Queer@HHN
Love who you love. You belong here.
Department for Equity and Diversity
The HHN is committed to gender diversity and aims to meet the needs of trans*, inter*, non-binary and queer students and employees as effectively as possible. To this end, we raise awareness amongst the university community, provide contact points and create safer spaces,
This webpage serves as a comprehensive resource, offering insights into our various initiatives designed for queer students and employees, upcoming events, counselling services, and much more. Whether you identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community or are an advocate for an inclusive society, here you will find information and resources to enrich and support queer life at our university.
Information
LGBTQIA+ group of the AStA
AStA is the General Student Committee. A website for the AStA's LGBTQIA+ group is currently under construction. There is a WhatsApp group for queer students where you can exchange ideas and share event information.
To get in touch with the group, please contact the AStA's Department for Student Services, Social Affairs and Equality.
Gender-inclusive communication
In German, as in many other languages, gender plays a significant role. Words are often gendered as masculine, feminine, or neuter. This gendered language can have exclusionary effects and reinforce gender stereotypes.
Therefore, in communication, HHN has chosen to use gender-inclusive language with the gender asterisk (*) in German.
Glossary of Diversity
The Diversity Glossary explains terms and concepts relating to different dimensions of discrimination. Currently only in German.
Change in Record of Name and Gender
You can now also change your name and/or gender entry online. This can also be done by submitting a self-disclosure application form.
Queer Empowerment Space
Since the winter semester of 2025/26, a "Queer Empowerment Space" has been held once a semester for students and staff at HHN, providing a safe space to share experiences and learn from one another. It is organised by Yvonne Tang.
Rainbow Flag Display
Since May 22, 2023, a rainbow flag has been displayed at all campuses, and a HHN flag featuring a rainbow design has been displayed at the Education Campus as a symbol of diversity, tolerance, and solidarity.
What began as an initiative by the AStA for Pride Month 2022 with a donation of rainbow flags and was continued by the Department for Equity and Diversity has also been endorsed and supported by the university administration since the summer of 2023.
Protection Against Discrimination and Bullying
If you have experienced discrimination, bullying or harassment you can find confidential advice and support at HNN.
Discrimination might sometimes be hard to identify as such and is not always clear-cut. Please do not hesitate to contact us even in such situations as these. We can help you.
Spirituality and Queerness
Hi, my name is Brendan Copley and I’m from Ireland. I normally live in Madrid, with my husband. I work as an English language teacher and am also a priest with the Open Episcopal Church, a Christian Church that believes and practices inclusion. I also work in the Chaplaincy Department.
I am particularly interested in helping LGBTQIA+ people reclaim their spiritual space. If you are a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, or are LGBTQIA+ friendly/curious, and would like to chat (in English or Spanish, my German is very basic) about any issue, whether you are a Christian believer or not, please contact me. I’d love to hear from you.
Mobile (preferably via WhatsApp): +49 172 5703670
Email: bfrancisspain@hotmail.com
Restroom for Everyone / Unisex Restroom
There is a unisex restroom on the Bildungscampus. The restroom for everyone ("Toilette für Alle") is located on the ground floor (T.0.25) of the T Building (Building 14).
There is a unisex restroom at TechCampus. The restroom for everyone ("Toilette für Alle") is located in Building A on the 5th floor, in rooms A518/519.
FAQ - Frequently asked questions
Student Group: There is the AStA's LGBTQIA+ group (AStA = General Student Committee) and they have their own WhatsApp group. They also publish their events on instagram. They get together to play (board) games and bake cookies together.
Contact Point against queerphobia: Daniele Nuccetelli and Yvonne Tang offer support to people in the LGBTQIA+ community. To be transparent: we are both part of the queer community but cis.
Queer Empowerment Space: We plan on having a queer empowerment space once per semester for students and employees at HHN to connect and learn from each other.
Network: There is a queer association in Heilbronn. regenbogen-hafen.de Unfortunately, the website is in German only.
There are student residences consisting of studio flats, so you would have your own bathroom. A shared flat ("WG" short für "Wohngemeinschaft" in German) is cheaper and usually consists a single room in a flat shared by two or four people. You can find further information here: hs-heilbronn.de/accommodation
Unfortunately, we cannot promise that you will not experience discrimination in a shared flat. In Germany, the residents of a shared flat usually try to get to know you first to see if you all get on well before taking on a new flatmate.
Visibility
Diversity Days is an annual series of events focusing on the various dimensions of diversity, initiated by the Diversity Charter. Since 2023, the event has evolved from a single day of activities into a multi-day programme that invites students, staff and members of the public to engage with the many facets of diversity.
Through information sessions, opportunities for discussion and hands-on activities, Diversity Days create a space for interaction, reflection and dialogue. Together with partners from within the university and beyond, different dimensions of diversity are highlighted and impetus is provided for respectful and inclusive coexistence.
The events take place at the HHN’s various campuses and, in some cases, in digital formats. The aim of Diversity Days is to raise awareness of diversity, to bring the diversity of perspectives to life and to demonstrate that diversity affects and enriches us all.
Photographer: Natalie Emilia Pflaumbaum
Diversity Day 2023: Photography Project
Under the guidance of political educator and photographer Sara Sun Hee Martischius and diversity adviser Yvonne Tang, the photography project for students was created. This was offered as a course in the General Studies program in the summer semester of 2023.
Participants in the course share their own perspectives, question existing viewpoints, and use photography as a means of empowerment.
As a university group at the first major CSD Heilbronn
On 29th June 2024, HHN participated in the first Christopher Street Day (CSD) in Heilbronn. The Department for Equity and Diversity and the AStA Department for Equality and Student Affairs, along with over 30 interested members of the university, joined in and marched together.
On 5 July 2025, Leo Albinsky and Lars Basilowski from the AStA gave a speech at the rally on Kiliansplatz, emphasising the importance of queer visibility and solidarity.
On 11 July 2026, members of the HHN once again took part in the CSD under the slogan “Queer stays here.” and marched with a banner bearing the words “You’re exactly where you're meant to be”.
Through its annual participation, the HHN underlines its commitment to open and democratic coexistence. This is entirely in keeping with its guiding slogan: “You’re in the right place here.”
Further external Links
On the website of the Network LSBTTIQ Baden-Württemberg e.V., you can find member organizations of the LSBTTIQ network that offer counseling or self-help services. While the linked page focuses on refugees, there are several organisations offering help to everyone.
Handbook germany is a project by neue deutsche medienmacher*innen and is supported by the Federal Ministry of the Interior and for Homeland, as well as the Commissioner of the Federal Government for Migration, Refugees and Integration, and the Commissioner of the Federal Government for Anti-Racism. Here you can find information in Arabic, English, French, Pashto, Persian, Russian, Turkish, and Ukrainian.
