COVER

imagofeminae.  summer 2025 XLV

BIOGRAPHY 

Echoes of Change:

A Life Committed

Published: August 27, 2025 Berlin

ESSAY
by Eva Quistorp, on the occasion of her 80th birthday

Turning eighty invites me to look back — not only at the years I have lived, but at the movements, struggles, and solidarities that have shaped me. My life has been full of experiences and opportunities, yet what defined it most was the commitment to speak up and to act.

My journey in activism began early. I was drawn to the women’s movement, to the anti-nuclear movement, and later to the environmental and peace movements. These were not abstract causes; they were urgent questions of how we should live together, how we could protect life on earth, and how we could create a society based on justice rather than fear. I learned that change never happens by itself. It requires courage and persistence — but above all, solidarity. Those years gave me a lasting sense of responsibility: not to remain silent, but to stand for what is right.

The founding of the Green Party was one of the most exciting chapters of my life. It was a new political project, a new vision, born out of the desire for ecological responsibility, social justice, and human rights. I had the privilege of serving on the federal executive board, helping to shape policies and strategies. Later, as a Member of the European Parliament, I could bring these values to a broader stage. Political work is rarely easy; it demands listening, building bridges, and sometimes compromise. But the lesson I carried with me was clear: never lose sight of the principles that brought you there. Those years taught me about leadership, about the long breath of commitment, and about the resilience of hope.

My work also carried me far beyond Germany. I participated in UN conferences, international gatherings, and visited countries where human rights were under threat. I traveled to Chile and Brazil, to Eastern Europe before and after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and to Iran, Hong Kong, China, Russia, Belarus, and Nicaragua. In each place, I encountered courage — women and men who, often at great risk, insisted on their dignity and their rights. Their struggles reminded me that activism is never only local. It is global. We are all connected, and solidarity across borders is not an option; it is a necessity.

Looking back today, I see not only the struggles but also the friendships, the creativity, and the hope that carried us forward. My life has been shaped by the belief that another world is possible — and that each of us has the responsibility to contribute, in whatever way we can, to bring it closer.

IMPRESSUM

COVER EVA QUISTORP

imagofeminae COVER ISSN 2195-2000 Deutsche Nationalbibliothek. EDITORS: Dipl.-Psych. Paiman Maria Davarifard. Alicja Wawryniuk, imagofeminae  summer 2025 2025 XLV  © Berlin 2025 by imagofeminae.com. Mail: editors(at)imagofeminae.com . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.