Who Am I?

The Nomad is a series of stories, fascinations, encounters, observations, experiences, joy of the moments by me, Ulrike Reinhard – all around my travels. Stay tuned!

Ulrike Reinhard is The Nomad 🙂

The first I experienced was my family, in Heidelberg, Germany. The city back then was still ‘colonised’ by the American GI’s – they had chosen this old university town as their headquarters after World War 2. I remember vividly my days in kindergarten and at school – my teachers had quite a hard time ‘taming’ me. I was ‘labeled’ student at the Mannheim University of Economics (Marketing and Human Resources). Besides my studies I practiced ‘hands-on’ work at the German Television stations ZDF and ARD – they were partially financing my studies and thesis.

My travels led me to more than 120 countries and I’ve spoken with even more Nobel prize laureates, leading scientists, company executives, activists and ‘normal’ people on the ground. I visited war zones, some of the most remote areas on this planet, I’ve seen the wilderness and the mega cities and I slept under the stars, in cars, private homes, and countless hotels – all this opened new horizons and perspectives for me. A vast and rich pool of experiences and observations. I felt that we were not always told what I experienced by myself and I started to question why is this so? The only answer I could come up with so far is – it is interest driven what people / organisations would show and tell you. Which is a fair deal, but it wasn’t what I was looking for.

I opted to observe and experience the ‘unfiltered’ version, the version which is not influenced by media, government, people or corporate interests. Therefore I was never employed at any company – companies require ‘filtered’ perspectives. I always worked as a freelance consultant and interestingly enough media, governments and corporations would hire and pay me for my ’unfiltered’ views. My clients include Bertelsmann Foundation, NATO, Kiel Institute for the World Economy, ZDF, CoreMedia, next practice, Synaxon AG, Google (think quarterly), Facebook – just to name a few. I shared my observations, views and experiences on seven TEDx stages and discussed them at multiple MIT / Havard University / United Nation workshops with students around the world and I published more than 50 books and magazine with the focus on the Internet and its capacity to ‘unfilter’ and create all kind of WE’s.

In 2012 I touched ground in India for the first time. Not even in my most lucid dreams I saw myself in India for 10 years. But this is what happened. I got the chance to start a social experiment in a remote area in Madhya Pradesh and I was drawn into it. I’ve built a skatepark in a small village called Janwaar. My vision was that this skatepark would disrupt the local community to an extend that it would break down old caste-dominated structures and create better living conditions for all the villagers. The skatepark gave the village a new identity all villagers were proud of and it created a greater WE among two former separated castes. The project became well-known as Janwaar Castle and it was multiple times named as one of the biggest transformation processes in rural India.

My laptop and smart phone are my only constant travel companions. Over the years I minimalized my life to the extend that I don’t have a physical home anymore – I travel light, I am a nomad. I have my suitcase and an open mind. And I go where my heart and mind are leading me. No plans. ‘Life is happening while you are busy making other plans’ – John Lennon once famously said. Imagine!

I immerse myself in the moment – no matter where I am.