#rp24 speaker Georgine Kellermann: The long road to myself

Georgine Kellermann made a career as a foreign correspondent at WDR, held senior positions at the public broadcaster - and led a double life for over four decades. While she had long lived as a woman in her private life, she still took on the role of the male read head of the office in her professional life. Coming out as a trans woman was planned for the day she retired – the fear of no longer being accepted in the media industry was too great. The black costume had already been bought and the speech prepared.

But things turned out differently: in 2019, on her way to vacation, she accidentally ran into a former colleague in women's clothing – and opened up about her identity as a woman. The game of hide and seek came to an end. Since then, she has been campaigning for the rights of queer people and for more tolerance and visibility in our society. At re:publica, Georgine will be talking about her new book – an encouragement for everyone to live the life they really want to live.

Georgine already started writing for the local newspaper “Rheinische Post Ratingen” before graduating from High School. In 1983, shortly after the launch of the daily WDR evening program "Aktuelle Stunde", she applied for a freelance job there and became a regional correspondent for the city of Duisburg and the Lower Rhine area. In 1992, she became editor of the “ARD Morgenmagazin” (ARD morning show), which had also just been launched, and reported as a correspondent from Bosnia, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Hong Kong and Russia, among other places. In 1997, she moved to Washington to report from there as a correspondent for ARD together with Claus Kleber, Tom Buhrow and Sabine Reifenberg. In 2002, Georgine went to Paris for five years as an ARD correspondent, then headed the ARD office in Bonn from 2006 and finally became Head of the Duisburg office of WDR in 2014. In 2019, Georgine became Head of the Essen office of WDR.

At #rp24, we are looking forward to inspiring discussions with Georgine about acceptance and self-love as well as her new book "Georgine – Der lange Weg zu mir selbst. Meine Befreiung als trans Frau nach über 60 Jahren" (Georgine – The long road to finding myself. My liberation as a trans woman after more than 60 years), which will be published on May 30, 2024.

#WhoCares: An interview with Georgine Kellermann.

The Motto of re:publica 24 is „Who Cares?“. Whom or what are you currently caring about?

I care about acceptance and visibility. Especially on social media. And I also look after myself.

What do we care about too little as a society?

As a society, we take too little care of others. For those who need protection. And respect. And appreciation.

Is there a person, movement or institution that inspires you in their care for a particular issue?

Donald Tusk and his people's movement in Poland impressed me. Because they have shown that it is possible to stop anti-democratic movements. In Germany, I am impressed by "Palais fluxx" because they are admirably committed to the visibility of women beyond the 47.

What would you like to talk about at re:publica?

I want to talk about acceptance. And the love for ourselves that we should all cultivate.