HÆDI

Carolin Kühn: The organization Engagement Global is tasked with raising public awareness of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals in an accessible way. In 2024, we came together to consider how we could meaningfully combine this mission with our role in the tourism sector—namely, creating great experiences for our guests.

In the summer, St. Peter-Ording is a place where people from all kinds of different regions come together. We wanted to use precisely this “coming together” to make an important topic accessible, positive, and tangible—and that’s how HÆDI came to be: a participatory festival that inspires people to act sustainably without pointing fingers.

Carolin Kühn: At HÆDI, the focus is on the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. We translate them into concrete informational and hands-on activities so that they become understandable and, ideally, become part of everyday life. These include, for example, an escape game, workshops (on topics such as energy), an “unfair” soccer goal challenge, and many other interactive formats. The experience is complemented by music, quizzes, regional food offerings, and a market area—because learning works especially well when it’s fun.

Regarding the impact: In our second year, we conducted an on-site survey of visitors in collaboration with the Westküste University of Applied Sciences. This provides us with reliable feedback on what insights and inspiration people actually take home with them.

We also consistently strive to organize the festival as thoughtfully and resource-efficiently as possible. In 2025, Green Events recognized us as the first event to receive their sustainability seal. HÆDI is primarily promoted online via our website, as well as through press relations. More information is available here.

Carolin Kühn: Unfortunately, sustainability is rarely a “bargain” in the event industry—above all, it means taking a close look, weighing the options, and staying the course. We very consciously scrutinize many decisions and, whenever possible, choose the option that conserves the most resources. Here’s an example: Instead of a high-profile “dishwashing station,” we’ve opted for pragmatic reusable solutions that better fit our overall concept.

At the same time, it’s important to us not to engage in greenwashing. That’s why we rely heavily on upcycling and focus on our own, transparent measures—including a self-organized waste monitoring system—so we truly know how much waste is generated and where we can improve.

And when reuse isn’t possible, we look for alternatives: for example, banners that can no longer be used the following year are repurposed into bags.