Luca Julie Kuhlmann: Building bridges for international cooperation

Luca Julie Kuhlmann grew up in Dorsten, a town in the far north of the Ruhr region. The fact that she is enthusiastic about many things was not only due to the fact that school came easily to her. "My parents always encouraged me to pursue my interests," says Kuhlmann. Her participation in the JuniorAkademie NRW, where she attended a course on biomimicry and bionics, was the initial spark for everything that was to follow and also testament to her wide range of interests. "The JuniorAkademie was formative because it was the first time I met like-minded people who were passionate about their interests, creating a motivating environment." A year later, she immersed herself in the world of business at a summer academy in Lithuania. "Part of this was a final concert rehearsed together with Lithuanian students. I was able to experience first-hand what international understanding means," says Kuhlmann.

Understanding and encounters were also the focus of a project that emerged from an educational partnership between her secondary school and the Jewish Museum of Westphalia. "Thanks to a dedicated religion teacher, we were very fortunate to take part in various educational projects on Jewish religion and culture," remarks Kuhlmann. What was mentioned in passing in a subordinate clause never left her: the Kindertransports to Great Britain to bring Jewish infants and young people to safety from the Nazis. Luca Julie Kuhlmann began by outlining the historical context in a paper written in English. The focus of her work, however, was a video interview with Erika E. Estis, a 97-year-old contemporary witness who now lives in the USA and has since passed away. "Never before or since have I met a person who radiates so much wisdom and courage," mentions Kuhlmann, who was awarded the Margot Spielmann Prize by the Jewish Museum of Westphalia for her thesis.

Following on seamlessly from this, Luca Julie Kuhlmann went to London with Aktion Sühnezeichen Friedensdienste to work at the Leo Baeck Institute, the leading research institute for German-Jewish history and culture. There she looked after the website and social media channels, organized lectures and film evenings and checked the institute's own collection of pamphlets for digitization. She did all of this while working from home, as her time and work in London were severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and two hard lockdowns. During this phase, she felt the need to make a more active contribution to society during the crisis. So she trained as a volunteer vaccinator with St John Ambulance to vaccinate people every week at vaccination centers all over London.

Luca Julie Kuhlmann became aware of the ZU Student Academy while she was still in high school. "A young, small and modern university that claims to think differently, to dare to do new things and thus to do pioneering work: the idea of the university immediately appealed to me," explains Kuhlmann. Intrigued by the format, she even attended twice, first taking a communication course and then a business course. Even before her year abroad in England, she had been accepted for a place at university - and for a ZU scholarship.

Contrary to what her interests at the Student Academy might suggest, Luca Julie Kuhlmann studied the PAIR Bachelor's degree from the third semester onwards. She switched there from the SPE Bachelor's degree because she was offered a position as a student assistant at the Chair of Global Governance and was elected Deputy Chair of the Club of International Politics e.V. "This made me realize that I am particularly fascinated and enthusiastic about the field of international relations. Among other things, I wanted to find out more about what happens when different countries and cultures come together in international organizations and what it takes for the global community to work together constructively," explains Kuhlmann.

International organizations, conflict management and human rights are topics that Luca Julie Kuhlmann dealt with during her studies at ZU and during her semester abroad at the University of California, Berkeley. Here she analyzed the risks and opportunities associated with the exclusion of states from international conventions; there she investigated how human rights are linked to climate change in particular and global health in general and how digital investigation can be used to prove human rights crimes. "I am particularly grateful for the funding from the German National Academic Foundation and the Gips-Schüle Foundation, which allowed me to think about opportunities in a completely different way and made the semester abroad possible in the first place," notes Kuhlmann.

What taught her just as much as the political science courses was her involvement in student initiatives and university politics. "That's what makes ZU special: that you can directly apply what you learn in the courses in discussions with personalities from politics and diplomacy," notes Kuhlmann. She put her heart and soul into her work on the board of the CIP. The association has a long tradition of building a bridge between the city, students and international politics. "I couldn't have wished for a better team at my side - consisting of some of my closest friends," says Kuhlmann, who stepped down from the board a year ago. "It's great to see that the association is continuing to develop so well."