Dear readers,

Summer is here. For many, it is a time to pause, to get away, to let go.

A time when our horizons broaden – away from the dense interior of our work and towards other rhythms. And sometimes it is precisely this distancing that brings something crucial back: a new perspective. A feeling for what is essential. And for what may have been overshadowed in everyday life.

With a little distance, it is clear what our oe-tag, which took place a month ago, has made possible: on 13 June, almost 100 people gathered at the Bildungshaus Riesenklein in Halle an der Saale under the motto “There is still much to be said” to engage in dialogue and search for traces of German-German history and stories in organisations.

What has stayed with us since then is not so much the programme itself as what happened in between: genuine listening, nuanced storytelling, shared vulnerability. A space where difference was not a hurdle, but an invitation.

This day was multifaceted. Personal, intimate, outstanding. And precisely because of that, moving.

With summer comes the desire not to simply put these experiences aside, but to carry them forward into the future. Not as a to-do list, but as inspiration.

• What calls out to us when we pause for a moment?
• What wants to be heard when the everyday noise becomes quieter?
• And how can this openness find its way back into our work?
• Perhaps that is the real luxury of summer: not (just) relaxation, but resonance.

We wish you a summer that nourishes you – and a keen eye for what really matters.

And we are delighted when we can SOCIUS salon next week See you again – with an open space for East-West stories in organisations. No agenda whatsoever. Just open ears and inviting questions.

Not everything has been said yet. But some things have become audible.
And we carry on.

Julia Hoffmann