For me, research, education, and practice belong together. A selection of current projects and publications.
Kiez Connection
Socio-spatial innovation practice to promote participation, self-efficacy, and democratic engagement of young people. Together with Prof. Dr. Anabel Ternes von Hattburg, I am scientific co-lead of this ESF+/BBWA development project at the World Cleanup Institute (WCI) at BCBT. In Berlin’s Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district we are developing a four-phase participation model for young people in transitional life situations; implementation is led by YSI – Young Social Innovation.
Participation does not emerge from yet more programs. It emerges from relationship, trust, and tangible self-efficacy.
More about Kiez Connection at WCI →
Funded by the European Social Fund Plus with resources of the European Union and the State of Berlin (BBWA).
Planet & Pixels and Digital Cleanup Day
Alongside the physical cleanup movement, digital sustainability is my second pillar. Through Planet & Pixels I brought together Let’s Do It’s environmental commitment with Fujitsu’s technical expertise – an adult education program on data waste. The annual Digital Cleanup Day makes the topic practical.
Every streamed film, every installed app, every email causes CO₂. Every like has a footprint. And the cloud is not a cloud in the sky – it consumes enormous amounts of energy.
Holger Holland
According to estimates, digital data cause around 900 million tonnes of CO₂ per year (digitalcleanupday.de). Lean methods such as the 5S strategy help make professional and private routines more resource-efficient and productive. Data quality and data culture are therefore not peripheral technical issues but key ecological and economic questions – also for the efficiency of AI systems.
Learning series “Planet & Pixels – Together for a Sustainable Data Culture” at BCBT (from February 2025) and impulse workshops at Freie Universität Berlin and THEX – Thuringian Centre for Business Start-ups, among others.
Publications
- Wir schaffen Zukunft (2025) – contribution to the book, presented at the Greentech Conference at PIABO in Berlin on 21 May 2025. wirschaffenzukunft.de
- The Influence of Soft Skills on Sustainable Communication in Virtual Teams in Small and Mid-Sized Environmental NPOs (2023, in German) – thesis. PDF
- Kiez Connection – model concept for socio-spatial youth participation, April 2026 – co-authored by the scientific leads