Sivany Kanagalingam: Committed advocate for democracy

1983 was the year in which the decades-old conflict between the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka turned into a civil war, which only ended in 2009. "Even today, the Tamils are systematically discriminated against," mentions Kanagalingam. "My parents, for example, were denied access to higher education." Having fled the immediate consequences of the civil war, the family finally settled down and made Stuttgart their home. At the turn of the millennium, Sivany Kanagalingam was born as the third child and only daughter.

She grew up with both German and Tamil culture and language. "I really appreciate and am grateful to my parents that they taught my brothers and me Tamil and made it possible for us to go to a Tamil school alongside our German lessons. Otherwise I would have learned much less about myself and my path between the two cultures," says Kanagalingam. "Growing up with two cultures also means comparing the two and questioning them critically."

When she was forced to give up her handball career due to several torn ligaments, she used the energy and time freed up to help others and take on responsibility. Her classic path at grammar school led her from class representative to head girl. She also qualified as a youth mentor to tutor younger pupils or help them with their homework. The start of a domino effect, as she says herself. "A lot of what was to come, however, had to do with the fact that I met people along the way who showed me paths and opened doors that I didn't even know existed," Kanagalingam mentions.

It was a teacher who drew her attention to the Stuttgart East Youth Council. "At first, I had no idea about local politics at all. But because I was curious, I stood for the Youth Council," says Kanagalingam. As an elected member of the Youth Council, she campaigned for an expanded public transport system and smart benches, among other things; as an expert, she took part in the urban planning competition "A new Stöckach" and thus contributed the perspective of a young person on a new urban quarter in Stuttgart.

In order to sensitize and inspire young people for (local) politics, she became a member of Team Tomorrow e.V. during her time on the Youth Council. This is a non-profit association that aims to empower as many young people as possible to get involved in democracy. "I enjoyed working for the association so much that I did an FSJ there after graduating from high school," says Kanagalingam. And this was in a super election year - the election of the mayor of Stuttgart, state elections in Baden-Württemberg and federal elections in Germany - and in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. "That's why the entire FSJ was about coming up with projects and campaigns to persuade young people to go to the ballot box and cast their vote," reports Kanagalingam.

Working in a community on a socio-political issue: She was not only able to do this in local politics, but also in theater and drama. Referring to the project "Against Forgetting" by photographer and filmmaker Luigi Toscano about survivors of Nazi persecution and the parable "Brown Morning" by Franck Pavloff about the gradual loss of freedom in a totalitarian state, the youth ensemble from LOKSTOFF! developed a mobile concept to take the message - never again to allow exclusion and dehumanization, never again to allow totalitarianism and fascism - into schools. "Theater in public spaces offers a wonderful opportunity to set an example and encourage people to get involved," remarks Kanagalingam, who has received numerous prizes and awards for her own commitment. "Although these honors confirm and reinforce, it means much more to me when people around me appreciate me and what I do," remarks Kanagalingam.

Sivany Kanagalingam had already applied for a place at ZU during her A-level exams. Of course, it was no coincidence that she chose ZU: "In Stuttgart, I kept bumping into people who had studied at ZU," says Kanagalingam. "Ultimately, however, the prospects of studying at a small university with a lot of community, freedom and support outside the box and getting involved in student initiatives together with others were the deciding factors."

At the same time, she admits that she struggled with the initial difficulties of finding her way in the world of a private university. "The student initiative FirstGen@ZU, where you can exchange ideas with other students from non-academic backgrounds and support each other with problems, helped me to settle in. That's why I'm still on the board of the initiative today, to give others the same help that I experienced myself," says Kanagalingam, who was also a board member of the Club of International Politics e.V. and is still active today as a university group spokesperson for the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and as a student ambassador for the state of Baden-Württemberg.