Perspectives: Our Land

"Perspectives"—the new series from VHS Hilden-Haan and Evangelische Erwachsenenbildung Hilden: In a brief presentation, two experts outline their perspectives on the evening’s topic. Two viewpoints, two perspectives. More complementary than contradictory.
First Perspective: Manuel Wagner works within the (young) Working Group on Peasant Agriculture on issues of just land policy, access to land, and the connection between urban and rural movements.
His statement: “Land is the foundation; without land, there is no (human) life. Whoever controls land has power. Yet only a few people know who actually owns the land. The sell-off is accelerating; land is increasingly becoming an object of speculation, and purchase and lease prices are becoming unaffordable for local farmers. Yet it is precisely these farmers who maintain fertile soil and sustain ecological and social cycles. They think and act in terms of generations, rather than in the short term and with a focus on maximum yield. In doing so, farmers resist, day in and day out, an overcapitalized agricultural industry that measures land solely by numbers and thinks only in terms of short-term, annual returns.”

Second Perspective: Manuel Blendin is an adult educator and has been working at the trias Foundation in the field of education and communication since early 2026. Both professionally and personally, he has long been engaged with socio-ecological transformation in various areas of society.

His statement: “Land is a finite resource and the basis of life for both people and nature. That is why we must advocate for land to be treated as a common good. The trias Foundation removes land from speculation and grants it to housing projects under hereditary building rights. Communal and cooperative forms of housing strengthen social cohesion and democratic self-organization, and generally require less land than many other forms of housing.”

Following the experts’ statements, the floor will be open for a collective exploration of the topic in the form of a World Café: questions and thoughts, ideas and perspectives. In conversation with the speakers and moderators. At the end, a joint conclusion: What is the current state of the topic? What new perspectives have emerged? What, if anything, came as a surprise?