Stick together - shape the future

The event location is the Wappenhalle at Munich’s former airport, where a long ago, countless travellers set off, pursued their dreams, and returned home. The traditional BurdaForward Kick-off takes place  on 23 January 2020. Together we determine the route for the upcoming year, prepare our fleet for sea, set sail and set off.

In rough waters

When the countdown starts for the first time, 500 colleagues take their places in the Wappenhalle. The stage is opened by the host duo Lisa Brack (CHIP) and Jan Schenk (The Weather Channel), who introduce the start of the year with a metaphor: We are in the middle of the ocean. A stiff breeze blows challenges for the media industry. Right in the middle of it all, the BurdaForward fleet bravely defies the waves and passionately sails towards the future. 

Now it's up to CEO Oliver Eckert to tell us where the ship is heading. BurdaForward thinks differently, constantly reinvents technology and makes news that are close to the hearts of our users and their problems. We are decisively different because we offer constructive journalism that gives more room to the positive and offers comprehensible solutions.

Fit for the future

The interactive workshops in the late morning are all about making our digital publishing house fit for the media world’s future. Rapid changes require the transformation to a flexible organization. Heads are put together, success models are presented, thought patterns are questioned and strategies are developed.

The insights are supplemented by exciting impulses from outside the company. For the third time in a row, 60 content partners are taking part in the annual kick-off event. The Publisher Day of the Conunity network founded by BurdaForward occurs simultaneously to the kick-off. In a subsequent panel discussion, Alexander Lucke of the Hamburger Morgenpost and Werner Heise of regional heute allow the audience to participate in this valuable exchange together with Marie-Anne Hollenz of BurdaForward. 

Jörg Löhr, mental coach of Germany’s Gold-winning national handball team of 2007, reports on poor to mediocre arguments of persuasion, which act like hand brakes. In his impressive talk, Löhr explains how to solve these and be successful.

Enthusiasm is the neurobiological premise for success.“

Dreaming of a cruise

At the end of the event, we welcome a very special guest. Dr. Axel Lankenau is the single parent of Jonas (14) and Felix (12), who both suffer from pontocerebellar hypoplasia and are severely disabled. Axel Lankenau has founded the initiative "Cruise for Life" together with other affected parents. Their dream is to enable the children to go on a cruise together. The journey is to be accompanied by doctors who hope that observations made during the cruise will provide new insights into the disease and better treatment options.

How does this relate to BurdaForward? FOCUS Online reported on the family and their dream of a cruise together – in consequence, numerous donations for the initiative were received overnight. Thanks to the visibility that BurdaForward helped Lankenau to achieve, the cruise ship can set sail in summer 2020. This is what defines and drives BurdaForward: The chance to make a positive lasting impact on people's lives.

Letting loose and drifting off

After the content program welded together and inspired BurdaForward’s employees, the crew ends the day in high spirits by unwinding, letting loose and showing that an ocean crossing is not only stormy but also fun. The highlight is the premiere of the BurdaForward band "The Green Orange", who stimulate the audience with their drums, electric guitar and strong voices and get everyone on the dancefloor.

Keeping together - shaping the future: This is how BurdaForward starts the new decade.