Stephanie zu Guttenberg – The “5 Premium Speakers Questions”
Stephanie zu Guttenberg has been involved in digital education and media awareness for over 20 years. She sees herself as an education and digital activist with a vision. She wants to play an active role in shaping and driving forward Germany’s digital development. Since January 2019, she has therefore been working for digital education as a co-partner and in the area of corporate development at the social impact startup BG3000. In this role, she forges links between business, politics and education.
As a keynote speaker, she talks about education, future generations, gives tips on how to use digital tools and presents important aspects of modern education plans.
Stephanie zu Guttenberg in an interview:
1. What are the core subjects of your keynote speeches?
My speeches, interviews, and presentations focus on digital and media education topics, dangers and risks, and opportunities and possibilities of digitization. I address educators, parents, families, politics, and society because digitization concerns us all!
Typical topics are the digital transformation in the German school system and German community, how to deal with digital media and tools, fake news, digital dangers such as cyber grooming, sexting, or cyberbullying, digital tools in the education landscape, and where there is still a need to catch up, as well as the international comparison of the German education system with the education systems of other countries.
Another topic I address in my speeches and books is digital citizenship. Furthermore I occupy myself with the concept of “life-long-learning”, and which role companies will play in the continuous education of their existing work-force in order to keep up with the speed of digital developments.
2. Which audience or which branch do you reach with your speech?
In my presentations and interviews, I address the respective target group. For example, if the audience includes business leaders and corporate decision-makers, the focus topics and how I address them differ from those for politicians, multi-faceted audience, or education activists. In general, I address parents, families, educators, politicians, and society, because the topic of digital education runs through the entire community and cannot / must not be viewed in isolation. In addition, I have solid experience speaking in front of large and mixed crowds. They range from education and school decision-makers to business and politics.
3. Are you a PREMIUM SPEAKER? Where do you get your insights from?
I have decades of in-depth experience in public speaking and addressing large audiences. In addition, I have been working in digital and media education for decades. I have held various leadership positions in companies and foundations and published multiple books on the subject here. As a mother of two daughters, I know the opportunities and dangers of the digital world from personal experience in the USA or Germany, as in other European countries. I have also given countless lectures, conducted interviews with the press, radio, and television, and published reports and books. Furthermore, I have an extensive network of experts in this field.
4. What will be in the future? Does «time» play an important role in your work?
Despite many challenges, I am optimistic about the future and firmly believe that few things are more devastating and wrong than burying our heads in the sand. The children and young people of this world are our future. I am committed to the new generations in our world. They are growing up with digital tools and media and need to learn how to deal responsibly with and in them. Time plays a significant role in this respect because we finally must step it up a notch: We must stay caught up in this highly technologized world. When will we finally realize that there has been enough talk and that we must now act? Digital competence belongs on the curriculum in every school! We can’t waste more time – we’ve already wasted too much.
5. Tell us your life motto? What do you want to give your listeners to take with them?
It is difficult for me to choose a single motto for life because there are various aspects that come to mind. My motto can be summarized as follows: “Just do it! Don´t always aks what can go wrong? Also ask: what if it goes right?”
I also stongly believe in the following African proverb:
“If you want to go fast: go alone. If you want to go far: go together!”