable organisation offering addiction and prevention services.
Health researchers, prevention experts and artists will be thinking about themes surrounding the “world of temptations” together. This offers new possibilities for reflecting on addiction and living well as well as for initiating debates. The combination creates potential for bringing different target groups on board and building bridges – between the individual fields of research and the art forms of music, visual art, dance, and film.
Carsten Schneider, Member of Parliament, Minister of State
Federal Government Commissioner for Eastern Germany
[…] Prevention and education about the dangers of addiction continuously demand cutting-edge answers. In this context addictive behaviour is not just a medical or psychological problem, it is a continual challenge facing society as a whole. This is precisely why the emerging “Haus der Versuchungen” – with its new, open and multi-perspectival approach – offers a great chance to establish a pioneering addiction-prevention pilot project in Erfurt that will influence the entire country. […]
Heike Werner, Minister
Thuringian Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Health, Women and Family
With the “Welt der Versuchungen” Centre, Thuringia is to become home to a cognitive and experiential world that is the only one of its kind in Europe, enabling a broad target audience to acquaint themselves with the theme of addiction in an interdisciplinary and modern manner. By linking together addiction prevention, health promotion, science and art, the Foundation Welt der Versuchungen is striking out on historic new paths in addiction prevention. It is thus a pleasure for me to be able to accompany and support this exceptional project as Thuringia’s Minister of Health.
Katharina Schenk, Principal Secretary
Thuringian Ministry of the Interior and Local Affairs
[…] As a cognitive and experiential world which engages with individual people’s lived realities, interactively inviting them to use it to inform themselves and reflect, the project breaks with numerous antiquated taboos from the field of addiction prevention. In the end – and this is the decisive point – it strengthens the ability of citizens, young and old, to consume and take risks responsibly. I am particularly proud of the fact that, here in Thuringia, we were able to launch such an innovative and unique beacon project, which will draw attention from throughout Germany. […]
Thomas Bader, Chairman of the Foundation Board
[…] The operation of a project like this should be managed through an independent body. A foundation seemed like the appropriate form to us. The “Welt der Versuchungen” Foundation now serves as the organisation responsible for managing this concept’s realisation and for shaping complex enquiries into addictions, new and old, as well as a healthy and free life into exhibitions that convey knowledge and simultaneously inspire, surprise and repeatedly spark fresh curiosity. […]
The Foundation Welt der Versuchungen is the initiator of a new exhibition centre that is situated at the intersection of science and art. It focuses on temptations old and new and addictions – from drugs to social media – in order to illuminate them from the perspective of related scientific fields, such as health research, and from the arts. The new house is thus pursuing an innovative approach to addiction prevention.
The German Bundestag has enabled this project with 20 million euros. It is also supported by grants from the Thuringian Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Health, Women and Family and has been developed in cooperation with the Prevention Centre of the addiction support services in Thuringia. The task of addiction prevention is to help people to become mature and to lead healthy and free lives. The question of how this undertaking can succeed has still not been clearly answered.
As a living space, the exhibition centre takes an interdisciplinary approach. This collaboration between artists and experts from different disciplines will result in a transitory gathering of minds that does not abolish disciplinary boundaries entirely, but perhaps sets them aside for a brief, productive moment.
This in turn creates new connections and opens up previously unknown prospects for the future. Light and shadow are illuminated: On the one hand, the longing for a change of consciousness, boundless freedom or simply the desire to get one’s life back; on the other, a search for thrills and the compulsion that goes with it.
The focus is on themes such as consumption and loss of control, as well as mindfulness, health and identity. Exhibitions and programmes explore these issues from both a historical and contemporary perspective in the contexts of society, science and art. They invite people of all ages to reflect and enable spontaneous encounters across all social groups.
The exhibitions are accompanied by education programmes and tailored to the respective target groups. These programmes include visual and practical workshops – the results of which could include writing a rap, comic or video – lectures and debates, concerts and performances, as well as further training for multipliers.
Addiction has been a social issue for decades and is still critical today. The consumption of tobacco and alcohol was curbed prior to the coronavirus pandemic through a series of measures. Nevertheless, in Germany as in other countries, more and more addictive substances – legal and illegal – are becoming more readily available. Demand is increasing across all levels of society. Behavioural addictions such as eating, gambling and shopping addictions now play an equally significant role as workaholism or social-media addiction.
The question follows: what happens in our brains and bodies during intoxication? With all addictive substances and actions, neurotransmitters in the brain ensure a change in consciousness and thus control our behaviour. When the reward and pleasure centres are activated, we feel happy and satisfied. And who among us is not in search of feelings of happiness and well-being?
When does an evening glass of wine, shopping, one’s eating habits or being online become pathological? When does the high turn into a crash? And are there alternatives to a feeling of happiness without the occasional blues? How can the desire for intoxication without risk be integrated into our lives? And where do the terms ‘addiction’, ‘longing’, ‘seeking’ and ‘temptation’ intersect? These questions are complex and motivate people young and old to find answers.
The theme of this exhibition centre concerns (almost) all of us. An honest and intergenerational discourse has been opened – in Erfurt, in Thuringia and beyond Germany.
Construction of the exhibition building for the “Welt der Versuchungen" (World of Temptations) enters the next phase
The announcement of the competition for the planning of the architecture and the outdoor areas for the construction of the first exhibition building for the prevention of addiction (it will be financed with German Federal government funds) sounds the starting gun for the construction of the “World of Temptations” building. Architectural practices and landscape architects are now called on to express their interest in participating in the competition for the new build and outdoor areas on the Huttenplatz square in Erfurt. The complete tender documents can be consulted in the European Gazette at: https://ted.europa.eu/de/notice/-/detail/370158-2024.
Stiftung Welt der Versuchungen is the developer for the exhibition hall, which is receiving funding during the project phase from the State of Thuringia Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Health, Women, and Family Matters. The foundation has initiated construction of the new exhibition building on the basis of its methodological focus on linking addiction prevention and health promotion with related scientific fields and the arts. In this way, the exhibition hall seeks to provide a supplementary approach to addiction prevention. The construction project has been made possible thanks to some EUR 20 million provided by the German Bundestag.
The City of Stadt Erfurt is the official organizer of the competition for the public outdoor and mobility zones adjacent to the exhibition building. By including these, located at the northern entrance to Erfurt Old Town, the exhibition building will then enjoy more attractive surroundings.
The objective behind the competition is to create an ecologically sustainable and high-grade urban space that invites citizens of Erfurt and Thuringia as well as guests from all over Germany to familiarize themselves with issues relating to ‘temptation’, whereby these range from drugs to the social media – with the topics presented in excitingly surprising ways. Dr. Susanne Rockweiler, Chief Curator and Chair of the “Welt der Versuchungen” foundation explains that “the model project is also expected to set an example when it comes to the architecture. To this end, we require spaces that in a clear and convincing way enable new and pioneering forms of work while at the same time possess a shape and an aesthetic that will take the breath away, encouraging people to pause for a moment, spend time in them, and contemplate the topics we address.”
The focus is on display areas for the permanent exhibitions and for special shows as well as spaces for conventions, for creative workshops, and for educational work.
The results of the planning competition will presumably be announced at the end of November 2024. All competition entries will be presented in a public exhibition.
State of Thuringia Minister of Health and State Parliamentarian, Heike Werner:
“Anyone who has headed up a construction project knows full well that it is rarely easy. So I am all the more delighted that the construction of the exhibition building for ‘World of Temptations’ is now going into its first concrete phase with the announcement of the planning competition. I’m convinced that the new exhibition hall will make a modern and high-quality contribution to prevention and education work in support of the addiction support services. We need new concepts in addiction prevention and I feel certain that in the German context the ‘World of Temptations’ will uniquely go down new paths in this regard.
Minister of State and Federal Government Commissioner for East Germany, and Bundestag MP:
“The ‘World of Temptations’ has achieved a really important milestone with the launch of the architecture competition. With not inconsiderable funding from the Federal government and the State of Thuringia, a location will come to be that will have an impact well beyond the region, I am sure. The combination of art and science, prevention and health promotion in an innovative and sustainable building will set new standards and give people greater resolve. Which is why I am so looking forward to seeing the design proposals and the ingenious ideas that will be realized here.
City of Erfurt Councilor for Culture, Urban Development, World Heritage, and specialist judge for the planning competition Dr. Tobias J. Knoblich:
“The idea underlying the choice of location is that the exhibition building will enhance the appeal of the city as a whole and upgrade the downtown area around Huttenplatz square. With the construction of the exhibition building for the “World of Temptations” we will be taking a major step in repairing the city’s fabric.”
The complete tender was announced in the European Gazette at: https://ted.europa.eu/de/notice/-/detail/370158-2024.
THE IMPLEMENTATION PHASE HAS BEGUN
With the Erfurt City Council’s decision on a location, permitting the construction of a new building in the centre of Thuringia’s capital, the Foundation Welt der Versuchungen has reached another milestone in realising its initiative to create an innovative exhibition centre. The centrally located Huttenplatz is a fitting site for creating the modern and sustainable building that will house the exhibition centre in future. “With Huttenplatz we have found a place in Erfurt that is centrally located. A modern exhibition centre here at this site enhances the image of this area as a portal to the city centre,” said Erfurt’s mayor Andreas Bausewein at the foundation’s press conference on 13 February 2023.
Architecturally – but also in terms of content – the centre made possible by the federal government and supported by the Thuringia’s Ministry of Work, Social Affairs, Health, Women and Family has entered into its implementation phase. Its opening is planned for the autumn of 2026.
“Temptations loom large – particularly in our consumerist society. We are all subject to this pressure, which leads people to reach for the bottle or other drugs and become unable to maintain control of them,” says Carsten Schneider, Minister of State and Federal Government Commissioner for Eastern Germany. “This foundation will set new standards in the field of addiction prevention in Germany.”
The centre devotes attention to the theme of health and addiction in a new way. Content is developed in an interdisciplinary process, with scientists and artists thinking it through together – a concept that has never been seen before in Germany or Europe. With the federal government, the state of Thuringia and the city of Erfurt, the Foundation Welt der Versuchungen has three strong partners at its side as it realises of this model project.
The goal of the Foundation Welt der Versuchungen is to create a centre that will examine the theme of addiction in a multi-perspectival way, continuously provide surprises and deal with current issues in a cutting-edge manner. It will offer new possibilities for reflecting on addiction and living well and for initiating debates about these topics – among young people, in families, in schools and among experts.
“We have to thematise the social problem of addiction in order to be able to reach society in a preventative, integrative and interactive sense. A centre like this can make it possible to successfully launch a new societal discussion about drugs and addiction as well as intoxication and health consequences. The ‘Welt der Versuchungen’ is a catalyst for advancing the development of addiction prevention in Germany,” emphasises Burkhard Blienert, the Federal Government’s Drug and Addiction Commissioner.
Thuringia’s Minister of Health Heike Werner adds: “It’s all about doing addiction prevention that has lasting effects. The ‘Welt der Versuchungen’ will form an important building block in this context – with the distinctive feature that it’s a genuinely innovative concept.”
First Exhibition in the Autumn
The Foundation Welt der Versuchungen has also been able to move a step further in terms of developing its formats for presenting content. Until the new centre opens, they will be showing one smaller-format exhibition per year: these will help the exhibition organisers to learn which content works well and can be transferred to the centre.
The first exhibition, “On a Night Trip”, can be seen from 20 October to 10 December 2023 in the “Defensionskaserne” on Erfurt’s Petersberg hill. It looks at nightlife, and the contrast provided by this foil is used to better reveal how we function in our everyday lives. Susanne Rockweiler, Chief Curator of the Foundation Welt der Versuchungen points out: “Concerts, clubs and parties are longed-for sites for shared experiences of music and with music. They are free and creatives spaces and sites of emancipation. ‘On a Night Trip’ examines nightlife as a collective experience. Scene, sound and image also explore its diverse societal, social and aesthetic links in the context of ecstasy, identity/identities, resilience and safer clubbing. They launch a discussion about health in the context of partying and the ability to consume responsibly in the middle of society: new, surprising, experimental.”
Images below:
1) Speakers at the “Welt der Versuchungen” Foundation’s press conference (l to r): Carsten Schneider, Minister of State and Federal Government Commissioner for Eastern Germany; Dr Susanne Rockweiler, Chief Curator of the “Welt der Versuchungen” Foundation; Heike Werner, Thuringian Minister of Health; Burkhard Blienert, the Federal Government’s Drug and Addiction Commissioner; Frank Sonnabend, initiator of the “Defensionskaserne”; Andreas Bausewein, Mayor of Erfurt; and Thomas Bader, Chairman of the Foundation Board
2) Members of the media at the press conference
3) (L to R) Burkhard Blienert, the Federal Government’s Drug and Addiction Commissioner; Heike Werner, Thuringian Minister of Health; Dr Susanne Rockweiler, Chief Curator of the “Welt der Versuchungen” Foundation; Carsten Schneider, Minister of State and Federal Government Commissioner for Eastern Germany; and Andreas Bausewein, Mayor of Erfurt, at the press conference about the location of the new exhibition centre in Erfurt, viewing the first architectural designs for the centre, which were created by children, school pupils and university students
4) Panel of speakers at the press conference