18/09/2026
I almost didn’t come this year.
I have had a year that turned everything upside down. A family situation that mattered more than anything else. Months where the question “why am I even doing this?” lost its meaning.
And suddenly, everything else sorts itself out.
Still — a week ago I sat on the plane to Munich. GSA Convention. The theme: “Together We Rise.”
You don’t rise alone. You rise through connection.
Three people showed me what that means:
meckel — awarded the German Speaker Prize 2026. Der Deutsche Rednerpreis 2026. Her thought on the self-dialogue as the foundation for real connection stays with me. So well deserved.
mahlodji — who stood on stage, told his story, and made my heart move. Connection you can’t stage. It happens — or it doesn’t. Only if you’re open.
Daniela Ben Said — who stepped off the stage into the audience. Her message: make others bigger. I have no photo - too busy to listen to her.
And in between: real people. In the hallways, at the standing tables, on the benches in the sun. No networking theatre. Just conversations where something was at stake.
I didn’t come home rich in contacts alone, came home rich in growth together with people. 🤍
Sometimes life gives you exactly what you need…
Peggy Amelung I Human Experience Strategist
