FREUDENBERG STIFTUNG Informiert

FREUDENBERG STIFTUNG informiert

The first 20 Years of the Freudenberg Foundation 1984 – 2004 Table of Contents

Foreword of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees 3

About this report 9

Integration and immigration 11

Sinti and Roma 29

Young people between school and working life 39

Learning democracy and assuming responsibility in school and the community 55

Employment for mentally ill people 71

Developing local models in selected areas and city districts 81

Developing, supporting and disseminating our projects 95

Annexes 109

Foreword of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees

The Freudenberg Foundation, established in 1984, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. We believe this is a good occasion to look back on the work it has done so far.

The Foundation was born when members of the Freudenberg family decided to transfer a part of their holdings in the Freudenberg company, which until then had been owned exclusively by family members, to a non-profit foundation. Since then the Freudenberg Foundation, having the legal form of a non-profit limited company, has been a partner of the company – albeit without voting rights. Günter Freudenberg took the decisive first step when he transferred limited partnership capital shares. According to his request, the Foundation was to concentrate on sociopolitical issues and be managed according to professional criteria. When the managing bodies were formed, he – so as to set a good example – did not want to be a member himself. The Board of Partners with five members and the Board of Trustees comprising nine persons control the fortunes of the Foundation. The Board of Partners, in which the company holds only two places, appoints the Board of Trustees and, together with the latter, the Executive Director. Apart from that, its work is limited to defining the financial framework every year and it has the final decision when the Board of Trustees wants to make any fundamental changes in the Foundation’s program or guidelines. That, however, has never occurred in the past two decades. The objectives of the Foundation – as is the case in most statutes of foundations – are formulated only in a very general manner. Accordingly, the Foundation’s objective is to promote the sciences and education as well as peaceful coexistence in society. Based on its statutes, the Foundation also can do „charitable“ work. Therefore, the first task facing the Board of Trustees twenty years ago was to accurately define the Foundation’s fields of activity. The thematic profile created in this way during the Founda- tion’s first two years has proven to be both open to necessary developments and stable at one and the same time.

The Board of Trustees was able to continue the thematic interests and experiences of the company and individual partners. Thus, the areas of interest pursued by the Foundation were not chosen „out of the blue“ but can look back on a long tradition. An outstanding example is the so-called „Ettlinger Kreis“ founded by Hans Freudenberg, which was headed first by him and then by Hermann Freudenberg for 20 years up until the middle of the 1970s. The most significant topic of interest of this circle of entrepreneurs and scientists, which, by the way, was not very popular with industrial associations, was

3 reforming the general and vocational education of young people. The „Ettlinger Kreis“ was succeeded by the „Stiftung Ettlinger Gespräche“ within the „Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft” (Donors’ Association for the Promotion of Humanities and Sciences in Germany), which also was headed by Hermann Freudenberg. This foundation was interested in the topic of immigration and integration and to this end developed a model project for the vocational and social integration of primarily „foreign youth“, which was realized in Weinheim with funds from the Freudenberg company in 1979. Based on the pattern of the „Weinheim Project“, the program of RAA, short for „Regionale Arbeitsstellen zur Förderung ausländischer Kinder und Jugendlicher“ (regional centers for the promotion of foreign children and adolescents) was developed and built up in nine cities in the Ruhr district between 1980 and 1984 with funds from the Federal government, state and municipal governments as well as the „Stiftung Ettlinger Gespräche“. When the Freudenberg Foundation was established, the Board of Trustees decided to continue this thematic tradition and, thus, also took over the projects of the „Stiftung Ettlinger Gespräche“ in its program. It had, so to say, a flying start. The same holds true for another area of concentration of the Foundation: Pro- fessor Rudolf Freudenberg, who had emigrated to England, proposed opening psychiatric wards and finding ways to reintegrate mentally ill people in their communities. He was particularly concerned with the question as to how these people could find work, and he was able to prove the feasibility of these suggestions on the basis of practical models.

Therefore, in the past two decades, the Foundation has dedicated its work to the following five areas. Firstly, the integration of immigrants and cultural minorities in a society that has become an immigration society as well as the hostile and discriminating reactions facing them. Secondly, the promotion of a democratic culture, since this is a prerequisite for peaceful coexistence in society. In this respect, the main focus – in a positive sense – is on promoting projects with the objective of teaching democracy and individual assumption of responsibility in schools and communities and – in a negative sense – of combating extremist, above all right-wing extremist, influences on the everyday culture in which young people grow up. Thirdly, the Foundation concentrates on assisting young people who, particularly due to social discrimination, encounter problems at school and in the system for attaining vocational qualifications. Fourthly, reintegrating mentally ill people into working life as well as increasing society’s awareness of their specific problems. This area has achieved numerous significant goals in the past 20 years and will no longer be continued as a separate area of activity.

The other three main areas of activity will continue to characterize the Foun- dation’s profile in the future. Assuming it is correct that foundations should be active primarily „anti-cyclically“, i.e. that they are not supposed to do what is

4 being politically promoted anyway, then the areas of interest defined by the Board of Trustees when the Foundation was founded were well chosen because they still respond to sociopolitical deficits today: inadequate policy of immigration and integration, insufficient democratization policies, in particular in eastern Germany, and insufficient education and vocational training policies. The Foundation can be glad and also a little proud of the fact that it did not give up its areas of interest, even when only very few people were interested in them. Up until today – and despite the PISA study – such topics as youth, education and vocational training do not enjoy political priority. The influences of right-wing extremism on everyday life no longer rate news cover- age, even though the same misdeeds as before are occurring every single day. Although the linguistic and social integration of immigrant families is being discussed in public again, no appropriate action is being taken.

At first glance, it may seem that a foundation which allocates between Û 1.7–2 million per year is trying to realize a confusingly broad thematic program. Yet, in fact, the three areas overlap and are closely interconnected. All areas are concerned with the problems of social discrimination and lack of recognition. Moreover, children and teenagers are the center of attention: the Foun- dation strives to promote the social, linguistic, educational and vocational integration of the next generation. Based on our past experience, this calls for a broad approach that encompasses the families, the neighborhood and surrounding environment, the institutions responsible for education and assistance as well as the possible occupations and employment market. A frequently quoted wise saying claims that only a couple is needed to bring a child into this world but a whole village is needed for the child to be raised well.

Based on this maxim, it can be concluded that if the village, the city district, the „social environment“ of the family gets into difficulties, this will affect the young children and youth. For this reason, we have decided – as a fifth area of interest – to concentrate our efforts on individual towns or city districts where there is great need of development. We want to apply the experiences gained in our other three areas of interest there and contribute to the development of local models of urban renewal as well as the intensification of „integration potentials“. We hope that in this way the interrelationship between the three main areas of interest – integration, vocational qualification, learning democracy – will have an actual effect on the persons concerned.

Although a description of its thematic areas of interest and sociopolitical objectives is certainly important when characterizing the Freudenberg Foun- dation, its work gains true color only when one looks at „how“ these objectives are realized. The basis for this is formed by the guidelines, which we have not had to change in the past twenty years. Accordingly, the Foundation is primarily an „operational“ organization. In other words, even though it accepts

5 applications and supports interesting projects, it does not wait for others to present their ideas but develops projects itself together with its partner organizations. In doing so, it responds to innovation gaps caused by bureaucracies and tries to find solutions by developing practical models. For this purpose, it calls on scientific studies to identify such gaps. Yet, frequently, the experiences gained in the course of practical project work disclose such innovation gaps.

Whenever practical models have proven their worth, usually in a local context, the Foundation tries to make them public, ensuring that they are sustained and implemented elsewhere as well. It cannot cope with this task on its own; therefore, from the beginning, the Freudenberg Foundation, when this was still very uncommon in Germany, endeavored to set up partnerships with state institutions and collaborate with other foundations. This is a good occasion to thank them for their multifaceted advice and the good cooperation – representative for all the Bernard van Leer Foundation and the „Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft“ (Donors’ Association for the Promotion of Humanities and Sciences in Germany), which acted as sponsors at the beginning. Whenever we were unable to find partners, we sometimes participated in the establishment of foundations and associations. Without their commitment, wealth of ideas, initiatives and trustful cooperation, the activities of the Freudenberg Foundation would certainly have taken a different turn.

In this connection I would like to emphasize the close cooperation with the Robert Bosch Foundation during the initial phase of the German Children and Youth Foundation, the Amadeu Antonio Foundation, the „RAA“ (regional centers for issues regarding foreigners, school and youth work in the new Ger- man states and the promotion of children and adolescents from immigrant families in North Rhine-Westphalia), the Center for Turkish Studies and the Center for Democratic Culture, which actively and effectively points to the dangers of a right-wing extremist everyday culture.

Our first and most important partner as far as the practical implementation of projects is concerned was FGM (Forschungsgruppe Modellprojekte e.V.), and we would like to express our special thanks to them. Together with FGM, the Freudenberg Foundation established the „Stiftungs- und Fördergemeinschaft Modellprojekte GmbH“ (SFGM), where we manage and assist foundations that have approached the Freudenberg Foundation because of the affinity of their areas of interest with ours. Thus, for example, close relations have been formed with the „Lindenstiftung für vorschulische Erziehung“ (pre-school education), the „Karl und Ria Groeben Stiftung“ (intercultural and interreligious understanding) and the „Heinrich Stoess- und Gerda Koepff Stiftung“ (promotion of Roma). We would like to thank all of you for your trust and the fruit- ful symbiosis.

6 The following report will not only discuss projects, but also describe the many different activities that precede, accompany or follow the actual project work: conferences, meetings, expert opinions, memos, studies, cooperation. Yet, in the final analysis, they all refer to concrete problems of persons with names at identifiable places and to the practical actions taken. If I were asked to describe what I, from a partner’s vantage point as observer, found most fasci- nating, then I would name the characteristic mixture of very concrete small initiatives and sociopolitical effects: in a small town in the Saarland some women felt disturbed by a group of unemployed teenagers hanging out on the streets and frequently getting into trouble. These women founded a club for the teenagers in the school with the help of the Freudenberg Foundation. The RAA did the same thing in Hoyerswerda. The Robert Bosch Foundation developed similar ideas in its program „Practical Learning”. The „Deutsche Kinder- und Jugendstiftung” (German Children and Youth Foundation) developed them further together with RAA and other partners. Thanks to the foundation supported by us for 10 years, there now exist thousands of student clubs. We could tell many such stories. Some will be related in the following report.

All of this could not be initiated and managed by a foundation working along the following lines of receiving applications, having a board of trustees decide about the allocation of funds and a small administrative staff reviewing the reports and proof of the utilization of funds. The Freudenberg Foundation most certainly owes its profile to a Board of Partners that has set a reliable framework, given sound advice, controlled gently and, apart from that, exercised „the art of restraint and letting things happen” as well as a Board of Trustees that lent direction to the work of the Foundation and has accompanied it with wise advice and committed support.

Throughout the past two decades, the Foundation about whose activities we are proud to report here was created, formed and managed by my prede- cessor as Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Hermann Freudenberg, the Exe- cutive Director of the Foundation, Christian Petry, and the administrative staff who daily define the meaning of an operational foundation. If anyone is to be congratulated on the anniversary of this institution then it is they.

Dr. Reinhart Freudenberg

About this report

Actually, it was tempting to write a completely different report: a report that does not describe sociopolitical objectives, innovation gaps in measures taken by bureaucracies, thematic concepts, methods and forms of work and sustainability of projects, but rather a report that concentrates on people, because all the courageous, successful and sometimes moving projects are backed by committed men and women – perhaps women more often than men.

The structures that have been created, the funds that have – hopefully – been utilized intelligently and strategically as well as the carefully established supportive networks alone achieve nothing. True, they open up opportunities – but it takes courageous people to face the challenges and opportunities and to make something of them. It would be nice if the report of a foundation could simply be a series of small portraits. That would reveal what causes the success of project work: fantasy, reliability, openness, persistence, emotional in- telligence, warmth, altruism, fearlessness, humor, and sometimes also that grain of insanity which frequently discloses new paths to pragmatic reason. Then it would become very clear that many of the objectives and subjects described in separate chapters in this report for reasons of analytic clarity actually belong together and form one multifaceted whole.

The problems to which the projects respond as well as the motives and skills involved in the projects do not vary significantly from one chapter to the next. Yet, since, in a short report, it is easier to imagine the persons involved in the structures than vice versa, we decided to adhere to the conventional form. Nonetheless, we do not want to begin our report without thanking all the people, without whose work and commitment this report would never have been written.

Twenty years is such a long period of time that it would be impossible to strive for completeness. Thus many projects are missing; also projects that were important at the time of their creation and implementation. In particular, we will discuss those projects that are characteristic of our learning history and will be part of our future work.

The report is written as a story of development. In its seven chapters, it provides a comprehensive description of the experiences gained in the past twenty years as a case history for our tasks today and in future. Five chapters correspond to the thematic main areas of interest that have defined the project work of the Foundation throughout the past two decades:

9 – integration and immigration, – learning democracy and assuming responsibility, – young people between school and working life, – developing local models in selected towns and city districts, – work for mentally ill people.

Even though the chapter „Sinti and Roma” is not a separate thematic area but part of the subject integration and immigration, the special situation of this minority in all European nations calls for a coherent description. The last chapter – „Developing, supporting and disseminating our projects” – focuses more on the „how” than the „what” of project work. Above all, we would like to point out what we owe to cooperation with others.

The report is written in the form of a continuous text, but it need not be read this way. Every chapter begins with a brief description of the problems, to which we have tried to find practical solutions and is followed by a description of the projects initiated to put the proposed solutions into practice. In many instances (marked by a colored background) we included reports based on practical experience. Hopefully, these will convey an impression of the concrete actions and events referred to in the abstract description of the projects. You can start with the stories and then read about the problems, or you can first study the descriptions of the problems and then go to the stories, or you can turn directly to individual – color-marked – projects. We hope that – irrespective of which path you choose to take – you will gain an overall impression of the Foundation’s profile.

All staff members, consultants and many project managers of the Foundation contributed to this report. I would like to thank all of them.

Christian Petry

10 Integration and immigration

The problem In the past forty years, Germany in actual fact has become an immigration country. Many of the problems that the Foundation strives to remedy arise from the fact that politics did not address this situation and that, consequently, no adequate conclusions were drawn. Since the middle of the 1970s, when the guest workers remaining in Germany brought their families as a result of the stop in recruitment, immigration should have irrefutably become a principal political task. This was not the case at the time and up until today it has not been possible to create the much-needed legal framework conditions for this significant sociopolitical task. Not even the term „immigration country” can be used in public undisputedly to characterize the issue concerned.

Manifest of the 60: At the initiative of and with the support of the „Stifterverband für die Germany and Deutsche Wissenschaft” (Donors’ Association for the Promotion of Immigration Humanities and Sciences in Germany) and the Freudenberg Foundation, 60 scientists got together under the leadership of Professor Klaus Bade in 1993 and published the „Manifest of the 60: Germany and Immigration”. This manifest describes the tasks facing politics and proposes solutions. Accordingly, a prerequisite for improving integration, besides an amended right of citizenship, would be an immigration act that included laws on integration and anti-discrimination laws. Substantial progress has been made as regards the right of citizenship. Despite the extensive discussion in the past years accompanying the work of the immigration commission and the preparation of an „immigration limitation law”, nothing has changed in the political reality of Germany since the law failed to be adopted by the German Bundestag. In view of the fact that immigration to the Federal Republic of Germany has actually been taking place for close to forty years, the design for the social and occupational integration of immigrants who are cultural minorities in Germany should enjoy political priority.

The local institutions as well as the initiatives and social organizations active in this area still do not receive the much-needed systematic support. Integration is a task which should be handled jointly in an organized fashion horizontally by the different ministries and vertically by the different levels of public administration ranging from local authorities to the federal government. This also holds true for the cooperation between the state and civil society. Yet, the opposite is the case: as a rule, the institutions and organizations working at the local level compete with one another and are egotistically determined to protect vested rights.

11 The PISA study drew attention to the fact that the promotion of integration at the preschool and school levels leaves much to be desired. Young men and women, particularly from Turkey, are continuously migrating to Germany through marriage and no one is concerned with their linguistic and social integration. These new immigrants cannot help their children become integrated in kindergarten or school. They themselves would need help.

Moreover, ever since the heated debate about asylum at the beginning of the 1990s, the German population is not willing to make concessions. The stance that the „boat is full” has become an established worry of the population, and it is revived time and again during election campaigns. In addition, the public authorities’ highly restrictive attitude displayed towards persons seeking asylum and refugees also affects the general mood. In view of the flow of refugees, the politicians and public authorities need to answer two questions: first, who will be granted entry? Second, how should the „immigrants” be treated?

12 These questions should be answered separately: when an immigrant is granted residence in Germany, then all efforts needed to ensure integration should be undertaken – even if the period of residence is only intended to be temporary. However, as a result of the debate on asylum, the position taken widely by the public authorities offers only one answer to both questions: we should create conditions in Germany that spoil staying in Germany for persons seeking asylum and deter others from coming. Amongst other things, this is justified with the general suspicion that most abuse the right of asylum. Since the German population cannot easily differentiate between, for example, Turks with or without a German passport, „tolerated” Kurds, Afghan refugees or Portuguese construction workers, it is to be feared that the overall development towards a European society with increasing cultural and ethnic diversity will have negative features in the eyes of the population. The continually present danger of spreading xenophobia, racism, anti-Semitism and propensity for violence will not be lessened but only heightened in this manner.

What is more, the relationship to the Moslem population is overshadowed by Islam terrorism. In the public discussion following the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, it became very evident that the inter-religious dialog in Germany is not adequately developed. Most people have almost no knowledge about Islam in general and Islamic life in their own town. Therefore, the attitude of local politicians and the climate prevailing in the public authorities and the media in the individual towns significantly determine, for example, whether the construction of a mosque leads to a kind of battle of cultures or whether the visible presence of Islam will be accepted by the population.

Young Turks………… Furthermore, xenophobia will find a breeding-ground wherever young people live under socially deprived conditions, feel that they are discriminated and powerless or that they are not acknowledged. If the general climate in such communities also is characterized by rejecting and repulsing anything considered „foreign”, only slight reasons and easily arranged occasions will be enough to provoke violence.

Frequently discrimination and the feeling of not being acknowledged also form the breeding-ground for violence on the other side, i.e. among young people coming from immigrant families. This is particularly true when they come from families where they have experienced violence themselves, as shown in a study by Professor Pfeiffer. The public discussion about the experience of violence and the propensity for violence, above all among young Turks and Eastern European emigrants of German origin contributes to the German population’s concern and in turn increases processes of discrimination. It should be borne in mind that these developments are

13 occurring against the background of a declining birth rate among the German population. Already now it is foreseeable that in a few years one third to one half of the children attending schools in all large cities will come from immigrant families. Consequently, improving the assistance provided to them is one of the most important social goals facing German society.

And yet it is evident already now that all this will not suffice, that – in spite of unemployment – there will have to be more – and not less – immigration again. Therefore, the emergence of a form of cosmopolitan basic attitude in Germany is an important and simultaneously neglected objective of politics, business and society.

This chapter will describe the Foundation’s project work focusing directly on the integration of „immigrants”. The following chapters „Young people between school and working life” and „Learning democracy and assuming responsibility” are concerned with developments that apply to all. In other words, this also refers to society’s integration capability.

When we use the term integration, we associate three intentions with it: with our project work we would like, firstly, to help our society learn to accept cultural diversity as a natural characteristic. That is what the word „cosmopolitan” stands for. Secondly, we would like to ensure that ethnic and cultural differences cannot be used to justify fewer educational opportunities and opportunities in life in general. Through our project work we want to participate in the efforts to attain justice, equality, equal opportunities and participation for the immigrants becoming cultural minorities. Thirdly, we believe in the strengths and capability of development of a culturally heterogeneous society and hope to help make this visible. By no means does this imply that the immigrants need not take active part in the integration processes themselves, too. Parents with an immigrant background must allow and help their children to become integrated in the German education and social system. Equal opportunity can only be based on systematic assistance and a culture of mutual acknowledgement. At the same time, society in general must open up. Then change will come, too.

What we have done The most significant practical response of the Foundation to deficits in Germany’s integration policy was and is RAA, short for Regionale Arbeitsstellen zur Förderung von Kindern und Jugendlichen aus Zuwandererfamilien (regional centers for the promotion of children and adolescents from immigrant families). At the beginning, the Freudenberg Foundation was able to base its work on five years of experience in Weinheim: within the framework of the model study program of the Federal and State Commission for Educational Planning and Research Assistance (BLK), a concept of action designed to offer comprehensive support in

14 particular to students attending special schools, school drop-outs and school-leavers was created with the help of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs of Baden-Württemberg, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research as well as donations from the company Carl Freudenberg KG in 1979. The most prominent target group was foreign youth, 60–70% of whom left school without having acquired any school-leaving qualification. In 1980, acknowledgement as a BLK model study also was attained in the Ruhr district for a comparable concept bearing the name RAA for „Regionale Arbeitsstellen zur Förderung ausländischer Kinder und Jugendlicher” (regional centers for the promotion of foreign children and adolescents). Other cities quickly followed, e.g. Osnabrück in Lower Saxony, several cities in North Rhine-Westphalia, and Mannheim.

RAA, regional centers for RAA can be described in three ways: we can present the people working the support of children there, the work they do as well as the methods and functions that and adolescents from characterize this organization. RAA employs teachers and social immigrant families pedagogues of different national or ethnic origins. In other words, people who are familiar with several cultures and different areas of specialization work here: there are teachers from different types of schools and faculties, kindergarten teachers, people who worked in family education or have experience in youth work. There are social scientists, social anthropologists and even artists. What is more, RAA acts as student council advisor in schools with which it is cooperating closely. There are full-time staff members and particularly many volunteers participating in the working group and projects concerned with schools. When viewed as a whole, the flock of RAA’s staff is a very colorful group of people who can convey a wide range of varying competence.

We could describe RAA also on the basis of the contents of their work. All in all it can be said that there is no problem related to immigration and integration which is not being handled by at least one regional association: integration problems encountered by immigrants, irrespective of where they may come from, as well as varying intercultural conflicts: when problems arise with a group of Lebanese men or there is a dispute between Turks and Eastern European emigrants of German origin, when Turkish girls cannot or do not want to stay at home any longer, a RAA usually is asked for help. As a rule, the focal points of the RAA’s work are at so-called points of transition: above all between kindergarten and elementary school. Then later between elementary school and secondary school as well as between school and vocational training. It is hard to promote children in school without their parents’ help. The greater the distance between a child’s home and school, the more difficult will it be for a child to succeed at school. However, there is no greater distance than that between immigrant families who do not speak German and are not familiar with the German system of education.

15 Thus, overcoming this distance is extremely important if the children from immigrant families are to be promoted. For this reason, RAA have tried in many ways to improve the cooperation between families and schools. Accordingly, teaching German is one of RAA’s central goals. After 20 years, they have a wealth of experience and ideas as well as a treasure trove of proven materials.

In addition, the RAA could also be described by their functions and methods. The RAA develop concepts, proposals as well as materials, and they work out further training programs for others: the spectrum ranges from teachers to police(wo)men. They act as consultants and offer a large number of services. The doors of the RAA are always open. When you enter, you may encounter the parents of a teenager who has not found the right school yet. Or two teachers may be in the library looking for new pedagogical ideas to use in their classrooms. Or a group of Turkish assistants may be packing boxes of materials.

One particularly important function of RAA is passing on contacts and coordination. No other organization is able to bring together in a comparable manner other organizations and groups so that they can cooperate with one another. And once you have gotten used to the fact that a RAA is a place with a secretary’s office, conference room, seminar room, offices, exhibitions, materials, books, films and boxes, you will be surprised to find that RAA sometimes also becomes active in schools or communities: e.g. working with a group of children or mothers or organizing a reading room, an intercultural writing workshop or a student club. Furthermore, RAA sponsors other projects and initiatives. They can become active themselves and usually do so when other organizations having a broad approach that exceeds beyond limits of responsibility encounter difficulties.

If we take the pilot project of RAA as the beginning, then the western German RAA network has been in existence and looking for ways to improve integration conditions for immigrants for 25 years now. What has changed during this time? Looking at the persons who work in RAA and the projects cooperating with RAA, we are happy to note that quite a few young men and women from families with an immigrant background are growing up with a sound education and vocational qualifications. Not as many as one might hope for, but if one looks only at the young generation, one could gain the impression that the multicultural society, which was but a futuristic vision 25 years ago, actually exists.

The functions and methods of RAA are still effective, and many of the original thematic approaches, e.g. development of language skills, have not become obsolete. The changes in the „work with foreigners”, which is also

16 reflected in the history of RAA, can be gauged by the transformation in one of the central tasks of RAA – namely „intercultural education”.

Intercultural At the beginning this was understood to mean gaining and conveying education information about the native countries of the „foreign children” and their families. The underlying idea was that greater understanding for them in school and their environment could be achieved by conveying information about their languages, religions and cultural traditions. Thus, the primary concerns were, for one, eliminating prejudices by providing information and passing on contacts and, for another, allowing relationships to evolve on the basis of mutual respect. This concept was based on two expectations: firstly the hope that the immigrants would feel welcome at school as a result of intercultural education, that the distance between a child’s parental home and school would be reduced and consequently the parents’ willingness and ability to help their children in German schools would be increased; secondly that this would create a basis enabling everyone to cope better with the intercultural conflicts that would inevitably arise.

When one reads the reports of RAA and some of the accompanying projects from the first years, then many of the hopes described above are confirmed: Turkish mothers prefer going to kindergartens where they occasionally hear Turkish songs and games and where not only Easter but also the Turkish festival of sacrifice, Kurban Bayrami, is observed; and visiting the home of a Turkish or Moroccan family to discuss an educational problem is much easier when the first conversation between the teacher and parents does not revolve around a problem but occurs, for example, at another, more positive occasion.

Nevertheless, the objectives of intercultural education would be described differently today. The reason for this is that „culture” is not static, but changes continuously. The „cultural background” of the children and adolescents, for example, is no longer defined by Turkey but by their life among the Turkish minority in Germany. Thus, an infinite number of cultural mixtures arise. Furthermore, the number of different cultures has multiplied. In most classrooms in urban schools, you will find many different languages and cultures.

Accordingly, intercultural education as such should find pedagogical, organizational and methodological answers to the prevailing cultural pluralism, thereby promoting coexistence. Intercultural education strives towards cosmopolitan openness, the recognition of the equality of all people, and a democratic culture. Consequently, its task is to help children cope with heterogeneity, respect cultural differences, fend off discrimination, deal with conflicts of values and use these productively to define their own

17 identity. This is not an easy task, because intercultural education does not take place in a protected space. It is threatened by many different factors, not only by such obvious social counter-movements as provincial narrow- mindedness, racism, extremist self-withdrawal etc.

In addition to that there are two dangers that could impede the desired goals of intercultural education: the tendency towards „ethnicization” and „self- ethnicization” of cultural and sub-cultural differences and, consequently, the blocking of social and cultural developments. If intercultural education is defined in this way it will remain one of RAA’s central tasks for a long time. When Cengis, the German-born son of a single mother of Turkish origins working as a union secretary, is asked by a teacher at school to tell the class how he, „being a Turk”, views the issue of honor, then this could cause him to repel „intercultural education”. As a matter of fact, it could be that after a while he will defiantly define himself as being Turkish, even though he barely speaks Turkish. Self-ethnicization and fundamentalist withdrawal can easily be the results of stigmatization, discrimination as well as unsuccessful attempts at cosmopolitan openness.

XYZ When the foundation took up its work there were, firstly, not enough places for children in the kindergartens in the areas where, for example, Turkish families lived; secondly, those few kindergartens that were available were affiliated to one of the Christian Churches. Then it could happen that the Turkish children were asked to stay at home on the day the bishop was planning a visit. It should have suggested itself to at least set up a preparatory class at school, if integration could not be achieved in kindergarten without difficulties. Five-year-old children should not be sent to school without any preparation. Yet, this turned out to be a difficult issue. At that time a kind of war of faith about the question as to where these five- year-old children belonged was being waged: should they go to pre-school or kindergarten. The winners were the Churches and the other supporting institutions. In particular the Turkish children were left with nothing.

At that time, the integration concept of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia for the families of Turkish guest workers was as follows: we will concentrate – to paraphrase the policy of the state government at the time – on promoting the „second generation”. Any efforts to assist the parents, the „first generation”, would be useless anyway. Accordingly, trying to organize such assistance through self-help groups for the parents was blocked at first, too. For example, the authorities were very strict in making sure that children did not meet in rooms that did not observe the building specifications for kindergartens.

18 Turkish children Faced with this situation, we, the Bernard van Leer Foundation and RAA and mothers together developed the project „Turkish children and mothers” in in Gelsenkirchen Gelsenkirchen. In order to help us prepare adequately, the Bernard von Leer Foundation established contacts to comparable projects in Great Britain. There we were particularly impressed by projects that concentrated on „community education”, meaning that these projects did not focus only on the educational promotion of children at the pre-school and elementary school levels, but also involved the families, in particular the mothers. The director of the Community Education Center in Coventry related an interesting experience to us: a group of primarily Pakistani children was divided into three groups. All three groups were supposed to learn how to write English. The first group was made up only of children, the second comprised children and mothers, and the third included only mothers. After several weeks, stock was taken to determine which group had done best. As expected, the group made up of children and mothers took first place. Yet surprisingly it was followed not by the group consisting of children alone, but by the group of children that had not had any lessons at all, i.e. where only the mothers had attended the English lessons. Nothing is as important as overcoming the distance between parental home and educational institution, we were told in Coventry. This would be facilitated if the families living in the community did not feel as strangers in the school, if they felt welcome there and were asked to participate and also assume responsibility. In order for this to happen, the school had to open up and become a „community school”. We knew immediately that his approach would also be relevant for Germany and that we had to try to implement it in Germany and make it known. Above all we understood that in this way the issues of intercultural understanding/communication and education could be integrated in a concept involving society as a whole.

Bearing this in mind, we developed a model in Gelsenkirchen that intended not only to prepare the parents and children together for school but also to continue the joint work throughout the first grade. The result was encouraging: even children who had never attended kindergarten, who frequently had not held a colored pencil before their fifth birthday did not feel strange at the beginning of their first year of school. Their mothers were with them, learning the same things they were. Proud laughter was heard frequently when the children were quicker, explaining to their mothers: „That’s not a folower, Mama. It’s called flower.” Mothers help schools, even if they expect to be helped by the school, too.

Much more than mere German lessons took place in the groups of mothers who met in the afternoons. All kinds of family problems were discussed, the women helped each other handle difficult negotiations with the authorities, discovered their neighborhoods and surrounding areas, went on tours and

19 celebrated together. This group of mothers felt quite at home at school and gained significant self-confidence. As a matter of fact, the principal sometimes was stunned by their ideas and requests.

One of the results of the project „Turkish children and mothers” was a heightened awareness among German mothers and fathers: „Why are the afternoon classes only open to Turkish women? We want to come, too,” said the German women. Thus, the project intended to promote the pre-school education of Turkish children turned into a community education project, indeed, a further education project for everyone.

The situation changed after several years: more places in kindergarten became available, and it was no longer necessary for the school to assume responsibility for preparing the children. Hence, the close cooperation with the mothers relaxed as well.

COMED – Community RAA, however, did not simply file away the positive experiences gained by education in Germany involving the mothers in the preparatory phase before school and during school, managing the transition together and opening up the school to promote integration. Together with a project for intercultural education in kindergartens in Berlin, they founded the Comed Association (community education in Germany). Here various schools, scientists and projects work together to further their belief that opening up the institutions of education and promoting the participation of the parents and community is an opportunity for development. The Foundation, which supported the development of community education for many years, also worked together with the American Mott Foundation for a time.

„Rucksack“ A few years after the initiation of the project in Gelsenkirchen, a Dutch project group that wanted to see for themselves that the learning success of the children and the integration of both mothers and children could be boosted by involving the mothers visited the mother-and-child project. The key role played – in connection with integration – by helping mothers/fathers and children acquire German language skills led to the development of a bilingual language acquisition concept including parents, children and teachers: the idea leading to the development of „Rucksack” was born, and it was realized with the help of the Dutch De Meeuw Foundation. „Rucksack” comprises language acquisition materials in German and in the respective native languages of the families with immigrant backgrounds. The prototype was revised by the Regional Centers for the Promotion of Children and Adolescents from Immigrant Families in North Rhine-Westfalia in German, Turkish, Italian, Greek and Russian versions and expanded to include age groups 1-3 as well as elementary school students. In the Ruhr district, amongst others in Essen and Gelsenkirchen, the program has been

20 running successfully for several years now. The spec ial feature of „Rucksack” is that it is more than a model for cognitive language acquisition; it is in actual fact a model for the promotion of integration. „Rucksack” is based on a culture of mutual respect and joint learning processes: immigrant parents are welcome in the kindergarten, they help their children learn, bilingual persons accompany the parents, acting as mediators between languages, and the teachers deepen their intercultural competence.

Frequently, developments occur discontinuously. Twenty years ago, we considered important the language acquisition of children, the transition from kindergarten to school, and the accompanying support of the mothers. We noticed that a self-confident generation of young women has grown up; they are committed and know how to help their children. We did not follow the development attentively anymore, turning our attention to other topics. Thus, we did not notice that a „first generation” of immigrants is arising repeatedly through marriage migration and these „new” immigrants need the same integration assistance as the immigrants did twenty years ago.

21 There is one other change that is posing new challenges: more and more immigrants are living in groups that are ethnically and linguistically homogeneous. This calls for new approaches and efforts with respect to educational promotion. However, there is an important difference compared to the situation ten or twenty years ago: today the immigrant population includes young educated women who speak German, who can act as

The stories of three Turkish mothers from every day.” She had not been given that chance. In Weinheim: addition, Ali had his own book, in which he could collect pages and games, and he could show it to Gülsum: In response to being asked what she his mother every afternoon. Her mother had never wanted to achieve after accompanying twelve done anything like that with her, Ay?e complained. mothers for nine months, Gülsum took a piece of So, she at least wanted to do that now, too. „That paper and drew circles around a point in the center, was when I realized how important it is to have time explaining: „When you throw a stone into water, for my children, to let the dirty dishes be and not circles start moving outward. I myself am one just let them watch TV. It is good for me, too, to stone. I move away from doing only my household remember the games we played as children and to chores. It is fun working with the mothers, learning learn the games Ali brings home from kindergarten. with and from them: for example, to refrain from And, at the same time, he and I learn German. I using a Turkish word when I do not know the right have signed up for two German courses. I want to German one, but to look for the correct German finally learn German so that I can understand more word. I have finally bought a dictionary. I have gone here.“ to the library and borrowed books on Christian religions so as to be able to tell the mothers Türkan: „Now I know that the small flower blooming something about Easter. I want to gain a better in the snow over there is called snowdrop,” says understanding of the culture I live in, together with Türkan with a smile. Mehmet showed her the the Turkish women. Now I know where the library flowers and told her the German word for them is, where my children can join a sports club, or who when she picked him up from kindergarten. Every is responsible for women’s issues in the local day he and eight other children learn German with government. The „Rucksack” project got these Zecha, his kindergarten teacher. Spring was the things going. subject at the moment. Directly after lunch he asked: „Mama, when will we do my homework?” Fatma: The materials of the „Rucksack”, the stories He really likes learning German in a small group. it holds, the games and songs help her speak to her Today, during the Morning Circle, when all children children, allowing them to have something in in his kindergarten group sit down together in a common, something to do together. Just recently, circle, two other Turkish children taught a finger her daughter Ay?e, who is already attending game in German to the other children. He is proud school, came to her in tears and asked: „Didn’t they that he dared to do something like that for the first like me in kindergarten?” And following her time, says Türkan. Her eyes are bright as she tells mother’s questions, she explained: „Because Ali is us this. learning German with other children in kindergarten

22 language teaching and integration assistants. Two things are needed, however: first, not all resources should be concentrated on language classes for children, the mothers need to be taught as well; second, investing in the continued education of the language teaching and integration assistants from among the mothers themselves. In Weinheim, Mannheim and in other towns, we are trying to put this into practice. The „Rucksack” project of RAA promises to give us a good start.

Helping with……… The RAA have helped many schools develop concepts to improve the promotion of students with an immigrant background. In the course of this work, an immense wealth of ideas and experiences has been gathered. In the final analysis, however, it is up to the principals and their colleagues to decide whether the proposals can be put into practice and whether these will lead to a consistent and effective educational program in their schools.

There is no way of knowing for sure which proposals will have the best effects and are most encouraging. Curricula can provide a stimulus, as can proposals embedded in projects. For one school, opening up the school is an extensive development, for another school the concept „healthy school” has the same effect. Homework assistance is part of the standard inventory. Thousands of private after-school instructors, mothers and students try to help slow students – most schools are completely unaffected by this.

Homework assistance We discovered what could evolve from homework assistance in an in Nieder-Roden elementary school in Nieder-Roden near Offenbach. In this school, which has a student body of 300 pupils, there were about 10–20% who had problems keeping up in class, who refused to participate or disrupted classroom instruction. Evidently they could not be sufficiently supervised at home. At any rate, the teachers complained that the situation was unbearable, and the principal decided that something had to be done. He „went shopping” for donations to set up a kitchen and renovated two rooms, one for playing and one for doing homework. Then he convinced several mothers to prepare lunch for those children who could not go home after school. In addition, mothers volunteered to supervise the close to 30 children who signed up for this program – and after a short while this included all those children who had been causing trouble. However, the principal had made it a condition that a teacher always had to be there, too. The Freudenberg Foundation was asked to sponsor a part-time position for one of the mothers, so that there would always be one permanent supervisor. After one year, the town assumed these costs.

The afternoon program was also open to those children who had left elementary school to attend the neighboring Orientierungsstufe (a diagnostic stage during which the aptitude of the pupils regarding various

23 types of secondary schools is assessed). As described above, a teacher from the Orientierungsstufe had to be there to supervise the homework, too. On one occasion no teacher was available, and the principal came and took over. He was surprised to find that he was not able to solve some of the students’ homework problems because he did not understand the question.

Teachers rarely receive feedback from the hundreds of thousands of mothers and the many other people who help students with their homework. Most of them try not to ask questions so as to avoid shedding an unfavorable light on their children, since an inquiry may be considered an accusation; thus, they try to avoid them. The teachers participating in the homework assistance learned about this. Since, however, they were now confronted by precisely this situation themselves, they began coordinating the homework amongst themselves. This took some of the sting out of the homework. The overall result was extremely positive: complaints about children dwindled, the relationship to the families and the community improved, and the scholastic performance of the students also improved.

Youth culture work „Friends are important, they are like family” is written below Faruk’s photograph. He is one of eighteen adolescents of different cultures and religions from two German cities, who participated in the „Mannheim-Berlin” project. The idea can be traced back to a project that evolved in the slums of Rio de Janeiro in the 1990s: street children photographed things that were important to them: a ball, a flower or a poster. Then the photograph was developed, enlarged and a professional photographer took pictures of the individual children with their own photograph at one of their favorite locations in the district. These pictures then formed a touring exhibition. The members of the groups from Mannheim and Berlin were as different as the cities where they live. Eight young persons of different origins – Angola, Iran, Germany – came from the Heinz-Brandt-Oberschule in the Weissensee district of Berlin. The Mannheim group comprised twelve Turkish adolescents. Each group visited the hometown of the other group to attend the opening of the exhibition there. After sizing each other up carefully, the ice was broken by a breakdance session. Afterwards they talked about the photographs being shown and about the meaning of homeland.

Civis The media, in particular television and radio, play a central role in the perception of cultural differences. They can decisively contribute to creating normal coexistence in a heterogeneous society. For this reason, we called into life the Civis Media Prize in 1988 together with the Federal Government commissioner for immigration issues and ARD, the national television and radio network. The program was organized under the overall control of the WDR (West German Broadcasting Company). Up until 2002, the prize had the motto: „Living in cultural diversity – against racism and discrimination”

24 in Germany. In 2003, the organization and execution of the ARD Civis Media Prize, which was given a new profile, passed over to the newly established non-profit Civis medien stiftung for Integration and Cultural Diversity in Europe. The dream being pursued now is a kind of Oscar for German and European media productions contributing to intercultural understanding. Together with WDR, the Freudenberg Foundation is a partner of the Civis medien stiftung and is on the Board of Trustees. Up until 2002, the civis Youth Video Competition was carried out at the same time every year; this was organized by RAA in cooperation with WDR and an independent jury of young people. It gave young people between 14–22 years of age the opportunity to independently plan and make video films on the subject of „Living in cultural diversity – against racism and discrimination” in cooperation with schools, centers for media education, youth organizations and video workshops. This gave young people a venue for expressing their opinions, perceptions and ideas in the discussion on right-wing extremism, racism and a multicultural society in a popular medium within a European context. In 2004, the Youth Film Prize will become „YEFF! Young European Film Forum for Cultural Diversity” with a different supporting organization. Instead of underscoring the competitive aspect, young Europeans are to be encouraged to meet and get to know each other.

If you are interested in the confusing area of immigration and integration, you will need an orientation aid. The Freudenberg Foundation promoted two initiatives in the past years: The Center for Turkish Studies and the Council on Migration.

Center for The Center for Turkish Studies was established in1985 by the Donors’ Turkish Studies Association for the Promotion of Humanities and Sciences in Germany and the Freudenberg Foundation. The initial idea came from the group of scientific advisors of RAA and proposals made by a group convoked by the foundation „Ettlinger Gespräche”. The task of the center, which was located first in Bonn and then in Essen, is to contribute to a better understanding of Turkey and the Turkish population in Germany on the basis of information, consulting services, documentation, projects and research. There is almost no aspect relating to the life of Turks in Germany and Europe as well as German-Turkish relations, which has not been the subject of studies, discussions and articles.

The Center earned respect for three functions in particular: First, the Center very accurately analyzed and defined indicators for the integration process of the Turkish population over a period of twenty years: from the purchase of their own homes to economic independence to the utilization of media. The conflicts and problems of integration in different areas of life and social sectors also were documented. Based on these representations as well as

25 the continued observance and analysis of the processes described, the Center acquired a good basis for two additional functions.

Second, the Center has assumed the role of mediator in situations of crisis during the past ten years. This role gained special significance following the murder of a Turkish family in Solingen. It became evident that there are only very few non-governmental organizations which can explain both the German side to the Turkish population as well as Turkey and the Turkish side to the Germans. A third function is less evident. Turkish groups with varying political orientation sometimes use the Center as a neutral forum for discussions about the conditions of life of the Turkish population in Germany. The Freudenberg Foundation sponsored the Center up to 2001. Today, it is being funded by its own foundation.

Council on Immigration The Council on Migration is a registered association with the objective of and Integration advising politics and organizations active in the field on questions of migration, integration, discrimination and intercultural development. The Council on Migration publishes an immigration report every two years, in which it describes the problems involved in this socio-political field. The current report, for example, discusses questions about the integration potential inherent in a welfare state, the creation of inequality in the system of education and the possibilities offered by local integration management. The latter is particularly important to us.

Prospects In our efforts to improve the integration conditions faced by children with an immigration background, the vocational orientation of school-leavers, or the democratic competence of adolescents, schools ready to initiate change have proven to be indispensable partners as far as the development and introduction of practical innovations are concerned, since they can address, at least in a structural respect, all children, young people and their families. Long before PISA and IGLU, we were aware of the potential of schools to heighten social inequality. We would like to show how schools could become „motors of integration”. It has become evident that individual schools can do much to help students learn what they need to be able to lead a successful life. Elementary schools can cooperate with day-care centers to ensure continuous language acquisition and to involve the parents in the learning process at the same time. Classroom instruction can be organized in such a way that it takes into account the heterogeneity of the children. The school can initiate a development plan that emphasizes integration. We would like to make sure that the schools receive the support they need to become „schools of integration”. Perhaps we will organize a competition to award a prize to schools that have taken the path of integration in deprived districts and to follow their development process in this way. In this connection, we are thinking about concluding target

26 agreements with selected schools if they want to become model schools.

Sinti and Roma

The problem Roma live in all European countries, and everywhere they live at the margins of society. There are great differences between them: despite their common linguistic roots, they speak so many different variants of Romani that different groups cannot communicate with one another. Many have adapted to their environments and completely lost their knowledge of Romani. They profess different religions. Their economic basis cannot be reduced to a common denominator. Some are nomads, the majority has settled down, living by working on farms or other jobs. Some few groups live by pursuing those kinds of actions that give them a bad reputation and feed prejudices. They have different names. The groups who migrated to the German nation 600 years ago via the Roman Empire are called Sinti. The groups that migrated to Eastern Europe via the Ottoman Empire were called Tsigan (from the Greek astiganos, untouchable). The groups entering Western Europe via North Africa are called Gypsies (or Egyptians). They call themselves Roma, which means „people”. Since new Roma groups from different countries are continuously migrating into the regions inhabited by Sinti, who have usually become more socially established, the latter are struggling to avoid being included in the collective term – they want to be called Sinti.

When we came to Ravensburg twenty years ago, the Sinti from Hohenzollern shook their heads at us: „We’re Gypsies”. Now, they also want to be „Sinti”. Accordingly, we have titled this chapter „Sinti and Roma” and taken this to refer to all the different population groups which presumably had their origins in India and migrated to Europe over a period of many centuries. What they have in common is that they are forced to suffer social discrimination in all countries. In particular in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, where the largest group of Roma with a population of about five million live, they endure considerable social pressure: in these countries they are threatened by poverty and discrimination, their civil rights are not ensured by any means and we repeatedly receive news of violent attacks and persecution against them.

Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, Roma first from Romania, then from the former Yugoslav republics have made their way to Western Europe. It is estimated that hundreds of thousands live here as tolerated refugees or as so-called illegal aliens. Since the Europe of 15 has become a Europe of 25, Roma from Slovakia and the Czech Republic, where they live in poverty, may be tempted to legally search for a better life in the wealthier regions of Europe. However, Europe is not prepared for this. Roma and Sinti are not a political issue in the individual European states nor does their social integration take high priority as a common European task. Basically the

29 same holds true for civil society. The topic is considered to be difficult and unrewarding. For this reason, only few foundations in Europe have incorporated Sinti and Roma in their programs.

What we have done The involvement of the Freudenberg Foundation began in 1986 with a project for the development of a concept for a documentation and cultural Documentation and center of German Sinti and Roma in Heidelberg. The Central Council of Cultural Center of German Sinti and Roma, which wanted to set up this center, did not have German Sinti and Roma the necessary organizational, political and programmatic resources. Without in Heidelberg the assistance of the working group of Sinti organized by the Foundation on the one side and representatives of ministries, the Church and scientific community on the other side as well as the funds for a full-time staff member to work out a program, the documentation center probably would not exist. Most likely the catalytic role and guarantee ensured by the seriousness and reliability of the plans was a decisive aspect. There was an instant when the project would have ceased had it not been for the indemnity bond in the amount of DM 4 million furnished by the Foundation.

Hermann Freudenberg, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Freudenberg Foundation was Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Documentation and Cultural Center of German Sinti and Roma for more than ten years. His nephew Andreas Freudenberg, a research assistant at the time, helped develop the program in the first years. Today he is on the Board of Trustees of the Foundation. This reflects the Foundation’s strong commitment to this project. Why is it so important to us? Because the Documentation and Cultural Center opened up new ways of integrating the

30 Sinti and Roma in German society. Up to the beginning of the civil rights movement at the end of the 1970s, the Sinti and Roma were considered merely a social problem. Not even the fact that genocide had been committed during 1940s was actually acknowledged by the general public. Only after Federal President von Weizsäcker’s famous speech on 8 May 1985 did this horrible crime begin to gradually gain public awareness.

Even though they have been living in Germany for 600 years, their existence as a minority with its own culture and language has been widely ignored. It was impossible for the Sinti and Roma to stand by their identity self- confidently and be respected at the same time in Germany before the beginning of the civil rights movement. The long-term effects of the genocide that had been committed aggravated the situation. More than 500,000 Sinti and Roma in Europe were victims of genocide. Together with the 25,000 German and Austrian Sinti and Roma who had been murdered, the moving forces of the culture, the administrators of justice and the old members of the groups had been murdered, too. That made it hard for most of the Sinti and Roma, who lived in seclusion after the war, to pass on the language and culture to their children.

The Documentation and Cultural Center intended to find solutions to these problems: remembering the genocide through permanent exhibitions in Heidelberg and Auschwitz; intensifying efforts to strengthen the group’s own culture; amongst other things, initiating projects and programs to improve the social situation of Sinti and Roma; helping improve their opportunities in school and vocational training. Apart from that, the Documentation and Cultural Center was to be a competent and respected partner for discussions and negotiations concerning all issues related to the conditions of life of this minority in German society. And we are happy to say that these efforts have been successful. Today the Center is funded by the Federal Government.

Focal points of the work: In the next 15 years, the Freudenberg Foundation, together with the Linden Promoting education and Foundation for Pre-School Education, which we manage, and later with the vocational training Heinrich Stoess- and Gerda Koepff Foundation, which was transferred to us, concentrated on the particularly problematic areas of education and vocational training of Sinti and increasingly also of Roma who had immigrated to Germany and to some countries of southeastern Europe. Educational promotion is considered difficult because no quick success is possible. The Sinti and Roma have a prejudiced relationship to education and school. Since the times of Empress Maria Theresa, schools have repeatedly been used as instruments of assimilation. By enforcing compulsory schooling, Maria Theresa wanted to cure the „gypsy children” of their nature. Since then the Sinti and Roma have come to distrust all

31 educational programs of the state. In the other extreme, they were prohibited from attending school so as to keep them at the fringes of society. This, for example, occurred during the Nazi era. Thus, throughout the past centuries they have learned that either they are not welcome in educational institutions or they are accepted for the wrong reasons. In addition, the Sinti and Roma always have to expect to meet with negative reactions and prejudices. These negative attitudes have been reinforced throughout the centuries so that experts speak of Gypsophobia or anti- ziganism existing parallel to that of anti-Semitism in European societies. Therefore, all actions and support programs have to take into account the existence of such attitudes.

Experience gained in a Nonetheless, it is possible to contribute to educational furthering. This project in Ravensburg became evident in many projects in the past two decades. The first Ummenwinkel encouraging experiences were made together with the Linden Foundation in Ravensburg. A school principal, who learned Romani, a committed chairwoman of the German Society for the Protection of Children, and cooperative municipal authorities, who listened to her, created the material prerequisites: they built houses in Ummenwinkel, promoted the playhouse and created a climate where educational furthering bore fruit: the number of Sinti children attending the Sonderschule dropped, a Sinti girl became the best student of the year at the Hauptschule and one young boy turned to us in surprise and said: „You act as if I could become a carpenter.”

Then things went quiet in Ummenwinkel: the principal died, the chairwoman of the German Society for the Protection of Children retired, the Sinti families quarreled amongst themselves and the number of Sinti children at the Sonderschule rose again. At the present time, the Freudenberg Foundation together with the Linden Foundation and the city of Ravensburg are trying to reinitiate this program; however, with less emphasis on the significance of individual persons. It remains to be seen whether the Ravensburg Round Table can successfully launch the program again.

Sinti women help Roma In Göttingen we promoted an encouraging project for close to ten years. children in Göttingen Concerned Sinti women decided to prepare for school children from Roma families who had just immigrated to Germany and to accompany them during their school years. To this end, they set up a counseling center, which they have maintained up until today despite numerous financial difficulties.

Projects of the National We owe numerous interesting initiatives directed primarily to the educational Association of RAA furthering of immigrant Roma in the past years to the National Association of RAA. In particular, this includes helping children from refugee homes at and outside school, student volunteers acting as sponsors and cultural projects in which young Roma can demonstrate their skills. The most

32 significant experience gained in this respect most likely was how much can be achieved when we don’t try to act for them, but plan and work together with them. It was a gratifying discovery when the RAA in Berlin came to know Roma with different educational backgrounds, who were interested in counseling young Roma in the schools. Something resembling the occupational profile of an educational counselor has evolved from their work.

Florian Lindemann: We asked a journalist to write reports about the experiences gained through School should taste good. projects by the Freudenberg Foundation and Linden Foundation as well as Encouraging experiences other interesting supporting organizations and to portray the Roma involved. of young Roman in the The reports have been compiled in a book having the title „Die Schule muss German education system. schmecken” and will be published by the Beltz Verlag in 2004.

Roma und Sinti: At the present time, the Foundation is sponsoring three model projects Qualification, employ- concentrating on the education and further education of Roma in Germany ment, securing one’s and Eastern Europe. Within the framework of the Equal Program of the existence (Equal Project) European Commission, a project with two objectives has been developed: offering qualification opportunities to Sinti and Roma, opening up employment possibilities to them and, consequently, helping them secure an existence. The projects are being carried out in Berlin, Aachen and Frankfurt. Approximately 70 Roma, men and women with different educational backgrounds, are participating. The spectrum of educational levels ranges from illiterate persons up to high-school graduates. Some did not have residence permits in Germany. Through the personal intervention of the Senator of the Interior in Berlin, residence permits were obtained for the three-year period of the projects for 25 – most of them young – Roma. RAA Berlin is handling the coordination of the German part of the European project. About one third of the Roma included in this program are trying to take their Hauptschule leaving certificate. Further education courses in basic skills such as, for example, writing courses, are available to all participants.

The courses „Qualification for Social and School Counselor” are very popular. These training courses are divided into individual modules, which are certified separately after having been completed by periods of practical training. The information conveyed is of interest not only to the persons involved directly. They inquire into and document problems at school and in the family, learn to mediate between school and family and to develop solutions with both the school and family. Other courses being offered are, for example, qualification in the nursing sector as well as event organization and management. In Aachen participants can acquire training in the field of plastic welding. This is frequently chosen because the employment opportunities for this job are good in the region. The largest problem at the

33 beginning was developing suitable qualification courses and winning the trust of the Roma. That has been achieved in the meantime.

Dendo vas – Program for Within the framework of a special program initiated on the occasion of the Educational Support of 150th anniversary of the Freudenberg company, the project „Dendo vas – Roma Children and Youth in Program for the Educational Support of Roma Children and Youth“ was Gorce Petrov, Mazedonia called into life in Gorce Petrov, a municipality of Skopje, the capital of Macedonia. The interesting aspect of this model for promoting the education of Roma is that the manager and the majority of the teaching staff are Roma and that the Roma community is responsible for the organization. The project offers pre-school groups for children, homework assistance, support of the neighboring elementary school, a program for working with parents, English courses, accompanying support of students at secondary schools, an intercultural club and much more. Thus, it includes a little of everything: kindergarten, adult education courses, youth and community center, office for homework assistance, pedagogical center and library. And when the families are very poor and any interest in education and school is suppressed, the manager will distribute small gifts to those who come: spaghetti or a bar of soap. The project is being financed together with the Soros Foundation. The Freudenberg Foundation bought the house being used by Dendo vas.

Expertise: Toward a In 1998, the European Council and the Freudenberg Foundation financed Pakiv European Roma and published an expertise on the issues of poverty and unemployment of Fund – Income-generating Roma in Eastern Europe. The expertise analyzes past programs and program provides recommendations. The title is „Toward a Pakiv European Roma Fund – Income-Generating Program for Roma in Central and Eastern Europe”. The main recommendation is that an organization be founded, in which Roma organizations and European foundations can work together and – in imitation of the Hungarian Autonómia Foundation – can collect funds for self-help projects as well as for the further education and counseling required for this. „Pakiv” is a Romani word meaning loyalty, honesty, trust and respect, i.e. values that the Roma strive for in the relationships amongst themselves, but which are seldom shared by non- Roma. Contractual fidelity and fairness between Roma and non-Roma in the planning of programs for overcoming poverty – that is what the name is supposed to reflect.

Pakiv-Project: Training, With the help of the World Bank, the Ford Foundation, the Freudenberg mentoring and community Foundation and others, the first Pakiv project was a training program for 20 development – facilitating young Roma from Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary. The training capacility building among course took two years. In the first year they studied business administration the Roma and English, leadership and management in Hungary, Denmark and Great Britain. They learned how to write an application, set up a business plan as

34 well as establish and manage a non-profit organization. In other words, they were supposed to learn how to distinguish between the business sector and organizations of civil society, i.e. the so-called „third sector”. The first year ended with traineeships in non-profit organizations and the assignment to submit a practical proposal for the second year. Each participant could apply for up to US$ 15,000 for an „income-generating project” in his or her hometown or home region. They would receive a small fee for acting as „facilitators” of the organizations and projects. Travel costs were provided for exchanging experiences and mutual support. The central project office was set up in Sofia. Another office was made available by the Autonómia Foundation in Budapest.

Thirteen projects were created, which included, for example: the establishment of a cooperative for buffalo-cow breeding, a course for 10 hairdressers, a small-loan program, an employment office for tailors, a project for vocational orientation and job counseling for youth, a cooperative for pig breeding, a training course for teaching assistants and many more. There were and still are numerous problems: for example, many Roma want to see the results of the innovations immediately, without wanting to wait until a piglet is born or the hairdressers have learned how to cut hair. Yet, all in all, the project ideas met with great approval, and they are still being carried on one year after the financing has ceased.

35 Prospects A prerequisite for obtaining the funding of the World Bank for the second year was that Pakiv become an independent foundation, applying for funds in the private sector in Europe, too. Thus, the Pakiv European Roma Fund was set up in Weinheim and Sofia as an independent foundation being supported by the association of the same name. Donors are seven Roma and non-Roma, who used private funds for this purpose. In the meantime, the World Bank has prepared a study on the poverty of the Roma population and organized a conference with the Presidents of the countries involved in Budapest. The result confirms the direction our projects have taken: promotion of education, vocational qualification, furthering of self-initiatives as well as training and encouraging committed young Roma: i.e. capacity building and leadership training. Meanwhile the World Bank has decided to set up a fund by 2004, which will be called „Roma and Education”. The organization is interested in cooperating with European foundations and is looking for exemplary projects that demonstrate the direction that needs to be taken to permanently improve the situation of the Roma.

36 About 35 young Roma were sitting expectantly in where no-one can say: all you find here are liars a large circle in a conference hotel near Sofia. and cheats and isn’t that typical for the Roma.” They came from five Eastern European countries. „Yes”, agreed the man sitting next to her. „Here Fifteen of them had completed two years of we can be how we are and should be. That is why training within the scope of the Pakiv Project and I’m proud.” were supposed to relate their experiences to the 20 newcomers. In order to get the discussion „I, for my part, have not been happy and proud going, I asked the „old-timers”: „When you look very long,” began the pale young woman sitting back on your experiences of the past two years, is on the next chair. „Yet I am now. The year of there something you are particularly proud of?” training was nice, everything was all right. But The young woman sitting to my right when we were supposed to initiate our own spontaneously responded: „I’m proud of being project in the village, everything was terrible. At part of an organization that is different from others least that’s how I experienced it. The old men because it lets us define the meaning of Pakiv. I’m laughed at me, they refused to talk to me. Thank proud because I realize that it’s up to me.” The God, that’s over now. Two months ago, they man sitting on her other side nods and adds: asked me to speak to them and the discussion „And I’m proud of belonging to an organization went so well that they now come to me that is taken seriously by the gajikané (non-Roma) frequently, asking for my opinion on all sorts of society. The World Bank invited Presidents and problems. That really makes me very, very proud.” many other important people to Budapest. And everywhere – on the podium and among the „And what about you“, called a young woman participants in the discussions – were Roma. I mockingly. „What is a big man like you proud of?“ never knew that we were so important.” „That’s „Me?“ smiled the man with the fancy beard she true,” laughed his neighbor. „The discussion at had addressed. „I’m proud of my face.” And the forum actually was an internal Pakiv without being impressed in the slightest by the discussion – but the others didn’t notice.” „Is it mocking comments that followed, he continued: my turn?” asked the next woman. „Good, then I „Yes, I’m proud of my face because, you see, want to say that I, too, am proud of Pakiv. And do when I looked in the mirror two years ago, I didn’t you know why? Because we women have been feel good at all. But now, after two years of Pakiv, able to cure you machos of your machismo. Ok, it I like what I see in the mirror. That’s the way it is.“ took three months and it was still terrible in Denmark, but then – come why don’t you admit it The newcomers, the young men and women – you became reasonable and now you are chosen for the second course of training, were actually quite tolerable.” Due to the laughter and deeply impressed. And the longer the discussion foolish jokes that erupted, the next woman had to continued between the „new” and „old” Roma, speak up two times before she was heard. „It’s the more evident it became that they didn’t wish nice that we can make mistakes without having for anything more than being able to contribute to our heads torn off if we do make a mistake. That Pakiv and to become a part of Pakiv, because it way we can really learn something. I have learned sounded and felt like a good way to find a more so many things I never even dared imagine promising future for young Roma. before. And isn’t it nice that we belong to a group

Youth between school and working life

The problem In Germany, there are not enough apprenticeships available to young people when they finish school, and many of those being offered require high preliminary skills and qualification. The German „Dual System” (a combination of practical on-the-job and theoretical off-the-job training) is in a crisis. This is becoming particularly evident in eastern Germany where there are not enough companies which could offer vocational training to apprentices. In addition, there are not enough alternatives for gaining vocational qualifications. Students with an immigrant background in western Germany are not being promoted sufficiently at school and, consequently, their chances of finding employment are slim. This is reported year after year by the media when young people finish school and begin looking for apprenticeships. The news reports are accompanied by forecasts that presumably several ten thousand will not find employment. In response to this situation, a hectic search for apprenticeships is initiated. With the help of the Federal Agency for Labor the Federal Government decides to create a new program for underprivileged youth. Finally, the threatening demand for a so-called „Vocational Training Tax” is being raised, although most experts claim that it cannot possibly fulfill expectations in the proposed form.

Memorandum Six years ago, the forum „Youth-Education-Employment” sponsored by the „Ways out of the Freudenberg Foundation published a memorandum with the title „Ways out Vocational Training of the Vocational Training Crisis” and submitted it to Federal President Crisis“ Roman Herzog. For one year, a group of 33 „experts and independent citizens”, under the leadership of Professor Ingo Richter, met regularly to discuss and analyze the problems prevailing in connection with vocational training and employment of young people and to work out 20 practical proposals as to how these problems could be solved without significant additional financial expenses. When the forum met for the first time in Weinheim, the question was raised whether one had to bury the hope that all young people could obtain vocational qualification. Would one have to be realistic and expect that, in the long term, the training posts offered will be too few and too demanding? All members of the forum – the undersecretary of state from an Eastern German Ministry of Labor, the scientists and experts from research institutes and different economic sectors – agreed on the answer to these questions: young people need not be faced with a lack of vocational training posts and unemployment. The agreement concluded by the heads of state of the member states of the European Union on 21 November 1997 stating that after five years no young person should be unemployed for more than six months is not unrealistic. For this reason, the „Forum Youth-Education-Employment” began its memorandum with the

39 statement: „Youth problems are the main problems of society. There must not – and need not – be a lack of jobs and opportunities for young people. The public responsibility for the next generation takes priority.”

Looking back after six years, it can be said that the „vocational needs” of young people have not declined despite all sorts of government measures. Although some of the recommendations put forth in the memorandum were accepted – in particular the „need to promote underprivileged youth” was acknowledged and resulted in programs with substantial funding – no significant structural changes have been made. The rigid „Dual System” is still defining the scope of action, even though this is one of the causes of the crisis in the first place. The solution that has to be found should not be more of the same, but needs to break new ground. From the perspective of the memorandum this did not mean amending the Vocational Training Law or giving up the time-proven combination of theoretical learning and practical on-the-job experience. Rather it hoped to develop new combinations of practical and theoretical study and to expand the quantitative possibilities of vocational qualification on the basis of qualitative changes in the system of vocational training.

40 Expertise „Five Years The results of the PISA study once again manifested quite clearly that some after the Memorandum students leave school without having attained adequate prerequisites for of the Forum Youth- completing vocational training within the „Dual System”. This is particularly Education-Employment“ true for students with an immigrant background. In an expertise prepared in by Dr. W. Kruse 2003 for the Freudenberg Foundation called „Five Years after the Memorandum of the Forum „Youth-Education-Employment”, Dr. Wilfried Kruse mentions „disintegration processes in general schools”, as a result of which the performance of students with immigrant backgrounds at school had actually worsened. Thus, it is even more obvious than described in the memorandum that the transition from school to employment must be prepared more carefully in school and that some of the young people need more time. Yet, once again, this means that there should not be more of the same, i.e. more theoretical study, but that there must be more programs enabling students to participate in traineeships while attending a general school and that apprenticeships and vocational training focus on on-the-job training. The rule should apply that all further qualification options include substantial practical training and that all practical training courses or jobs that young people find on their own are not only promoted and acknowledged but also considered qualification measures.

If the options for vocational qualification are made more flexible in this way, if they are divided into smaller units that can be combined in many different ways; if more independent and individual ways are to be acknowledged and, as such, a more diverse landscape is to be created, in which the traditional form of dual training is only one variant, one is already heightening an existing problem: the complicatedness of the spectrum and the weaknesses of the counseling system. Especially for those young people who get little support from their families, taking the step from school to employment frequently means treading an indiscernible path through a jungle. Thus counseling and supervision are needed. Our European neighbors call this coaching. And this means that all persons involved in the training of young people have to take part: the family, school, youth-work institutions, employer, labor agency etc. But that alone won’t suffice: new resources also are needed, and, based on past experience, these can only be obtained through civil volunteer work.

Some of our European neighbors have demonstrated that this kind of cooperation between state and civil society can give rise to highly effective proactive communities taking responsibility. However, it has become evident that coordination on the municipal level is necessary. Thus, the 20th recommendation of our memorandum is as follows: „Local education policy. An independent local education policy is indispensable. The local authorities must assume responsibility for coordinating all measures. Concepts for

41 alternative financing are required to support vocational assistance measures for young people.”

What we have done The beginning of our work with young people having problems making the transition from school to employment was also influenced by the Weinheim and Mannheim projects „for the social and vocational integration of German and foreign youth” in Baden-Württemberg and the RAA (regional centers for the promotion of children and adolescents from immigrant families in North Rhine-Westfalia).

Project Weinheim, Both the Mannheim project as well as several RAA were part of the EU- Project Mannheim, sponsored program „Transition from school to working life”. Many of the RAA ideas and practical experiences gained during this time were put to use in subsequent projects and can still be found in the Foundation’s project work today. Amongst other things, we have learned the following: in our existing system of vocational orientation and preparation for employment, the families are not being involved enough. Schools, vocational counseling and child welfare always work with the young people. That is all right when the families are willing and able to actively accompany their child’s process of orientation and preparation with respect to working life and when they can act as models. Yet, whenever the parents themselves face unemployment, they can no longer help their children.

Involving the parents Nevertheless, this is not to say that they should be ignored. It always is important to gain their involvement and support. This is particularly true for immigrant minorities. Many of these families are not familiar with the German system of education and vocational training. At the same time, however, they play a much more important part in the decision-making than is the case in families belonging to the German majority population.

Frequently, the information conveyed to young people is of little use when the parents, above all the fathers, do not receive it directly, too. Therefore, from the beginning, our projects always tried to involve the parents. However, this means that the institutions concerned have to open up and cooperate: job counseling offices of the Agency for Labor, schools, further education institutions and child welfare organizations. Moreover, the strategic significance of the schools in this connection must not be underestimated.

Therefore, the RAA and the projects focusing on this problem considered it one of their main tasks to support schools in their efforts to involve parents, to arrange for visits to the family’s home when parents did not respond, to organize information events and to prepare information material suitable for the respective target groups and in their different languages. Wherever this

42 succeeded and schools were willing to accept such offers, the students found it significantly less difficult to master the transition to working life.

The promotion of Although their command of German is adequate at the end of elementary language as another school, students from families with an immigrant background often dimension encounter problems at secondary school because their German is not good enough to follow classroom instruction. The same also occurs at the beginning of vocational school. Young people with good grades in their report cards often find the first months at vocational school very difficult. The teachers frequently do not realize that every new grade, every new subject are accompanied by new linguistic hurdles. Most likely numerous native German students also suffer from this; students for whom German is their second or even third language often need additional help. Many problems arising here can be solved when the teachers realize that they also are responsible for language teaching. Although RAA has tried to convey this realization from the beginning, there is still a long way to go. Wherever teachers have been made aware and trained appropriately for language teaching, children and young people whose native language is German will also benefit. Many institutions offered language courses parallel to the general studies. Time and again the projects reported that students who would have broken off their apprenticeship had they not received assistance suddenly blossomed in the second year.

Promotion at school Schools can facilitate the transition to working life in many ways: for example, by making this subject part of their program as well as gaining and accepting outside support. Some schools promote their students to such an extent that they all attain their school-leaving certificates and, hence, vocational qualification. And, contrary to this, in the neighboring school, which works under the same social conditions, the majority of students leave school without any ideas or prospects regarding their future vocational goals. Many of the teachers at schools like the latter never learn what has become of their former students.

Civic Foundation Herten As a rule, a successful school is characterized by the following features: it provides more possibilities for individual promotion and is more concerned about the learning progress made by every individual student, the curriculum includes more practical and social training courses as well as extra-curricular programs and discovery learning, it offers more guidance, training and counseling assistance. In a Hauptschule in Herten, for example, the principal made sure that all 9th-grade students worked one day a week in a company. This is only possible because a supervisor (a teacher from the school) is on call immediately in the event of any problems. During the last year of school, the principal herself often tries to convince the companies to employ the students. Frequently, the companies agree – under the condition

43 that the school continues its guidance. The principal has persuaded two or three teachers to assume this responsibility. The Civic Foundation Herten, which is sponsored by the Freudenberg Foundation, has bought the „Küstershof”, a dilapidated farm in the neighborhood of the school, which is being renovated by the young people and will be managed by them. The principal is a member of the Board of Trustees of this civic foundation.

Girls’ workshop The Intercultural Education Center in Mannheim has developed other ways and guidance possibilities: These include the girls’ workshop, which was set up in 1991. At the workshop, girls from grades six and seven – i.e. before gender roles are strengthened – can gain basic knowledge in wood-working and metal-working as well as learn about text processing, creative programs and how to access the Internet. The program also includes visits to apprenticeship fairs, and later the center helps the girls find traineeships and apprenticeships. The „craftswomen” working in the girls’ workshop act as models and help the – more than 40 – girls, who come one afternoon every week, realize that their options are greater than they thought. At the end of their courses the girls always have made a product that they can show at home or school. It is hoped that the girls’ workshop will be both a thorn and an incentive for the schools, making them realize how important the special promotion of girls is. Half of the girls come from families with an immigrant background.

Promoting the young An important objective is to strengthen the young people’s personal people’s personal initiative. A concept was developed in Great Britain, Ireland and Israel to initiative have the students set up and manage their own student companies. In England this is called „education for enterprise”. The term enterprise comprises more than just „student company” – it includes everything Founding companies to involved, i.e. planning, developing, calculating, auditing and demonstrating. become young entre- The greatest problem in applying this idea to Germany was that the teachers preneurs were very innovative in finding ways to maintain control and always wanted to divide that which was to be learned into small teaching units. Understandably, such ideas of teachers as „We could build a park bench. That is very instructive” met with very little enthusiasm. The project was developed in collaboration with the Federal and State Commission for Educational Planning (BLK) and the German Children and Youth Foundation. The results were very encouraging: the idea of „setting up our own company and earning real money, allowing us to finance something important for our class or school” has a considerable incentive effect. The students come up with innumerable ideas: a travel agency for field trips, providing snacks during breaks and many other things. After two years, one group of students at a Hauptschule had become so self-confident that they believed themselves capable of training a group of teachers in the subject of „Setting

44 up a student company” within the scope of a further education seminar. The two ninth graders who were chosen mastered the task brilliantly.

RAA Hoyerswerda Representative for many projects designed by RAA for implementation in Student agency for schools, we would like to quote from the annual report of RAA Hoyerswerda. promoting early This quote wants to underscore the significance of those activities that vocational orientation promote the young people’s personal initiative and self-effectiveness.

„It is Friday, 17 October 2003, 09:30 a.m. in the A few figures and facts on the second vocational large conference room of the Sparkasse in training fair in Hoyerswerda: 31 companies and Hoyerswerda. This afternoon the second institutions were invited by telephone and in vocational training fair will take place here. The writing; 26 exhibitors came, among them such Student Agency for Early Vocational Orientation large companies as, for example, BASF organized the event. It is the second vocational Schwarzheide, Infineon Dresden and Vattenfall training fair as such, but the first one for Sandra, Europe Mining & Generation AG as well as the Silvia, Sebastian, Patrick, Tina and the other Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the members (altogether 11) of the second generation Educational Institution for Medical or Social of students in the Student Agency. Accordingly, Professions or Coiffure Optimal Gesellschaft für they are all very nervous. Will all exhibitors come? Haar- und Körperpflege mbH (a hair and body Have we forgotten anything? Are there enough care company), etc. The members of the Student tables? And, above all, will many students come Agency were particularly happy about the large to gather information about vocational training number of visitors: 811 young people and 209 possibilities? Things start to get hectic! The first adults were counted. The vocational training fair companies offering apprenticeships arrive loaded was a complete success. All exhibitors expressed down with their information material. Everyone their interest in coming again and addresses for has to find his or her place in the large room. potential new exhibitors were exchanged. More Some tables have to be moved again here, a than one thousand visitors had come. Everything tablecloth is missing over there, and then a board worked out perfectly, and also the stand of the has to be moved. And then at 1 p.m. on the dot, Student Agency for Promoting Early Vocational the second vocational training fair in Hoyerswerda Orientation counted many visitors. The agency can be opened. The sponsors, our town’s mayor, staff was tired but happy, all the work and Horst-Dieter Brähmig, and Dr. Borghorst, member nervousness had paid off. The second vocational of the Board of Management of Vattenfall Europe training fair in Hoyerswerda, an economically Mining & Generation AG, together open the fair, weak region, was a special highlight in the thanking the exhibitors and the members of the agency’s work. But the spectrum of its work is Student Agency. You can tell that this fills the much broader. students with pride. And the room is full.

45 In March 2003, the second generation of students The number of participants at the events organized began their work in the Student Agency for by the Student Agency is rising steadily. This shows Promoting Early Vocational Orientation. Working that the there is a corresponding demand at under the guidance of the „old generation” until schools and among students. Already now, the June 2003, new working teams were formed and Agency is starting to recruit new members, quickly were able to manage very well. Their because everyone wants the program to continue ambitious goal was to organize many interesting in the established manner. The 11 members of the and effective events by students for students to Agency are particularly proud that – taking their promote early vocational orientation. Under the agency as a model – a second Agency for guidance and counseling of a RAA staff member, Promoting Early Vocational Orientation was set up the students from the „Förderschule”, the „Mittel- in Schwarzheide under the sponsorship of BASF schule” and the Leon-Foucault „Gymnasium” got and a third Agency was established in Senftenberg down to work. On the basis of previously prepared in cooperation with Vattenfall Europe MIning AG. checklists they organized a discussion between The students from Hoyerswerda were there each apprentices and students regarding jobs in the field time to present their work. There are many ideas, a of medical nursing, a field trip for the „Gymnasium” large demand and very committed students and, students to the „Fachhochschule”, a college for therefore, the work of the Student Agency for higher professional training, in Zittau/Görlitz, an Promoting Early Vocational Orientation will be additional practical training course with Vattenfall continued. Europe Mining and a vocational information day for the students from the „Förderschule”. Of course it took courage to make the first phone calls, write the first letters, design advertising posters and so on, but practice makes perfect. The agency team learned to work together through joint workshops as well as recreational activities, such as a barbecue party on the Knappensee, a small Christmas party or an afternoon of bowling. All these things enhanced the group’s feeling of belonging together, no matter that they came from three different schools. And so we made considerable progress. The members see themselves as a team and the level of independent work has developed very well. New ideas were born. Thus, the vocational training fair for students attending „Mittelschule” and the vocational information day for students attending the „Förderschule” are to become permanent events in the calendars’ of the agency, town and schools, and an annual college and university fair for the „Gymnasium” students is be organized as well.

46 From the project „Foreign The Intercultural Education Center (ikubiz) and RAA provide guidance, self-employed persons support, orientation, prepare young people for employment and stimulate train others“ to the their personal initiative and then the young people frequently cannot find Training Association in apprenticeships after school or cannot find employment following vocational Mannheim training or other qualification measures. Our projects cannot change that, but they can develop concepts and models that convey hope. That is the case in the Intercultural Education Center, which the Freudenberg Foundation frequently has used as a kind of workshop during the past twenty years.

Together with the International Labor Office in Geneva, the Freudenberg Foundation and the Center for Turkish Studies, the Intercultural Education Center developed the model „Self-Employed Foreigners Train Others”. The difficult part was persuading suitable foreigners, e.g. Turkish and Italian retailers, restaurant owners, travel agency owners etc., to train to be an instructor and to sit for an examination of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce. If their assortment of goods or range of services was not sufficient, they had to agree to enter into an association with larger German partners and to observe the – not always plausible – regulations of the German Vocational Training Law.

Although the obstacles presented by the German Dual System are substantial, the project is a success. Since 1996, the city of Mannheim, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the Association of Retail Dealers and ikubiz have established a training association with foreign companies, which, in the meantime, incorporates 80 companies with 200 apprentices, also German ones. The German Federal Ministry for Education and Research has established a Counseling Center in Cologne to promote this approach in other cities.

ProFi One problem encountered on the path between school and employment is Project Establishing a the so-called „second threshold” following vocational training or some other Business in Mannheim form of vocational qualification. The „first threshold” is that between school and vocational training. Many young people cannot find employment after they have completed their vocational training and sometimes they lose the previously acquired qualifications or skills because they cannot put them into practice for a long time. Encouraged by the Prince’s Youth Business Trust founded by Prince Charles, which helps young people set up their own small business, the Freudenberg Foundation – together with the Intercultural Education Center, the city of Mannheim and others – looked for ways to put these experiences to use in Mannheim so as to actively encourage young people to overcome the „second threshold”. Thus, the „Project Establishing a Business in Mannheim“ (ProFi) was set up in 1998. The target group is young adults with a „patchwork biography”, who have an idea and would

47 like to start up their own business. They are offered „low-threshold” guidance, help in drawing up a business plan, further education courses, a small amount of risk capital, sponsorship by successful business founders and forums for exchanging experiences. About 500 persons were advised intensively. One important task of the counseling center was to suggest alternatives to those, whose ideas did not stand the slightest chance. In the first three years, the establishment of 81 businesses was recorded. Only four

„People like us ...“ well as providing and looking after potted plants for balconies and terraces. But how to go about B. P. born in 1972, attained the „Mittlere Reife” setting up a business? He felt he could not go to school-leaving certificate, he discontinued his the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, because studies at the „Kaufmännische Berufskolleg” and „people like us” don’t fit in there. Being did voluntary welfare work in a day-care center for unemployed and receiving social welfare benefits one year before working in a factory. In 1991 he made him insecure but he refused to let things get started an apprenticeship as a gardener, but him down. By chance he happened to look into the changed employers after one year because „he window of the Project Mannheim and saw the only had to shovel earth”. Everything went well at announcement for ProFi. He had found the right the new company, and he was later offered the place. The series of seminars conveyed the position of general manager. However, he couldn’t necessary knowledge, the experiences exchanged accept that job since he had to do substitute within the group expanded his business idea, and military service. Then he began taking on random the counseling helped him order his thoughts and jobs, was unemployed for a time. He thought about develop a business plan. Working with ProFi starting up his own business. Together with his brought encouragement and, at the same time, wife, he wanted to breed healing plants and opened doors and references. The business idea ethnobotanical rarities and sell them in a shop as was successfully put into practice in 2000.

had to give up again, two of these for health reasons. About half of the persons who established their own business have an immigrant background.

Wanted: In a village in the Odenwald, where a professor from Heidelberg has been a Persons willing to assume member of the municipal council for many years, it is customary to help find responsibility apprenticeships in the summer. „Every now and again, a little pressure has to be exerted,” he says. „We have to remind companies that they want to receive orders from the town and have to show solidarity.” The mayor of a town with a population of 400 people in the Eiffel region takes matters even further. When a boy wanted to discontinue his vocational training for the second time, she accompanied him to his employer in the neighboring town

48 to see what was the matter. A young girl was unemployed but refused to go the Employment Office. The mayor accompanied her to witness the dismissive behavior of the appropriate clerk herself. Afterwards she started phoning around until she found an address for the young woman. „We cannot allow anyone to hang around our town,” she says. She is extremely sensitive towards such issues as neglect. When beer cans were littered around the bus stop and the signs of dilapidation could no longer be overlooked on the house used as a self-administered youth center, she went to the families with appropriately aged children and spoke to them until everything was put in order again.

When young man joined the apprentice workshop at Freudenberg, he was given to understand: if you do decent work, then I’ll do something for you and you’ll get a job. And if he worked decently, then the master craftsman got on the phone, persuading his colleagues from other departments until he found a job. This „given-and-take” system would not work anymore today. The whole system was based on the fact that the master craftsman in the apprentice workshop would do something for the other departments when they needed something urgently because, for example, a delivery had to be finished. Today all these services are recorded.

It isn’t easy to assume responsibility anymore. The patriarchal or matriarchal way cannot be taken in large towns or fully rationalized companies. Responsibility has wandered off, without ever arriving anywhere: the families are overtaxed, youth welfare reaches about 15% of the young people, the schools could do a lot but would have to break new ground, the local authorities are not responsible, the Employment Office is not designed as to be helpful in this respect.

Job Central Following Danish and Dutch models, we decided to support the promotion of proactive communities taking responsibility five years ago. Actually it was a logical conclusion, which the Danes, in particular, had drawn: if the traditional responsibility of the family, school or company no longer works and such specialized institutions as the Employment Office are overtaxed, then it has to become a joint task of the town. Thus, in 1999, a regional Youth Agency with the name of „Job Central” was founded in Weinheim. For this purpose, the mayor, the mayors of the neighboring towns, the Town Youth Association and the Freudenberg Foundation jointly founded a supporting organization. The project was based on quite simple considerations: for ten years the number of apprenticeships had decreased by one third in the region and many of the apprenticeships available required higher preliminary skills. Thus, on the one hand, we had to increase the number of apprenticeships, but that alone would not suffice. So, on the on the other hand, we had to make sure that the young people leaving school

49 have better qualifications and, in view of the high rate of drop-outs, receive better counseling and supervision. Yet, that, too, would not suffice: alternative vocational qualifications have to be developed. If the simple and most direct path, taking a young person from a good school-leaving certificate directly to an apprenticeship, is blocked and they face only curving roads, then they need orientation and acknowledgement.

„Job Central’s” program followed this logic in the past years: a group of volunteer supporters was created („Berufsstart”), which tries to create new apprenticeships and looks for more traineeships as alternatives in the future. It is involved in the vocational orientation offered at schools, helps young people look for an apprenticeship and, if necessary, accompanies selected young people even further. Three educators working at the counseling center of „Job Central” assist their group of supporters. The counseling services and the ready availability are called on very frequently. The counseling center also tries to promote the further education plans of the schools themselves. Job-application and job-interview trainings are offered as well as other modules contributing to quality development. In this respect, however, the project is just at the beginning.

The search for alternative learning options involving more traineeships as well as acknowledgement of other activities also has been started. Young people working in jobs, associations and internships learn something. In order to give them confirmation of this and to be able to help find apprenticeships or places of employment, the Freudenberg Foundation together with the Ministry of Cultural Affairs of Baden-Württemberg developed the Qualipass.

Qualipass The Qualipass is supposed to enable young people and young adults to document the practical job experiences and attainment of competences acquired through internships, jobs with associations, student initiatives, stays abroad, neighborhood assistance groups, their own inventions or participation in employment projects. The following entries can be found in the Qualipass of a 16-year-old student from Weinheim: „For one year Katharina, once a week, helped two elementary school pupils of Lebanese origins with their homework at their home. She has learned to work with the linguistic skills of the children and to explain complicated topics accordingly.” Under special skills Katharina’s Qualipass states: „Intercultural awareness, reliability, persistence and a sense of responsibility.” A critical factor of success with respect to using the pass profitably is the need for reliable and trustful relationships with knowledgeable adults who can speak to the young people about their experiences and encourage them when they are looking for suitable vocational training or jobs. Especially underprivileged youth, as an evaluation study confirmed, cannot find the

50 support they need in their own families. The Qualipass has a section entitled „my coach” or my adviser. Thus, the Qualipass proceeds on the assumption that every young person has one person who will accompany him/her on the curved road leading from school to employment and will confirm the qualifications acquired by the young person with his signature.

Developing How can something like a „proactive community taking responsibility” be Job Central further organized for young people between school and working life? Like many projects in Mannheim, Offenbach, Hoyerswerda etc., the Job Central project has developed many individual modes of action. The question is how these individual threads can be woven together. The Freudenberg Foundation and the city of Weinheim have agreed to make the required coordination a joint

51 task of the city and its citizens and to share the costs. The mayor has appointed a commission for the promotion of vocational and social integration, which consists of representatives from the municipal authorities, associations, independent organizations active in the field, schools and the circle of sponsors. Once a year, this commission will discuss the integration report submitted by Job Central and decide on further steps.

Prospects Let us return to the beginning: it remains indisputable that action furthering the integration of adolescents and young adults in working life needs to be taken above all at the local level. In the „Memorandum” of 1998 it is stated under Item 20 „Local Education Policy”: „The consequences of a lack of apprenticeships and unemployment will have a direct effect at the local level. Thus, the local level must be the central point of departure for all measures.” For this reason, an independent local educational and vocational training policy as well as local responsibility for the coordination of all measures continues to be needed. The objective of this project is to develop and broadly support transferable concepts for successful local coordination of the integration of young people in vocational training, employment and vocation, always on the basis of local models, in which the civic commitment of volunteers plays a special part in the vocational integration of young people. The Freudenberg Foundation wants to do everything in its power to make this succeed.

52 A boy from a Turkish family, who successfully A few weeks after the beginning of the completed „Hauptschule” but cannot find an apprenticeship training, the next complications apprenticeship turns for help to the group of arise: the parents refuse to let the boy attend the sponsors in Weinheim. A volunteer „adviser” is obligatory instruction at vocational school, found, and in their first meeting it quickly because the technical classes are not taught in becomes evident that the boy would like to the town but in a regional vocational school. After become a roofer. The „adviser” can help: he substantial persuasion on the part of the „adviser” persuades a friend to meet the boy. On the day of and strong pressure by the company (which the appointment, the „adviser” picks up the boy otherwise would have terminated the from his home and goes to the company with him. apprenticeship agreement immediately) the On the way there, he prepares the applicant for parents give way. the expressive, somewhat loud mannerisms of the company owner. The interview goes well: the Based on occasional reports of the owner and owner proudly shows the boy the company, the boy, there are no special problems during the boy does not seem to be completely intimidated. next two-and-a-half years. In view of these calm After a period for consideration, a two-week in- signals, the „adviser” relaxes his contact. Just a service training is agreed. The boy is thrilled, the few months before the end of the apprenticeship, owner satisfied – the contract for an the owner informs him of considerable problems apprenticeship is concluded. At the proposal of – the boy’s grades are bad, endangering the the „adviser”, a person of confidence, who would successful completion of the apprenticeship. The be available at all times, was chosen for the time „adviser” found out that many things did indeed of the apprenticeship. „go wrong” during the second and third years of school. The apprentice hesitantly relates his At the beginning of the apprenticeship year, on 1 experiences to the „adviser”: evidently the boy September, the apprenticeship nearly fell through: had considerable problems dealing with the the boy didn’t come to work and didn’t notify rough manners and language used in the work anyone either. The company owner is extremely teams and on the construction sites. He claims angry. At 7 a.m. he calls the „adviser” to tell him his colleagues made fun of him several times – he can forget about the apprenticeship. The severely injuring his and his family’s pride. He felt „adviser” calms the owner, telling him he will try to humiliated. The owner, however, maintained that find out why the boy didn’t show up for work. He this was normal on building sites and had to be turns to Job Central, where a staff member finds accepted. The „adviser” persuaded both sides to out the same morning that the boy and his family do everything in their power to ensure that the are still in Turkey after having extended their apprenticeship could be completed successfully. vacation by one week. Unfortunately, the boy is In addition, Job Central organized and financed not allowed to return home alone. Using all his private instruction to prepare the boy for his final persuasive powers, the „adviser” is finally able to examinations. Due to this support the boy convince the owner to postpone the beginning of managed to finish his apprenticeship and pass the apprenticeship until 15 September. the examination. Afterwards, he left the company, since the relationship between the boy and the company had been permanently hurt by the events that occurred during the apprenticeship.

Learning democracy and assuming responsibility in school and the community

The problem The issues confronting the Foundation in this area are as follows: How can the dangers threatening democratic culture, which arise through extremism, particularly right-wing extremism, racism and anti-Semitism, and youth violence, be repelled and how can democratic values and democratic behavior be promoted among children and adolescents?

Many young people learn from their immediate surroundings that people are not equal, but that they themselves and those to whom they feel they belong are worth more than others. They learn that people who seem strange deserve to be excluded, to have no rights of inviolability and dignity. The less they have learned to be able to rely on their relationships with other people, the less acknowledgement they have received throughout their lives, the less security and fewer prospects their futures seem to hold and the more injured and vulnerable they feel, the more indifferent will they be when others are injured and the more willing will they be to use violence towards those who seem foreign and disruptive. This propensity for violence will actually increase when they are members of a group that seems to give them support and whose goals reflect this disposition and justify it ideologically.

Right-wing extremists scoff at human rights and democracy, which would call for acknowledging equality and respecting the rights of others, which guarantee inviolability and dignity to all people and insist on solving disputes without violence. They reject the concept that the law applies without distinction of person and that everyone – not only one’s own group – benefits from solidarity and help. Right-wing extremists insist on the superiority of their own race, consider themselves the defenders of their own species and blood against all that is defined as foreign; they stress the superiority and higher value of themselves, will not shrink from using violence in defense of these convictions, and make use of the „Führer” principle.

Different forms of right-wing extremism can be found in many European countries. In Germany, the right-wing extremist enemies of democracy base their convictions on „national” thought, honor militaristic and nationalist traditions and use national-socialist symbols and mottos to identify their groups. Right-wing extremist groups threaten the development of democratic culture wherever they can count on open or secret approval of their xenophobic, racist and anti-Semitic activities, mottos or deeds, wherever civil society is too weak for effective resistance and the state does not support such resistance decidedly enough.

55 Movements with other political and ideological aims also use the socio- psychological mechanism of gaining self-acknowledgement by joining the extremist and violent groups described above. Islamic groups, for example, owe their success to comparable contexts. This also holds true for binding young people to violent left-wing extremist groups.

The Freudenberg Foundation has given a great deal of attention to right- wing extremism because it has not become established in eastern Germany as relatively isolated groups at the fringes of society – as was the case for many years in western Germany – but increasingly defines the culture of everyday life of young people in many areas. The alarming aspect is that this development was incorrectly interpreted, ignored or even denied in spite of the obvious violence by which it is accompanied.

What we have done: One part of the Foundation’s project work can be described as trying to 1. Disclosing the problem convey the nature of the problem that needs to be solved. Following the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Freudenberg Foundation invited the „Study Group for Issues concerning Foreigners” of the Central Round Table, the Federal

56 Government commissioner for immigration issues, several members of local governments responsible for issues concerning foreigners as well as experts on immigration and integration to Weinheim to discuss possibilities of collaboration.

Study Group One of the late results of this discussion was the establishment of a „Study Against Xenophobia Group Against Xenophobia” in 1991. The objective of this study group, which included commissioners for immigration issues of governments of the new German states and experts in the field, was to plan joint campaigns against the xenophobia spreading alarmingly through eastern Germany. One such campaign, for example, was a lecture and discussion tour through Eastern German cities, to which the respective local politicians, important local persons and local initiatives were invited. The aim was to give moral support to these, frequently quite isolated, initiatives.

RAA in the new The newly founded RAA, „Regionalen Arbeitsstellen für Ausländerfragen, German states Jugendarbeit und Schule e.V.” (i.e. regional centers for issues concerning foreigners, youth work and school) was the umbrella organization of the study group, which was chaired by the commissioner for immigration issues of the state of Brandenburg. The „Study Group Against Xenophobia” and most of the RAA (20 had been established quickly in succession at the time) considered it their most important task to take care of the foreigners who had remained in eastern Germany, the „contractual employees from Vietnam” and others as well as the refugees who had been sent to eastern German states by trying to further their acceptance among the German population.

An eastern German expert on right-wing extremism and criminologist had foreseen this situation and warned of violent attacks. He and the founder of RAA in eastern Germany never tired of pointing out that xenophobia was not an occasional phenomenon caused by certain conditions, but part of a much more dangerous, more widespread attitude syndrome feeding on historical and cultural roots and open to right-wing extremist influences. For this reason, they called for the development of a much more comprehensive concept aiming at the democratic stabilization of the civil society.

Still under the impression of the violent attacks in Hoyerswerda and Rostock, the Federal Government decided to finance „An Action Program Against Violence”. They proceeded on the assumption that the problem basically related to youths and could be solved through measures of youth policy and social education. Therefore, youth clubs, youth centers and youth work were promoted. The idea was that women and men trained in social pedagogy, by expressing openness and acceptance, would be able to win the trust of the right-wing extremist youth and, thus, be able to lead them

57 back into the fold of democracy. In actual fact this plan failed most of the time. More often than not, the right-wing extremist groups occupied the youth centers made available to them, chasing away all others. The action program was ended after three years and a cost of DM 40 million.

The RAA had attempted to present to the responsible ministry and youth- assistance consultants a comprehensive program that also included schools. This failed due to the opposition prevalent between the areas of education and youth work. In the following years, the RAA independently put this concept into practice to show the benefits of an approach that is not limited to the immediate surroundings of the young people and does not restrict the learning of intercultural openness and the development of democratic virtues to the young people themselves, but also includes adults, parents and neighbors.

In the middle of the 1990s the RAA told us more and more often about attacks and violence of right-wing extremist groups and the gradual spread of their influence in the everyday life of young people. Occasionally these reports sounded like horror stories, relating as they were right-wing dominance and the dominating position of right-wing comradeships in some areas.

This situation was not a topic of general politics. We were further encouraged to work towards making the public aware of the spread of right- wing extremist attitudes through a television film set in Brandenburg. This documentary showed the rule of a clique of right-wing extremist youths in the town of Schwedt. „This town belongs to us,” the spokesman of the clique calmly tells the camera, and the petite social worker responsible for the group attempts to gloss over the situation, asking for understanding. „Any events we don’t like, we simply disrupt.” He went onto say that the police always looked the other way and, anyway, no one would settle down Civis-Prize for a film in their territory without their approval. The film received the Civis Prize. about right-wing Encouraged by this, a sequel was made, reporting about a citizens’ meeting extremism in Schwedt organized by the municipal government. The mayor denied the existence of the problem. Outside, the right-wing hoodlums were waiting and taking on a threatening pose. They accompanied the film team to their hotel rooms. Never in their life had they been so scared, the film team told us later.

Study by In order to shed light onto the matter, we asked Bernd Wagner to conduct a Bernd Wagner study on the manifestations of right-wing extremism in eastern Germany. He was able to describe to what extent the right-wing extremism prevalent in eastern Germany had its roots in the former GDR, how comfortable the activists felt in the population and how threatening the dynamics actually were. No one had paid much attention to Bernd Wagner, an expert in this

58 field who had already observed the movement in the former DDR. He was part of a mobile consulting team of RAA, which was financed by the commissioner for immigration issues of the state of Brandenburg. The Foundation assumed some of the costs so as to allow him to set up a „Center for Democratic Culture – Right-Wing Extremism, Youth Violence, and New Media”. The most important task of this center, which was financed almost solely by the Freudenberg Foundation in the first years, was to document events and developments, to inform the general public, to collect scientific research (still rare at the time), to advise RAA and develop strategies of action together with them. Another function of the center was to inform the press. Trips through the German province were offered to all; very few accepted. Only when – with the help of the Freudenberg Foundation – the Amadeu Antonio Foundation, which to a certain extent was Center for hitched to the RAA and the Center for Democratic Culture, was founded did Democratic Culture the media turn its attention to the threat to democratic culture posed by right-wing extremism, and only then did information on the problem and the defined possibilities of action enter the political scene.

What we have done: Numerous small projects, which we developed together with the Center for 2. Develop possibilities Democratic Culture, serve to test different possibilities of action. In Schwedt of action we are supporting a group of young people organized by RAA Angermünde. They did not dare enter any youth center because of their democratic Hip-hop-group convictions and preference for hip-hop music. The group developed an in Schwedt attractive program, allowing it to become large enough to protect itself. When it felt strong enough, it began using one floor in a youth center. Later, even members of right-wing groups went along on the group’s bike tours – but only after they had willingly removed all right-wing symbols from their clothes etc.

Friedensdorf in We learned a lot in the course of supporting the Friedensdorf (peace village) Storkow in Storkow, a concept that we didn’t invent, but only furthered together with the German Children and Youth Foundation. The relief agency Cap Anamur and its manager had grasped the problem and come up with the idea of building a „Friedensdorf” in Storkow close to the idyllic lake, where right- wing youths would build houses and live together with Bosnian refugees, Vietnamese workers and citizens of Storkow. The last house was intended for joint events and provided space for RAA. The project, which was planned and accompanied by the Mobile Consulting Team of RAA Brandenburg, developed the hoped for dynamics: the right-wing extremist youths were interested in earning some money by building houses and finally accepted. The relations to the Bosnian foremen and workers were tense. Only gradually did the groups begin to talk with one another. The ice was broken when the young men found out that the Bosnians knew how to handle

59 bazookas. After one year, some of the young people decided to take the opportunity of completing vocational training. When, on a new year’s eve, right-wing groups announced their intention to cause trouble, they patrolled the building site to defend their work. The surrounding conditions were favorable: next door was a large Bundeswehr barracks and the soldiers occasionally helped move huge mounds of soil with a tank or digger, a restaurant owner on the lake did not want to have the tourists scared away and demanded peace, and the top city officials as well as a former officer of the People’s Army were on the board of the supporting institution.

A rule of thumb we learned from the „Friedensdorf” is that, first, you need an attractive idea; second, a managing team like the staff members of the Mobile Consulting Team, who are familiar with the manifestations of right- wing extremism and can ensure the observance of democratic standards; and, third, surroundings that are supportive of them. Fourth, it is helpful if this is reflected in the media: the „Friedensdorf” gained substantial public attention – prominent politicians came and the young people could admire themselves on television. One problem at the time was that the right-wing extremists always had greater chances of gaining the attention of the media.

The RAA or other organizations around RAA carried out other projects: a youth center received a high-tech audio system; however, the social pedagogues made it available to everyone on the condition that it may be used only by persons wearing neutral outfits – i.e. not battle dress. This succeeded and, yet, a measure like this can only succeed if the social pedagogues can count on the support of the mayor and the community. Wherever civil society is weak, much depends on the attitude expressed by the mayor. If he is worried about the town’s reputation and does not impose restrictions on right-wing comradeships, things may get out of control. In Schwedt, for example, the municipal authorities tried to solve the problem by asking members of right-wing groups to work as hall ushers, never expecting to read in the Internet that this or that district, a street, a youth center, the square in front of the railway station were „nationally liberated” at certain times.

The encouraging experience gained with project work in the second half of the 1990s was that one can do something. Although this is not always the case, it is true whenever the basic concept is good, courageous people are involved and can be protected.

Personal courage in A young woman pastor in Barnim did not want to be paralyzed by the Joachimsthal, oppressive atmosphere. She invited young people from her community to district of Barnim make music together with a group of young people from Kreuzberg, which also included children from Turkish families. The right-wing comradeship in

60 her town lured the police away with a fake emergency, surrounded the church and beat up the young musicians. The pastor made the attack a subject of discussion in the community and wanted to know what was going on. Yet, instead of support, she was confronted by hostility. The more she tried to discuss the subject, the more she became the object of severe criticism that claimed she had no idea about the problems of the people and would only bring the town into disrepute and that she would have to apologize for the negative press reports. Hardly anyone spoke to her anymore. There were intrigues and the town tried to have her replaced. At the same time, the number of violent attacks rose – the vicarage, situated in the center of town, was attacked thirteen times when she and her husband were not at home. Every time the culprits left behind smashed furniture, torn books and smeared walls. Nevertheless, no one considered this reason enough to take her side. The mayor told her that there were no right-wing groups in the town and if there were, then they should not be provoked. That was five years ago. The pastor held her ground. Her superiors in the church supported her. First the Freudenberg Foundation, then the Amadeu Antonio Foundation helped organize attractive musical programs for young people. Other pastors initiated comparable programs. The town and neighboring regions grew to like these programs. Albeit the right-wing groups have not disappeared, the pastor feels a lot better – but it took years.

What we have done: The Center for Democratic Culture has collected many such examples, using 3: Promote preventive them to develop analyses and advice for communities. The RAA increasing- action ly have tried not only to react but also to develop models for improving civic education in school and youth work. It stands to be concluded that political and civic education are called for when weaknesses in the democratic culture become evident. The problem was and is that the traditional spectrum of political education is not very attractive for young people. In a succinct – and perhaps distorting – manner, the range of subjects can be described as a mixture of information about democratic institutions and their historic rise and fall on the one hand and moral appeals on the other hand. It usually is limited to instruction on institutions, confrontation with the holocaust and all sorts of af- firmation. Partly this can be attributed to the fact that democracy is above all considered a form of government in Germany, not a form of society and by no means – as in Anglo-Saxon countries – a form of life. Encountering democracy in one’s everyday life, however, is, based on our experience, the only meaningful educational strategy. The Theodor Heuss Foundation (also sponsored by the Freudenberg Foundation) and its contest „Acting Democrati- cally” as well as the Brandenburger Tor Foundation and its contest „Assum- ing Responsibility” have provided clear indicators supporting this opinion. By Community education promoting community education, the Freudenberg Foundation has shown in Germany how schools can be opened up systematically and cooperative projects enable and further democratic and intercultural actions.

61 Learning and living In two volumes of expert opinions on how democracy can be learned, it democracy becomes evident that those young people who claim they had possibilities of participation, i.e. experienced democracy in school, who report that school was fair and the teachers were concerned about the pupils, are not inclined to use violence or take on right-wing attitudes. Vice versa, studies have shown that in schools where democracy cannot be experienced and pupils complain about a bad atmosphere, the propensity for violence and tones of right-wing extremism occur much more frequently.

The development of civic education and the corresponding curricula, the organization of schools and school-life is the major – as of yet not coped with – task, to which end the Freudenberg Foundation would like to contribute through its projects, hoping to improve the prerequisites for creating a democratic culture. By no means are we limiting our efforts to eastern Germany. Many western German young people have no chance of experiencing democracy, either in their families or surroundings. Studies conducted by Professor Pfeiffer and others show that many young people from families with a Turkish background or Eastern European families of German origins have experienced violence. For these young people it would be extremely important to attend schools that demonstrate democracy as a form of life as well as encourage democratic action and assumption of responsibility.

The list of initiatives, on the basis of which RAA and other projects are trying to reach these goals is long and would fill a separate report. They include the promotion of project instruction, education modules for units of instruction on the subject of right-wing extremism, the organization of international meetings and projects contributing to the democratic development of schools in Brandenburg. Representative for all initiatives, we would like to describe four projects below.

Living democracy in The Freudenberg Stiftung is supporting a project of the Bernard van Leer kindergarten and school Foundation und the Lindenstiftung for Pre-School Education (managed by in Eberswalde the Freudenberg Foundation) in Eberswalde. The project is an experiment attempting to practice forms of democratic behavior in kindergarten: amongst the children themselves and towards the teachers and parents. Children should be given the chance to make decisions at an early age and, thus, learn to deal with conflicts. Naturally this will only succeed if the teachers and parents also behave accordingly. It is frequently difficult to organize democratic decision-making situations and open discussions at school, because many children and adolescents never experienced such forms of communication in their families. Therefore, they often respond with fear and aggressive rejection. This project hopes that such problems can be prevented if democratic communication is learned at an early age in

62 kindergarten. The first results are encouraging. A study group of RAA dedicated to pre-school education is studying the feasibility of applying this project elsewhere. The project is called „Learning and living democracy”.

Qualitätsentwicklung von Student clubs are in-school forums for students, teachers and external Schülerclubs partners, where children and adolescents can be involved in school-life through their own activities and the support of the principal. Student clubs are a time-proven element of Eastern German educational traditions, and since 1994 they have been used in many German states as a means to open up schools. For 10 years, the RAA – sponsored by the German Children and Youth Foundation – have been trying to heighten the quality of student clubs in such a way that they evolve into democratic cells in the schools. In particular this happens when the students themselves organize the student clubs, the program is important for the school and contacts are established to the parents and the environment of the school.

Peer leadership training The most important project originating from student clubs was the Peer for civic education and Leaders project. Peer leaders are young people who are willing to take on intercultural competence leadership positions and responsibility in groups of children of the same age and to integrate other young people in the organization of projects and actions. Children learn best from other children who speak their language and, in their opinion, usually are more credible than adults. The Peer Leadership Training wants to practice methods and exercises to conduct debates, counseling and projects with young people of the same age group. The topics that the young people discuss range from multiculturalism to right-wing extremism, asylum and immigration, democracy and civil society to the tools needed for moderating groups. Since the beginning of the trainings in 1999/2000, altogether 70 young people from 4 German states have been trained as Peer Leaders. They have launched their own initiatives at their schools or school neighborhood: for example, a hip-hop school tour to promote respect and tolerance or an art action with youth from a home for asylum seekers. It is planned to extend the Peer Leadership Training to the European partner cities united under YEPP (Youth Empowerment Partnership Program). A first step already has been taken in Tuzla: peer leaders from Germany presented the program and their projects to Bosnian children.

Doing something for The problem that the Freudenberg Foundation would like to confront by others: The project transferring „Service Learning” from its Anglo-Saxon context is that young Learning Responsibility people often have no possibility of taking up the challenge of civic responsibility or experiencing their own effectiveness in school and their general environments. The Foundation was impressed by the experiences gained in North America, which showed that well-conceived Service Learning programs which encouraged students to take on civic duties

63 About long journeys and taking the first step Today we have come to a point where we can offer our work to other schools. Within the scope of our „All beginnings are hard“ and „slowly but surely“. In student company we earn a little extra on the side the course of our anti-mobbing project at the Otto so as to be able to finance our numerous other Nagel „Oberschule” in Berlin we had ample projects. And since sayings always make a point: opportunity to realize the truth of such sayings; The journey of a thousand miles begins with one otherwise we would not be where we are today: we step. We have proven that through the Peer have reached a point where we are ready and Leaders work and I am proud to say that we don’t willing to act independently, knowing full well that have far to go. we can do well. About two years ago, we asked ourselves which problem was predominant at our school. We unanimously decided it was „mobbing”, because the same behavior demonstrated by the younger pupils through fighting and verbal abuse occurred among the teachers on a psychological level.

Since it is necessary to strike at the roots of problems, we concentrated first on grades five and seven and informed the teachers of our plans. The young pupils soon took to us and trusted us. The teachers, too, quickly came to trust our work and requested that additional classes be included. Since our team was made up of five men and women, the tasks could be divided and coordinated with our own schoolwork without problems. The training can only be efficient if it is conducted at regular intervals. It would be unrealistic to expect that one 90-minute lesson can have a sustained effect in the pupils’ manner of thinking and lead to radical changes. And this brings us back to the long journey. Our goal is to sensitize young people in their behavior towards other pupils. With well-known „aha-experience” games, we achieved this goal with the majority of the students.

64 outside their school as part of the school curriculum were the most reliable guarantee that these young people would be proactive members of civic society later. Furthermore, the young people gained participation and acknowledgement experiences, which help prevent violence and tendencies towards right-wing extremism. Therefore, in March 2000, following a conference with experts from research institutes, persons active in the field, representatives from politics and public administration as well as from thematically related foundations, we decided to start a pilot project called „Learning Responsibility”. This project would accompany the model project of the Federal and State Commission for Educational Planning and Research Assistance (BLK) called „Learning and Living Democracy”. Our goal was to determine its effectiveness and applicability to already existing concepts of developing democracy at ten schools ranging from Hauptschule to Gymnasium nationwide. The results were very encouraging. Students from a Realschule in Waldmichelbach set up a mentor program for elementary school pupils, students from a Hauptschule in Viernheim visited with senior citizens, students from the Gymnasium in Hoyerswerda made a documentary film for the local Mozambique Club. Preparing and evaluating the activities were part of the instruction and, at the same time, an innovation team made up of teachers, students, school administrators, parents and partners from outside the school accompanied the activities. Due to the successful trial of Service Learning, the persons responsible for the program of the BLK model project were able to prioritize this approach in Baden-Württemberg, with a five-year promotion by foundations.

Taking the pilot project a step further, we developed a two-pillar model for comprehensive promotion of democratic competence within the scope of the BLK model project „Learning and Living Democracy”: Learning responsibility and democracy in schools and communities. The first pillar – „learning responsibility” – involves assuming and reflecting on responsibility as a major element of school education. Learning to take on responsibility starts in elementary school in the manageable space of the classroom. Afterwards the space for taking on responsibility extends from the classroom to the school and, finally, to the community. The other pillar – „learning democracy” – refers to the forms and forums of democracy in everyday life from elementary school to the end of school education. The objective of our model project is to develop a comprehensive and modular curriculum for „democratic competence”, taking it from model experiments to implementation in schools up to its becoming a fixed part of school instruction, curricula and programs. Furthermore, we would like to present possibilities and methods to schools, thereby raising the awareness of politics and ensuring that the subject of learning democracy is incorporated in the school system.

65 Our project has a double structure comprising a development network in Baden-Württemberg and a nationwide transfer network. With the help of funds from the Freudenberg Foundation and BLK (the state of Baden- Württemberg and the Federal Government, in this case) we have formed a close-knit school development network in Baden-Württemberg consisting of seven different types of schools (elementary school, Hauptschule, Realschule and Gymnasium). Together with these schools, we develop models to implement the above-mentioned approaches for the acquisition of democratic competence. We are collaborating with the Mercator Foundation to disseminate the successful approaches nationwide. For this purpose, we have a large transfer network that currently includes 25 schools in eight German states.

Prospects The project „Learning Responsibility” is part of the larger BLK program „Learning and Living Democracy”. But this program also is only part of the desired development and implementation of a new concept of civic education. This would certainly affect the further development of the „political education” programs being funded currently by the federal

Student mentors at the Eduard-Spranger His godfather, Tufan, suggested to the boy’s „Hauptschule” in Reutlingen parents that they set up a „learning corner” in the apartment, where Seyit could keep his school Giuseppe’s „godchild“ had problems reading. materials and work undisturbed. Rudy’s too. And Afshin’s „charge” couldn’t do basic arithmetic. All that is changing because ten A staff member of the Youth Immigration Service of students from class 8a of the Eduard-Spranger the Protestant Church, who is of Turkish origin „Hauptschule” have been supervising first- and himself, is supporting the boys. He knows the second-grade pupils from the elementary school cultural differences and, thus, he knows where since the beginning of the school year. In their there is a lack of communication. He knows that the function as „student mentors”, they have to be „all- parents of immigrant children frequently speak rounders”: they help the children learn how to read hardly any or no German at all, that they are not and do arithmetic, they help the parents, many of familiar with the German school system and whom have only a poor command of German, at educational requirements, and that, in view of all parents’ evenings and sometimes when official these reasons, they are not able to help their documents have to be translated. They visit the children do their schoolwork. „The parents and home of „their” godchild once a week. One of the children do not read together at home, dictation is basic assumptions of this project is that you have to not practiced. The parents hardly ever look at their be familiar with the circumstances of life of the children’s homework.” Since many families „are not children being supervised to really be able to help. familiar with the playful culture of learning prevalent Thus, for example, in the case of Seyit, the cause at elementary schools here, due to their different simply was the lack of a workplace at home, where cultural background, the teaching and learning he could do his homework and prepare for school. methods don’t mean much to them,” he explains.

66 This is where the special competence of the was not sure whether he would find the time to student mentors sets in. Eight of the ten boys are pursue his hobbies and be a student mentor at growing up bilingually and feel at home in two the same time. Now he would not want to be cultures. With ease they shift from Turkish to without the job anymore: „I think it’s great that my German, from Russian to German or from Italian godchild is much better at school now.” The ten to German. Since they have answers both to boys approach their task quite professionally. organizational questions and issues of mentality, Obviously the social worker’s seminar prepared they can actively support interested parents who them well for the job. They already spent a joint – need help. Naturally, both sides must trust one pedagogical – weekend together: „After all, we another. This basis of trust was created by the are a team,” says Ingo, one of the boys. At the teacher of class 8a and the social worker. Already regular group meetings, they discuss problems, before the start of the project at the beginning of trying to find solutions together. The certificate the new 2003/2004 school year, he established they will receive for their job is a nice side effect. contact to the families concerned encouraging The motivation would definitely be the same them to accept the new student mentors. without the certificate. That is quite evident. Nevertheless, it will come in handy when they The ten students volunteered because they send out their first job applications next year. thought that the student mentor training would be a great opportunity for them. At first Giuseppe

government and states. If it were possible to fill gaps in the process, then we would make sure that all children and adolescents received „human rights education”. At the present time, it cannot be definitely assumed that the teachers have knowledge of the human rights that are to govern life in our society. This, too, would only be a small part of all that needs to be done. Hence, it would be advisable that all the government-funded programs for the promotion of democratic action – Civitas, Entimon, Xenos and the BLK projects – relate more strongly to one another and mark the beginning of something. What is missing is a sustained concept for civic politics.

The choice of the term „civic politics” reflects the idea that the creation and guarantee of democratic culture, the learning of democratic values and the practicing of democratic conduct can be promoted or hindered by politics. „Civic politics” as an answer to the criticism of the state of the political culture is a demand that would have met with surprise just a few years ago. Apart from the government-funded institutions for political education, it was generally assumed that democratic culture was created in a seemingly natural way in families, at school and in civil society itself. Politics had to interfere when the democratic order and development was disrupted by

67 extremist violence. Then it was the responsibility of the Ministries of the Interior, the police and the judiciary to eliminate such disturbances.

In view of the fact that the everyday culture in eastern Germany – and increasingly in western Germany – was influenced by right-wing extremism that manifested itself through violence, racism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia, above all among eastern German youths, it became evident that one could not rely on the self-healing powers of civil society in this case. Violence and the „nationalistic” idea of a biologically and culturally predetermined inequality of people pose a threat to the core of democracy and peaceful coexistence in Europe.

Long-term study of Together with the Volkswagen Foundation, the Marga and Kurt Möllgaard group-related xenophobia Foundation, ZEIT newsmagazine and the publishing firm Suhrkamp Verlag, by Professor Heitmeyer we participated in a ten-year long-term study on the development of the syndrome of xenophobic attitudes (racism, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, heterophobia, Islamophobia, privileges of the Establishment, sexism). The annual evaluations and reports conducted by Professor Heitmeyer provide important information on actions that need to be taken by the government and civil society. At the next „Weinheim Conference”, scheduled to take place in 2005, the importance of schools as well as inter-ethnic contacts with respect to decreasing xenophobia will be a topic of discussion.

All experiences gained in the past ten years show that such threats to democratic culture cannot be mastered by means of occasional measures undertaken by initiatives of civil society or individual government bureaucracies. This is not only a problem confronting the police, it is not the exclusive responsibility of youth welfare or the Protestant community, schools or the employment market – it concerns everyone everywhere at one and the same time. Moreover, it is not restricted to the protection of victims or setting up Mobile Consulting Teams in situations of crisis – it calls for more comprehensive measures: civil society as a whole has to be strengthened, democratic values have to be learned and forms of democracy practiced so as to prepare young people for life in a culturally pluralistic Europe. A comprehensive approach is needed, systematic cooperation of the government and civil society and, above all, sustained (i.e. not occasional) promotion of the civil society. In other words, political action is needed. It is important that the socio-political efforts are not limited to fending off threats to and disruptions of democratic culture, but that they aim towards such positive goals as learning democracy, assuming responsibility and living together in Europe.

68 69

Work for the mentally ill

The problem About 400,000 to 500,000 people who are or could be employed required psychiatric help, be it through a stay in a clinic or outpatient treatment in a psychiatric practice. 3–5% of the population is considered to be mentally ill. The chances of being employed again after having to give up one’s employment or being fired due to such an illness are relatively slim. In many cases, the stress of today’s working life was one of the causes of the illness. Recollections of the behavior of the person concerned in the time before the first outbreak of the illness frequently prevent employees and employers from working together again. In addition, many persons find it difficult to understand that a mental illness is an illness and not a personality defect. Thus, for example, the inability to keep up an accelerated speed of work is frequently considered laziness. Although some employers are still willing to let people take up their work again after psychiatric treatment, they are becoming fewer and fewer in view of the increasingly aggravated conditions that have been prevailing on the labor market for many years.

In many cases, mentally ill persons face depressing alternatives: either they go into premature retirement, they accept the offer to work in a „workshop for handicapped persons” or they stay unemployed permanently. Most workshops are designed primarily for mentally retarded persons. Therefore, the available work or the organizational form frequently is not suitable for mentally ill persons. Unfortunately, there are far too few workshops for mentally ill persons, where their special problems can be taken into consideration. Taking an extreme case, just imagine an engineer suffering from depression welding objects into packages next to a person with Down syndrome. Moreover, the monthly wages of Û 80.00 are a pittance and by no means help boost the injured feelings of self-worth of the mentally ill person. They are not given the feeling of doing valuable work and being rewarded accordingly. Even for healthy people permanent unemployment is accompanied by psychological stress. Therefore, as a rule, vocational rehabilitation and reintegration in the labor market is a prerequisite for the recovery of mentally ill persons, to whatever extent cure is possible.

The question that arose in 1985 when „Work for the Mentally Ill” became an area of interest of the foundation was: Is it possible to identify areas in the labor market that can offer integration opportunities to people with a mental illness? The answers we found were not very encouraging. Many companies pointed out that they had to introduce measures of rationalization, and the more sophisticated technology increased the general pressure on the employees and also resulted in the obliteration of many side jobs. Job opportunities in industrial enterprises dropped in the past decades. A former

71 union chairman noted: „Today you have to work 130% otherwise you’ll be out on the street.” Where does that leave the mentally ill?

Another factor hindering integration in the labor market is the relative lack of flexibility in the structure of the employment market. As a rule, one can apply for a full-time or part-time position in the primary employment market. However, mentally ill persons can only work two or three hours per day during the initial phase of reintegration. If all goes well the number of hours can be increased; sometimes they may be able to cope with a half-time, three-quarter-time or even full-time position. Contrary to the flu, a mental illness is never cured completely in many cases. Relapses have to be expected and, accordingly, also renewed reintegration measures and a working time of two hours. Not all mentally ill persons have these problems, but they must be expected.

In order for the employment of mentally ill persons to be successful, more factors than the number of working hours need to be taken into consideration. The speed of work, the amount of responsibility, unforeseeable events that may be part of the job and sometimes also noise have to be evaluated carefully. Handling these factors cautiously may lead to success quicker than generally expected. In view of rationalization and „lean” company structures, difficulties can be expected in this connection also in normal companies.

72 What we have done In 1985, when we began taking an interest in this problem, we were able to fall back on the work done by Professor Rudolf Freudenberg in England. He proposed not only to open psychiatric wards but to also create jobs for the mentally ill in the community at the same time. He had developed such a model in London.

When the Foundation was established, there were about ten „self-help firms” for mentally ill persons in Germany, whose initiators had modeled their firms on the ideas and experiences of Rudolf Freudenberg. One of these self-help companies – „Integra” in Walldorf” – was supported by the Freudenberg company. Taking this as an example, the Foundation began promoting self-help companies in the hope that these would develop flexible jobs paying standard wages for mentally ill persons.

„Work Source“ Weinheim We gained our first own experiences in the course of setting up the self-help company „Work Source” in Weinheim. „Work Source” offered handloom weaving jobs to five persons, three persons worked in a second-hand shop, and two persons earned money by mangling and ironing. The financial backing was earned with industrial production work for Freudenberg Simrit KG. When this lapsed, „Work Source” had to be closed.

Integra Walldorf We supported the company Integra in Walldorf, which also began with industrial services. Integra has survived up until today, but is now restructuring operations to concentrate on the services sector.

Küsterhof Wunstorf Hopeful results were achieved whenever psychiatric clinics became involved and tried to create jobs in neighboring areas. The Foundation promoted one such model in Wunstorf. The interesting aspect was that accompanying psychiatric guidance was ensured.

FAF – Association for Besides gaining our own experiences in the development of self-help the Promotion of companies, the most important project was the initiative designed to Employment Initiatives establish and fund FAF, an association for the promotion of employment and Company Projects initiatives and company projects for mentally ill persons. The Freudenberg for Mentally Ill Persons Foundation quickly realized that it would be neither feasible nor recommendable to support the rapidly growing number of self-help companies. Together with psychiatric associations, the FAF was established in 1985 as an agency providing professional consulting to company projects. Based on its commercial and administrative competence, FAF decisively contributed to the consolidation of the companies for mentally ill persons. FAF became the Federal Working Group of Integration Firms. It is now active as a lobbyist and political consultant. „Integration firms” is the new name for self-help companies, and it makes clear that the objective of

73 these projects is to enable the persons working there to return to the general labor market. In the meantime, there are more than 440 such firms with about 4,000 places of work. The Federal Working Group is a founding member and part of a European network of firms for mentally ill persons.

A common denominator of the integration firms – regarding their tasks, structure and financial situation – is that mentally ill persons cannot earn more money than what they receive as wages or salaries; any investments, the rent and management of the premises, the administration and psychological treatment have to be financed separately.

Study in the Mannheim- As expected, a study of work opportunities for the mentally ill in the Heidelberg region Mannheim-Heidelberg region determined two things: there were not enough „jobs for extra income”, i.e. part-time jobs, and the counseling and support services offered for mentally ill persons trying to become reintegrated in the general labor market was not adequate. What was needed and proposed was the establishment of a flexible ambulant service. Two projects evolved from this study.

„Extra-Income“ Together with FAF and the Initiative for the Promotion of Jobs for Mentally Ill concept, Persons Heidelberg (IFA e.V.), the Foundation developed „Proposals marketing, regarding the Improvement of the Status of Persons with Insignificant financing Employment under Labor Law”. Taking IFA Heidelberg as an example, the creation and mode of operation of a so-called „extra-income company” was presented. It made evident that most of the firms for mentally ill develop into mixed forms of employment; for example, after a while the so-called „extra- income companies” frequently also offered full-time positions. This form of reciprocal supplementation meet the mentally ill persons’ need for flexibility and have proven to be meaningful from an economic standpoint, too. The direct result of the projects designed to clarify this important aspect of the development of firms for mentally ill persons was a definition of marketing and financing concepts.

Integration service The second conclusion drawn from the study caused the Foundation to promote models for the „ambulant support of mentally ill persons reentering the labor market”, later simply called „Integration Services”, in Wunstorf and in the Rhine-Neckar region. The project provided important information about the tasks and possibilities of such a service. Amongst others, this included defining career choices and qualifications, organizing trainings, acquiring places of employment on the regular labor market and counseling the employers, superiors and co-workers there.

After reunification, the Freudenberg Foundation also became active in the new German states. In 1991, we met the director and some staff members

74 Weißenseer Integration of the „Office for Rehabilitation” in a district of East Berlin. Viewed from a Behinderter Berlin Western standpoint, the rehabilitation system of the former GDR was very (WIB e.V.) interesting – the aspect most conspicuously missing in the system of the Federal Republic took central position here: namely reintegrating people who had fallen out of the labor market into working life. To this end, the Office of Rehabilitation had at its disposal protected jobs in companies. Everything was managed by one office: sheltered housing, activities helping to structure days, counseling, guidance and employment. Consequently, this was a truly comprehensive approach. This is not to say that the rehabilitation system of the former GDR should be described in radiant colors only. Indeed, substantial criticism can be put forward against the ideology that characterized this system, as is clarified by the contributions Exhibition „Irr-Sinn“ of forty „psychiatric patients”, which illustrate the history of psychiatry in a permanent exhibition called „Irr-Sinn” (a play on words: „irr” which can be translated by mad or insane and „Sinn”, i.e. meaning or sense) and a touring exhibition. The exhibition was organized with the help of the Freudenberg Foundation. Nevertheless, the indubitably justified criticism does not mean that the system had no positive effects at all. In the final analysis, it was up to each individual. If you were interested in learning and committed, as was the case in Weissensee, then the system offered a good basis for helping mentally ill persons.

When committed staff members decided to stay together after reunification and form an association in which they could continue their work, albeit in a changed form, i.e. one adapted to the conditions of the Federal Republic of Germany, their greatest worry was that the core of their system – the provision of suitable places of work – would be obliterated. The Freudenberg Foundation decided to support the newly established association „WIB – Weissenseer Integration Behinderter” in its efforts to adopt Western German resources as well as open up and create employment for mentally ill persons. The advice given by FAF in this connection proved very helpful.

The tenth anniversary of this dynamic association, celebrated in September 2000, demonstrated the success of the promising attempt to combine the ideas of the Western German reform of the psychiatric system with the comprehensive approach of the rehabilitation system of the former GDR, thereby creating realistic offers for mentally ill and handicapped persons.

One year after the foundation – in September 1991 – the Contact and Counseling Center for Psychiatric Patients in Berlin was opened. Only two months later, the vocational qualification and employment firm „Spektrum GmbH für berufliche Bildung und Integration” was founded. The first projects involved jobs and qualification measures in the areas of EDP, office work and electric engineering.

75 As of June 1993, mentally ill persons could also earn „extra income” in such fields as „industrial production” and services, depending on their individual needs. At the same time, Spektrum GmbH added the field „industrial assembly of rubber parts”. The special aspect of this business area was that it was the result of a collaboration between a Berlin-based company – Freudenberg Dichtungs- und Schwingungstechnik GmbH – and a social- welfare organization. The Berlin-based subsidiary of Freudenberg undertook to make available work and appropriate space on its premises for handicapped persons. Up until today this is a successful model worth imitating, which was modeled after the protective departments.

In the course of time, the integral approach of WIB e.V. led to a highly coordinated range of projects being conducted together or alongside one another in such areas as working, living arrangements, counseling and job placement. Besides contact and counseling centers, employment and extra-income projects, all-day centers offering jobs, this also includes supervised living arrangements, a sewing workshop with a second-hand shop, a washhouse, the establishment of an integration assistance service as well as a vocational counseling center for persons with hearing impairments.

Characteristic of this project is the innovative power, persistence and high degree of identification manifested by the staff members of WIB e. V. in their work. Despite financial problems, the difficult situation on the employment market, increasing tendencies of discrimination in society and a new legal situation (amendments to the Disabled Persons Act), the association has been able to open up new areas of activity.

Looking back on the past thirteen years, it can be said that the attempts of this dynamic association to combine the ideas of the Western German reform of the psychiatric system with the comprehensive approach of the rehabilitation system of the former GDR as well as providing suitable jobs for mentally ill persons has been successful and has led to interesting results.

Prospects When the Freudenberg Foundation incorporated the area „Work for mentally ill persons” in its range of activities, it primarily wanted to help make self- help companies a viable alternative to long-term unemployment or permanent premature retirement. In connection with the ensuing project work, it became evident that the reintegration in working life called for cautious and knowledgeable counseling and guidance of the persons concerned. Both objectives have basically been achieved since „integration firms” and „integrations services” have become legally fixed options. More than anything else, this success is owed to the FAF project. In a certain sense, the Foundation has achieved its goal. Such underlying goals as

76 increasing the number of jobs altogether, heightening ideas and willingness in society and contributing to more understanding and sensitive awareness of mental illness in the working world can, by nature, be achieved only in bits and pieces. They cannot be made objectives of core areas of activity.

Consequently, the Freudenberg Foundation will limit its activities in the thematic area of „work for mentally ill persons” and only promote individual projects for heuristic reasons, as it were: in order to stay in touch with the developments in this field.

77 When Mrs. J. came to the self-help company for the her work could not be compared to those of a first time, she was 24 years old. During her last year of „healthy” employee. „Gymnasium” she had often „felt very bad”. Fear of failure, insomnia and panic attacks characterized this During one of her regular sessions with the psychol- period of her life. Preparing and sitting for the „Abitur” ogist, Mrs. J. told her that she had visited a work- examination required immense effort and caused se- shop for handicapped persons before applying at vere inner tension. Subsequently, she suffered a the self-help company in order to see what her fu- breakdown. She underwent outpatient treatment with ture might look like. The impression had been terri- a psychiatrist, which was predominantly based on fying. The worst part had been that two people were medication. The diagnosis was endogenous depres- sitting at their workplaces with their heads on their sion. Gradually her condition improved. Her parents, arms and no one had taken notice. She realized im- to whom she is very close, took care of her and tried mediately that this „wasn’t real work” and that she to help her find a way into working life. couldn’t picture herself there. „I want to be proud of my work, and this is the case here.” Mrs. J. was afraid of vocational training because she feared she would not be able to master the require- In time, Mrs. J. gained stability. She cautiously be- ments. She tried a variety of jobs for unskilled per- gan to take on responsibility. When the manager was sons or traineeships, from working in the warehouse absent, she began to answer the phone, provided in- of a discount store to office work to working in a formation about the company and, finally, she was kindergarten. Every time things went well for a while, included in small planning processes. Yet, there but then the familiar feelings of insecurity and fear of were serious backlashes, too: times when her illness failure crept up again accompanied by insomnia and caught up with her again, keeping her from work for feelings of senselessness. The medication had to be several weeks at a time. Afterwards it sometimes increased and the side effects affected her ability to was necessary to start all over again with small work. This regularly led to termination of the em- steps, i.e. short working hours and no responsibility ployment relationship, either by Mrs. J herself or the other than for her own work. Sometimes it went employer. quicker, but this had to be determined and agreed In the job interview with the self-help company, Mrs. every time. Through her meetings with the psychol- J. described her situation as hopeless: she neither ogist she learned to accept the fact that her capa- expected to be hired nor did she think she could bility of performance was limited, that she needed master the expectations. Nevertheless, she re- medication and, if possible, to recognize an upcom- sponded positively to the suggestion that she come ing crisis and, accordingly, immediately decrease to work for two hours for the first two weeks so as to her workload. familiarize herself with the company and get used to regular hours and a certain obligation again. In ad- Through the work that she is able to do in the small dition, it was agreed that she see a psychologist self-help company, Mrs. J. gained self-confidence, once a week to talk about the situation at work etc. refreshed some productive skills and acquired new It took many very small steps and several months to ones as well. She says: „Coming here allows me to increase her work time to five hours. Her perform- walk with my head held high and when I feel down, ance came up to her own expectations and this led then I always have hope and do not think it is the end to a sort of mental relaxation, although the results of of the world.”

78 79

Developing local models in selected towns and city districts

The problem „Endangered urban society“ is the title of a sociological study by Wilhelm Heitmeyer about social disintegration processes and ethno-cultural conflicts in German communities. What he means can be discovered easily enough in almost all medium-sized and large towns and cities: namely that there are districts and residential areas where unemployment is high and where relatively many people are on social welfare, where very few children make the transition to higher schools, where the milieu is marked by neglect and where conflicts and violence are more frequent than in more affluent residential areas.

Youth at risk As early as the end of the 1980s and in the first half of the 1990s, the OECD and several foundations (among these the Freudenberg Foundation) conducted two projects to determine how such conditions as those described above affect children and adolescents as they are growing up. The OECD called these children „Youth at risk”, since they are threatened by their social situation and, at the same time, can become a danger to society. The OECD worked out two solutions to this threat: first, a concept to promote such young people by furthering their acknowledgement, self- confidence, initiative and empowerment; second, a comprehensive approach ensuring that the assisting and educating institutions work Integration of Services together. In order to formulate a detailed description of this approach, the OECD in collaboration with the Mott Foundation and the Freudenberg Foundation initiated the project „Integration of Services”.

YEPP – Youth At the end of the 1990s, a group of European and American foundations Empowerment working together in a study group of the European Foundation Center Partnership Program revived the OECD concepts and decided to initiate a joint program. Thus, the Project YEPP (Youth Empowerment Partnership Program) was born in 2000. In the meantime, this program has been set up in seven European cities, among these Tuzla and Mannheim, where the Freudenberg Foundation is active. The foundations want to contribute to the development of social European cities so as to enable youth to have good prospects of social and economic participation.

At the beginning of the 1990s, the German government responded to the downward spiral threatening urban residential areas in Germany by calling into life such state programs as the one enforced by North Rhine-Westfalia for so-called „cities with special redevelopment requirements”. Later the joint federal and state program „Urban districts with special redevelopment

81 needs – the social city” was started in 1999. The policy of our Foundation – with reference to the Federal Republic of Germany – is to continue the lessons learned by state programs and to remedy their deficits. It has become evident that a municipal integration policy is needed: without the backing of politics and public administration institutions for a joint concept of action in an urban district, limits of responsibility and competition between administration departments, supporting institutions and initiatives cannot be overcome and block problem-solving projects.

The German Institute for Urban Studies defined the factors contributing to the success of a joint project in urban districts, and this specification reflects the experiences gained repeatedly by our Foundation: „Many years of experience show that significant commitment, high personal involvement and perseverance in frequently very trying tasks are fundamental prerequisites for successful district management.” Time and again, people with leadership skills and „souls of fire”, as they say in Denmark, are needed: people who are willing to take on a leading role, to leave well-trodden paths

82 and to find constructive solutions that activate the personal initiative of the people concerned. Ideally, this is achieved by so-called district managers, because they unite legitimacy – by having been commissioned by the local administration – and structure-forming powers. However, very rarely can those people whose conditions of life are to be improved by such urban development processes be involved in the projects: children, adolescents and families with immigrant backgrounds as well as persons belonging to minorities, who are affected by but not involved in urban top-to-bottom strategies. In this situation, too, it is important to find and involve peer leaders and community leaders from different religious and cultural communities. Another difficulty: using day-care centers and schools as partners or even motors of urban development.

The objective is that projects of the Foundation, for example, help mothers actively involved in an urban project become acknowledged integration assistants, who can voice their needs and have a firm place in the institutions. At the same time, motors of the democratic civil society need to be involved in the processes: e.g. an association of a mosque speaking out in favor of an open form of Islam or a citizens’ action group that wants to improve the conditions for trade businesses in the district. Another goal is to make schools partners in or even motors of urban development processes. In this connection, we work together with local institutions and initiatives to identify strategically important thematic gaps and to find or develop trend-setting approaches. This can lead to comprehensive projects promoting the language skills of mothers and children in day-care centers, which may be continued in elementary school, or this may result in projects designed to help students learn to take responsibility so as to help solve the problems prevailing in their community.

If, as a result, parents want to stay in the district and don’t move away „because of the high percentage of foreigners” and the ensuing fear of insufficient elementary school instruction, we would have accomplished something. Naturally, schools alone cannot master the diverse problems of living together, local economics, and life in particularly underprivileged districts. Therefore, a joint concept of action is needed that involves all the persons responsible for a district from institutions, civil society and the business world. Only then can feasible solutions be defined and implemented.

The path that the Foundation has tried to smooth in the past two years through its own projects can be described as a combination of opening up schools and urban development. An open school is one that responds to the needs of students and parents, promotes participation and is a place of learning for many generations. Opening up a school also means involving

83 the parents of the children in the school and outside of school in the community and world of work. Since its establishment, community education as a means of overcoming such limits of responsibility as the distance between assisting and educating persons and organizations has been a central concept of the Foundation. To this end, we promoted COMED – Community COMED as an agency to promote the opening up of schools. Taking this Education in idea a step further, we would like to promote the creation of schools which Deutschland e.V. ask: What does the district need? How can we as a school help here? How can we be a permanent part of the development network in the district? The school should open up for the district and the district for the school. In order to master the task of opening up for the district, the school needs strong local development partners: RAA or comparable support organizations such as, for example, Job Central Weinheim, the Intercultural Education Center Mannheim or local community centers.

Selection criteria What prerequisites do we define for involvement in districts and towns? On the basis of what criteria do we make our selection? One important aspect determining our involvement in districts or regions are existing, trusting partnerships with project initiators and local authorities, with whom we were able to successfully implement individual innovative concepts: (1) The town must be willing to set up a community management system as well as make the required structural changes and investments. The city council has confirmed this development plan and defined objectives. (2) The associations, clubs and initiatives active in the community or district will cooperate. (3) The local authorities are willing to implement a bottom-up approach and to support the development of participation, i.e. they do not want to handle everything on their own. (4) There is at least one kindergarten, one elementary school and one secondary school that are willing to develop further, i.e. to open up, to make community education their goal and to work closely together with the Foundation to realize corresponding projects. There is an all-day school willing to adopt the ensuing possibilities for school development in this connection. (5) There is a RAA or comparable organization or initiative that is able and willing to support this kind of process. With respect to community offices or similar, this means that supporting measures for school development are also possible. (6) Priority will be given to those RAA and towns which are open for the methodological requirements of participation development, empowerment, the imparting of self-effectiveness experiences and self-initiative, impulses to take on responsibility, shift of ownership as well as the corresponding training courses.

84 (7) The RAA or a comparable supporting organization is willing and suitable for a development partnership (dynamic contact, quality development, evaluation). (8) There are organizations, groups and persons among the immigrant population or democratic civil society who can be involved in the necessary cooperation in the district. (9) The supporting organizations (community centers or RAA) are experienced in intercultural communication and strengthening democracy.

Where and how We chose Mannheim because the Intercultural Education Center is a long- did we start? standing partner and we have worked together effectively with the local authorities in many practical projects. For the Foundation, Mannheim is a kind of pilot workshop for innovations in such areas as the integration of immigrants and the promotion of vocational qualifications between school and employment. Numerous initiatives evolved from the Mannheim „Intensivwerkstatt“ in „workshop”, gaining national attention and successors. This includes the Mannheim projects „Foreign self-employed persons train others”, the business start-up Neckarstadt-West project ProFi and the workshop for girls. In 2002, different organizations and, consequently, different types of practical action were combined. A local supporting group formed by us, which comprised the municipal Commissioner for Foreign Residents, the municipal Department for Education, the municipal Department for Children, Adolescents and Families, the Office for Cultural Affairs, the municipal Employment Promotion Office, the Institute for German-Turkish Integration Studies, the Association for Intercultural Life, the state Education Office, the Diakonie (Protestant social and welfare organization) as well as the Coordinator for Community Management, first decided to concentrate all efforts on the Neckarstadt-West district in the hope that this would have a catalytic effect. If we can create a mood of starting over and achieve real improvements there, this will gain attention throughout the rest of the city, was the opinion held by the majority of the supporting group. An agreement concluded with the mayor to combine the city’s anniversary in 2007 with its development to a European social city gave the plans even more impetus.

Neckarstadt-West has a population of about 20,000 and almost half have immigrant backgrounds. Despite numerous initiatives, associations as well as programs offered by public and private organizations, this district, which is located near the city center and dates back to the 19th century, is declining: socially and economically stable families are moving away, 13% of adolescents and young adults under 25 years of age are unemployed, and compared to the urban average, children here have nine times fewer areas where they can play safely. Where to start? Which problems should be solved to create an atmosphere of renewal? The answers received by staff members of the Intercultural Education Center can be summarized as

85 follows: first, a coordinated manner of proceeding is needed so that the diverse efforts can be combined into one joint whole. Second, many children barely speak any German when they start school. Third, it is difficult to adequately involve parents in day-care centers and schools. Fourth, the young people do not have the prerequisites for vocational integration and, fifth, the young people are not given enough opportunities to actively assume responsibility and form own initiatives, which would decrease the danger of their turning away from democratic forms of participation.

Promotion of language We started with small key projects at strategic points of intersection skills and integration between separate spheres of responsibility, e.g. between kindergarten and parents, between schools and such partners as the municipal University of Mannheim, and between artists and young people, which aimed at creating an atmosphere of renewal and encouraging joint actions in the district. One such project is „Rucksack” at day-care centers in the district: a Turkish linguist trains bilingual assistants as well as kindergarten teachers in bilingual language acquisition methods. Together with their teachers, the children playfully learn German everyday vocabulary on the basis of 10 topics within 9 months. The assistants help the mothers practice the same vocabulary at home in their native language. Both the assistants and kindergarten teachers have background knowledge of intercultural communication. „Rucksack” has many different effects: mothers feel more welcome at kindergarten, they can ask for help in raising their children, and they can train to become assistants. The children learn more German in kindergarten and, at the same time, are adequately supported at home. In cooperation with the Office for Foreign Residents, integration and orientation courses are offered to „Rucksack” mothers as accompanying measures, allowing them to improve their knowledge of German and the surrounding infrastructure. In order to give the mothers and their children a Leseladen special place in the district, a reading center was opened, where they can find books and toys in various languages. Reading support and activities promoting reading skills are offered, too.

86 With „Rucksack” on the way to integration our children.” At the same time, Mrs. Y. has become a model for other mothers: „Through me Songül Y. is one of the assistants active in the they discover that they can be involved and now „Rucksack” project in the Neckarstadt-West they want to be trained as assistants, too.” With district of Mannheim, and she is proud of this. the help of Mrs. Y., they visit important institutions She helps mothers and one father at two day-care in the district such as, for example, the library, and centers practice vocabulary in their native when they were discussing ‘Celebrations’ they language at home using stories, games and visited a Protestant parish. pictures. At the same time, this vocabulary is imparted to the children in German at Mrs. Y. definitely wants to continue her work and kindergarten. In 1978, Mrs. Y., who was born in she is looking forward to the planned further Sinop on the Black Sea, came to Mannheim with education course so that she can become a her parents. She was six years old at the time. language trainer and train assistants herself in the She still attended the Turkish classes at the future. The linguist, who is currently writing her Neckar Elementary School. As a young girl, thesis on the „Rucksack” project, meets with the following her parents’ return to Turkey, she lived in assistants once a week and helps the Istanbul seven years and, without completing kindergarten teachers implement the program. school, finished training as a tailor. She returned Her most important tasks are providing to Mannheim in 1993 at the invitation of her information, listening, reporting back and giving brother, married and has a five-year-old son. She encouragement: imparting pedagogical worked for a cleaning company for close to ten information, perceiving the problems and years and held a management position at the end. developmental expectations of the women, She learned some German in Hauptschule but providing feedback on the weekly development most by copying passages from books. Of reports and encouraging the assistants to speak course, German was also spoken in the company to the kindergarten teachers about their where she worked. Today she is still trying to questions. „Mrs. Y. really insists that the continuously improve her knowledge of German kindergarten teachers implement the ‘Rucksack’ and always asks the linguist to correct her project as planned. If her son, who is participating mistakes. in a group, comes home and didn’t have any German instruction that day, she immediately „I am involved in ‘Rucksack’ because I want to speaks to the teachers the next day,” reports the teach the other women something. I missed linguist. Together these two women – by promoting my own son, and I don’t want the other distributing leaflets in Turkish and in some cases women to miss helping their children. ‘Rucksack’ visiting the homes of the families – successfully teaches us to take time for our children. We speak advertised a German course for beginners. What about our problems, knowing that we are not is still missing is a German course for the alone. At the same time, we have become more „Rucksack” mothers, who can carry on confident about speaking to the kindergarten conversations in German, but have no sufficient teachers. Previously, the teachers thought: ‘They knowledge of written German or grammar. don’t want to speak to us.’ And we thought: ‘They wouldn’t listen to us anyway.’ This has changed. „Rucksack” is like a window for systematically Today we are confident enough to speak about neglected educational and participatory needs of

87 the women and their children. Bridges to the formal project: giving rise to development by creating education and employment system need to be built spaces for learning and involvement and by so that „Rucksack” can become a reliable and carefully addressing needs. And, finally, to effective activation movement and women like Mrs. discontinue the neglect of elementary opportunities Y. can be fully acknowledged integration assistants of development in kindergartens and schools. in institutions. That is our real hope in pursuing this

Cultural work with youth „Friendly Monsters“ are the product of collaboration between a wood sculptor and children in an urban redevelopment area. The wooden sculpture, on which the children can play, was planned and made together with the children and adolescents. With the support of the municipal residential building company and the Diakonie (Protestant social and welfare organization), the playground is a meeting place both for children and their mothers, who also helped paint the wooden beams. Young people who meet in the Job Café QuiSt and in a youth project in the middle of the redevelopment area worked out a concept for a musical – Neckarstadt-Westside-Stories. With the help of a theater director from the district, they present the results of their writing workshop and playfully describe the stories told by life in Neckarstadt-West.

Learning responsibility The Neckar elementary school and Humboldt Hauptschule started the in coperation with project „Learning Responsibility”, within the scope of which the students are the university prepared in their classes to take over common tasks. In the Neckar elementary school, for example, students offer dispute arbitration and reading assistance. In the Humboldt Hauptschule, students help younger children with their homework. Both school projects are supported by students at the University of Mannheim (faculty of Pedagogical Psychology of the University of Mannheim, Professor Dr. Manfred Hofer). They train the students in dispute arbitration and show them how to improve reading skills and help with homework problems. Another group developed its own concept for directly training the parents of children attending the elementary school. The elementary school principal and parents are very pleased because it provides innumerable helpful tips for mastering everyday situations.

Community management In January 2004, with the support of the mayor, we established the sponsored by private Supporting Organization District Management Neckarstadt-West together supporting organizations with the Mannheim residential building company GBG, Diakonie (Protestant social and welfare organization, Caritas (Catholic welfare organization), Arbeitersamariterbund (workers’ Samaritan association) and Arbeiterwohlfahrt

88 (workers’ welfare association). The objective of this association is to do what the OECD delegation had demanded during its visit in December 2002: integrated action on the part of all parties concerned is needed – a lot of good is being done, but everything is being done side by side. The egotism on the part of social organizations has to be overcome and practicable solutions have to be found for prevailing problems with respect to living together, education, local businesses and residential issues. These are the objectives of the association and, to this end, it has employed a committed expert on integration, who began his work in May 2004.

Global, local, social Increasing inequality can be found not only in socially underprivileged districts of German cities, but also at project locations throughout the world. Our partners there are trying to build up an integrative district development through initiatives of their own: for example in Tuzla Simin-Han, where the jubilee project started in 1999 has evolved into a sustained process of urban development.

Tuzla – Simin Han Simin Han is a district at the edges of Tuzla in Bosnia, which was in Bosnia significantly affected by the war and experienced negative changes. Destroyed houses, a neglected infrastructure and high migration of the population have left their mark. The district desperately needs to be redeveloped and built up, both from the inside and outside. Since there is a very active elementary school, project ideas regarding the school, the needs of the school and other local facilities, especially the local organization „Prijateljice”, have been circulating around the school from the beginning. „Prijateljice” are partners, with whom a joint process of strengthening and reconstruction was started, focusing on women, children and adolescents. The Simin Han elementary school, a focal point of the activities, has evolved into a community school in the past seven years, which is open to parents and the district, takes its students seriously, allowing them to participate, and at the same time modernizes its teaching methods.

Day-care Since 2001, 40 children divided into four groups are supervised and coached in individually designed programs within the scope of all-day educational supervision. The organization „Prijateljice” and the Simin Han elementary school work together and intensively involve the parents in their programs. Two groups attend school in the morning, are picked up there and taken to the house of „Prijateljice”, where they have lunch and participate in educational programs promoting their development. A teacher works with the children individually to help them with their schoolwork and performance at school as well as personal development. The team members coordinate their work and are in touch daily with the teachers at Simin Han elementary school. The other two groups spend the morning in the house and attend school in the afternoon. One staff member visits families at home to affect

89 changes in the immediate surroundings of the children and to improve the status and situation of the family. In addition, the children’s physical development is promoted, they go on field trips, visit cultural events and are involved in the events taking place in the district. Art and music therapists from Holland frequently visit the project, and these visits enrich the program tremendously. All these efforts have led to improvements in such areas as health, hygiene, cultural skills, communication, social behavior and learning performance. The children are better integrated in their classes and surroundings and the additional contact to the families helps improve the overall situation in the families. Altogether more than 104 children have participated in the program up until now. The high fluctuation rate is caused by immigration. community foundation In February 2003, a civic foundation was established in Simin Han in order to continue the projects that had been initiated, e.g. vocational orientation for young people, entrepreneurship training and AGORA, as a kind of self- managed youth and citizens’ center in the district and to place further development measures into the hands of the citizens. The foundation distributed small amounts of funds to citizens and takes active part in coordinating the activities in the district and increasing the start capital. At the same time, it is a contact office with respect to the administration. It organized the design of the park and motivated citizens to undertake new actions.

RIOS RIOS („Razvoj interaktivnih otvorenih Skola“) is a project for the development of a network of interactive open schools, in which schools from Tuzla and Osijek in Croatia as well as from Novi Sad in Serbia and from Montenegro are participating. The idea for this project can be traced back to the desire to apply the positive development of Simin Han elementary school in Tuzla to other schools. The objective of the project is to replace the classic teaching methods of frontal instruction in a hierarchically structured school by cooperative and interactive forms of teaching and learning in a school based on participation. In the meantime, the existing school network has set up an organization having its seat in Tuzla, which concentrates on disseminating information on interactive learning and democratic school development and, in addition, supports the schools. Only when the schools themselves are more democratic will they be able to have an active impact on the development of democracy in their districts and towns.

Ramle in Israel The Trust of Programs for Early Childhood, Family and Community Education was founded in Jerusalem in 1984 with the goal of improving the conditions for proper child development, educational and employment opportunities for women and development in Palestinian communities. Point

90 of departure was the insufficient availability of educational programs for children in the Arab section of Jerusalem, whose families frequently lived and still live under uncertain economic circumstances. The Trust started by training paraprofessional teacher aides, setting up family centers, visiting homes, building bridges between parents and teachers as well as offering „Community Leaders” training courses. The different programs of the Trust always strived to activate children, adolescents and mothers to develop a community approach.

In view of the uncertain political situation in East Jerusalem, in particular the pressure put forward by the Autonomy Authorities to enforce political adaptation, as well as the difficulty of implementing structural changes with schools, the Trust has transferred the focus of its activities to Ramle. Ramle is a small town 20km from Tel Aviv with a population of 60,000, one fifth of which is of Arab origin. Fifty-one percent of all Arab families have more than five children. Ramle was chosen due to time-proven partnerships with the Early Childhood Center, Women’s Club Simdiane, a network with clinics and local NGOs and good collaboration with persons responsible from politics and public administration. The Trust has been active with its own programs in Ramle since 1996, including, amongst others, the Mother to Mother Program, which offers home visits from paraprofessionals to provide individual counseling and group sessions with babysitting at the same time as well as lectures by external experts; moreover, it focuses on working with married couples to improve their relationship and to promote the idea of raising their children together and including other important members of the family such as the grandmothers. In addition, teacher aides are trained who can help improve the educational quality in Arab day-care centers and involvement of the mothers. The „Women’s Empowerment” training course helps women become active in their community. Proceeding gradually from the individual programs, the objective is to achieve community development in selected Arab communities in Ramle. Whether it will be possible, as was the case in the original Community Center in East Jerusalem, to develop a community approach from the work with mothers and children in Ramle remains to be seen. Another completely open issue is how to promote the integration of Arab communities in the Hebrew majority urban society of the Israel heartland.

91 Prospects First we would like to determine how to reinforce the strengths of citizens in selected towns and districts so that independent organizations or projects managed by the citizens themselves can be created, which will remain in place after the Foundation withdraws after several years: for example, a café for mothers, an art shop, intercultural conflict arbitrators trained to mediate disputes between neighborhoods, reading coaches, a district orchestra or students who regular conduct service projects in the district. This can succeed only if politics and public administration agencies are involved in planning the development processes, support them and provide funds to help sustain them. The final point could be the establishment of community foundations managed by the citizens themselves, as is the case in Tuzla Simin Han. These, in turn, provide long-term prospects for self-supporting structures and sources of funding. We began in Mannheim, Tuzla and, with the help of the Trust, in Ramle/Israel. Wuppertal, Hoyerswerda, Leipzig and Berlin are other cities where development projects will be initiated in individual districts.

92 From a niche existence to everyday culture: the communication were commonplace and multi- dreams of QuiSt ethnic teams normal, then our teenagers wouldn’t be where they are now.” Moreover, the QUIST is a meeting place for young people in the adolescents need more models, e.g. older young middle of Neckarstadt-West. When viewed from people, who could take the teenagers by the the outside, it appears to be a youth center like hand, so to speak, and give them the support they many others: many teenagers, almost exclusively themselves received or mentors who help the immigrants, sit at computers, playing games, adolescents find jobs and stay in touch with them. some are doing their homework or just hanging A kind of „employment exchange” in the district, around. The young people like the large room, where young people could advertise and find because they usually live in small apartments. The small jobs would also be a possibility. staff members know the history and circumstances of every teenager. They give them Yet, if she were allowed to dream, then she would what they so desperately need: the feeling of also like to mention completely different issues: being wanted, taken seriously and of being helped the vicinity to the river, the beautiful bank of the in their search for their own way. „When we have Neckar river, which could be used for open-air children of our own, we will move away from movie shows, boat trips and picnics. For many here,” is the attitude expressed by many of the teenagers the Neckar River is an actual border. young people. Nevertheless, they also proudly They hardly emerge from their close-knit network claim: „I come from Neckarstadt,” knowing full in the district. For this reason, going on trips with well that this is not a good address. the teenagers is one of her dreams, because they would never dare leave familiar territory on their What these teenagers miss most are sports and own. Or permanent possibilities of promoting the football areas, nice stores, a shopping mile and a teenagers’ creativity such as theater or music nice café, especially for women. They also don’t projects, in which professionals work together like the brothel located in the middle of the with young people and teachers. Turning back to residential area. What needs to be done so that everyday life, she also enumerates other urgent these young people believe they have a future in problems. A project for adolescents who are tired this district? The staff member of the facility, of school and skip school regularly and who attain which is under the constant threat of being shut a school-leaving certificate from the 6th or, in the down despite high professional recognition, has best case, 8th grade enabling them to attend a more than enough ideas which, however, all circle vocational preparation year and then manage to around one point: any changes and developments perform even worse there. If the dreams of QUIST in the district must take into consideration the are to become but a piece of reality through the needs, capabilities and opportunities of the young projects initiated in Neckarstadt-West, the work of people themselves. „If it were a matter of course committed people is needed to address that consistent intercultural work be done from the neglected needs and existing opportunities for beginning, i.e. in kindergarten, elementary school development. These people must stimulate and Hauptschule, meaning that the parents and others and they need secure resources: money, their competences as well as educational time, political support and acknowledgement demands had a firm place in these institutions, if from those who have such resources at their cultural heterogeneity and intercultural disposal.

Developing, supporting and disseminating our projects

The task: The Board of Trustees of the Foundation defined demanding guidelines for implementing the work of the Foundation: it is to become active wherever the negatives demanding effects of social development are particularly tangible. It is to be an guidelines „operational” foundation, in other words it is to develop projects at the local level to find practical solutions to erroneous social developments. Preferably, it is to initiate and promote projects that can be applied not only to one specific case but, rather, can be used as models. Furthermore, the projects should be designed in such a way that they can help accomplish their fundamental social goals.

The guidelines also state how the tasks are to be addressed. Accordingly, the Foundation is instructed to obtain expert opinions, take into consideration international experiences and strive for collaboration with other foundations and government agencies at all levels. Finally, the guidelines particularly underscore the active participation of the persons concerned, self-organization, personal initiative, civil responsibility and volunteer work. In short, it was and is expected that the Freudenberg Foundation, through the contents, form and methods of its work, actively and effectively helps strengthen civil society.

Therefore, our work is based on the following questions: How do we disclose innovation gaps in measures taken by bureaucracies? How do we initiate and organize a project that responds to such gaps and meets the quality standards set by the guidelines? How can the results be secured and disseminated, and how, if necessary, can they be applied politically?

The beginning A culture of cooperation between foundations as well as between foundations and the state would certainly be helpful in finding practical answers to these questions. However, when the Foundation was set up, cooperation between different foundations was not yet common practice. The Federal Association of German Foundations had not been founded yet. All we had was a working group, but contents were not discussed there. There was no European Foundation Center. The Bernard van Leer Foundation and the Donors’ Association for the Promotion of Humanities and Sciences in Germany were among the few well-known European foundations that promoted such types of cooperation. Both foundations played an important part in the early history of the Freudenberg Foundation and actively supported the design of the first two projects: the Bernard van

95 Leer Foundation not only helped develop the concept of Project Weinheim and the RAA but also trained the first project managers at its own costs abroad. It integrated projects, and later the Freudenberg Foundation, in its admirable international network and, finally, financed and supervised its first large project in Germany – „Turkish Children and Mothers” – together with the Freudenberg Foundation. In the first ten years, it was primarily through the Bernard van Leer Foundation that the Freudenberg Foundation was able to integrate international experiences in the design of its projects. Later the Foundation also worked with the European Foundation Center, which promotes international cooperation. Many contacts were established through the actual project work when, for example, it was promoted by the European Commission and the projects were included in international networks. In contrast to the first years, taking into consideration international – and above all European – experiences is becoming increasingly important, but also much easier.

The Donors’ Association for the Promotion of Humanities and Sciences in Germany, which had arranged the contact to the Bernard van Leer Foundation, also contributed significantly to the development of the projects of the Freudenberg Foundation: within the scope of the „Stiftung Ettlinger Gespräche”, which the Donors’ Association sponsored, it – together with the state North Rhine-Westfalia and the Federal and State Commission for Educational Planning – created the financial base needed to set up the RAA in the Ruhr district, making it possible to apply the Weinheim Project there. After the establishment of the Freudenberg Foundation, which it supported, the Donors’ Association at first shared the promotion of RAA with the Foundation and, finally, left it entirely to us. When the Freudenberg Foundation had the impression that such subjects as immigration and integration required more scientific research and study, the Donors’ Association became our partner in the establishment of the Center for Turkish Studies and has taken the main responsibility for ensuring its permanent existence.

Several years later, the Donors’ Association took up our proposal and helped promote the „Manifest of the 60. Germany and Immigration”. In other words, by helping us establish contacts to scientists and researchers, by using its political leverage, through financial commitment and practical cooperation, it contributed to the development of a good project base in the area of immigration and integration in Germany and, moreover, it helped the Freudenberg Foundation define its profile. For close to twenty years, the three foundations were also closely interlinked through exchanges of staff.

In the course of these first years, this cooperation encouraged the Freudenberg Foundation to develop its own methods and forms of work, on

96 the basis of which it tries to comply with the guidelines. And it has found many partners, with whom it was able to develop further its project work.

How is a project developed? Every decision regarding a project is preceded by a study on the erroneous socio-political development and innovation gaps in measures taken by bureaucracies that are addressed by the respective project.

Expert opinion Reports by experts and researchers frequently are needed to identify and describe the respective innovation gap. Thus, the Foundation often commissions expert opinions or organizes conferences with experts prior to developing a project. We have also found scientific reports and studies helpful in the further development of project ideas. Whenever we found it difficult to find suitable experts, the Freudenberg Foundation itself tried to improve the prerequisites for scientific study of the respective subject by means of its own projects. That is how the above-mentioned Center for Turkish Studies and the Center for Democratic Culture – Right-Wing Extremism, Youth Violence, and New Media came into being.

Projects lead to Many important ideas regarding the identification of innovation gaps and the new ideas development or further development of the project work usually came from the projects themselves.

National In this respect, the RAA, which have been set up in 46 cities and regions in of RAA seven German states, as well as the Intercultural Education Center in Mannheim play an important part. Their wealth of ideas, initiatives and experiences in all thematic areas of concentration of the Foundation have made the RAA our most important partner organization. In 1995, the National Working Group of RAA was founded. It is an instrument for the exchange of views and experiences as well as cooperation between the regional centers in western and eastern Germany. Contrary to the RAA in North Rhine-Westfalia, which are integrated in the local public administration structure, the RAA in the new German states work within the structural framework of private youth help organizations. The objectives of the National Association are to strengthen the networking between the individual regional centers, applying successful methods elsewhere, coordinating joint projects as well as the further development of RAA’s overall profile, joint public relations regarding key subjects and tapping additional sources of funding.

For a long time now, the Freudenberg Foundation has no longer been responsible for funding the RAA in North Rhine-Westfalia and Osnabrück. The Brandenburg RAA are primarily sponsored by the state government and also as far as the other RAA are concerned, only a slight percentage of their

97 annual budget is borne by the Freudenberg Foundation. Nevertheless, the Foundation and RAA work together closely. Their projects frequently provided and still provide the stimulus for new development work; and we usually use the RAA network to test new ideas. Frequently, the RAA were the first supporting „umbrella” organizations for new projects, allowing us to discuss with them the possibility of applying successful projects elsewhere. The RAA are not only good partners for disclosing the necessity and possibilities of new projects because they have so much experience in all thematic areas of interest of the Foundation, but also because their structure allows them to recognize problems. Innovation gaps in measures taken by bureaucracies arise in particular wherever different areas of competence overlap: kindergarten, school, youth help, further education, vocational education, and social welfare and employment office. Different authorities are responsible for children in the morning or afternoon. Yet, when they get into trouble, no one wants to take responsibility. A policeman in Essen succinctly described the prevailing situation: „In the evening after 5 o’clock, we’re the only people available: there are no teachers, no social workers, no- one from the juvenile court – and no-one speaks to us anyway.” The RAA are purposely structured in such a way that they can be active in several areas: before school, at school, in the morning, afternoon or evening. Their staff includes social pedagogues of different national origins as well as teachers and volunteers. The RAA cannot hide behind competencies; they are simply open and cannot protect themselves against problems. Thus, the RAA time and again build bridges to solve problems, e.g. helping children overcome the difficult transition from kindergarten to school or from school to vocational training.

When the Freudenberg Foundation searches for new ways, e.g. to promote the development of children from immigrant families at school, the necessity of which was clearly manifested by the PISA study, we turn to the National Working Group of RAA. The same holds true for developing further possibilities for promoting the language skills of children and their mothers. Basically, the RAA always are the first organizations we turn to when we are confronted with complex tasks such as, for example, organizing learning methods for several generations, which call for a comprehensive manner of proceeding that addresses different areas of life and involves different authorities. In particular, the RAA are important partners when the myriad ideas and experiences for promoting social and vocational integration and democratic culture in a community or other social spaces need to be bundled. „We are a services office for civil society,” said the manager of RAA Berlin when she was asked to describe the many initiatives originating with RAA and the opportunities gained by working together with them.

98 An important and relatively difficult task that needs to be solved by a foundation that designs its own project work and cooperates with government agencies as well as other foundations is the selection of reliable supporting organizations. The RAA were and often are supporting organizations of projects, in the development of which we are interested. Another institution that has been helpful in this respect to the Freudenberg FGM, Foschungsgruppe Foundation is the Forschungsgruppe Modellprojekte e.V. (FGM), a research Modellprojekte e.V. group for model projects. It was established long before the Freudenberg Foundation at the suggestion of the Donors’ Association for the Promotion of Humanities and Sciences in Germany. The members of this registered association include private persons involved in the work of Landerziehungsheime (reformatory boarding schools), staff members of foundations, businesses as well as scientific and research institutions. It can function in this way because it is not only a supporting organization; rather, the composition, competence and commitment of the association demand that it can identify with the projects being proposed by outside organizations and, hence, allow consistent control. FGM always has initiated projects of its own as well. Together with the Freudenberg Foundation and the Beltz publishing firm, it organizes the „Weinheimer Gespräche” forum on educational and socio-political issues. Apart from professional management processes, this type of supporting organization must give the parties involved the certainty that the projects will be managed fairly and competently and that the special interests of the partners involved in the cooperation will be taken into account. In the USA, cooperation between foundations has a long-standing tradition. In Germany, we are just starting out, and FGM is playing an important part. Up until it became independent, it was responsible for such projects as the Center for Turkish Studies, Kiebitz, Turkish Children and Mothers, and Intercultural Education Center Mannheim.

SFGM, In the past 20 years, many foundations were established in Germany, and Stiftungs- und these also included small foundations that cannot afford their own Fördergemeinschaft management but do not want to be sponsoring foundations that distribute Modellprojekte GmbH funds based on applications. Together with FGM, the Freudenberg Foundation set up a private limited company (GmbH) responsible for the management and supervision of small-sized foundations, whose objectives and thematic areas of interest match those of the Freudenberg Foundation’s project work.

This company manages, amongst other things, the Karl Konrad and Ria Groeben Foundation, the Linden Foundation for Pre-School Education and the Amadeu Antonio Foundation. The Groeben Foundation promotes projects contributing to inter-religious understanding, for example so-called Abrahamic teams (Jews, Muslims, Christians), which support projects in

99 schools; Islamic forums initiated by the Intercultural Council; and scientific counseling of civil foundations. In close cooperation with the Freudenberg Foundation, the Linden Foundation promotes German language acquisition courses for Turkish mothers and children, civic education in the form of learning and living democracy in kindergarten, education projects for Roma children etc.

Now and then, the Freudenberg Foundation has been asked to take over dependent foundations or funds with a special purpose. The Foundation accepts such requests if the purposes are compatible with the guidelines defined by the Board of Trustees. Thus, the Heinrich Stoess and Gerda Koepff Foundation above all strives to promote the education of Sinti and Roma as well as civic education.

Fund Youth Cukture Work Sometimes the possibilities open to project work are expanded qualitatively by such funds as, for example, the „Fund Youth Culture Work”. Art and art sponsoring is not an explicit area of interest of the Freudenberg Foundation; however, art can be a wonderful medium to foster

100 communication, intercultural understanding and the development of adolescents. Meeting and working with artists frequently motivate young people to develop own activities and strengthen their self-confidence. This is also true for many other activities that require commitment on the part of the adolescents. It is, however, particularly true for art because artists, on the one hand, present new ways of expression and, on the other hand, make the common action visible to everyone. If they are willing to work with young people, they can have tremendous educational and social-pedagogical effects, perhaps precisely because they aren’t teachers. That is not to say that all artists have the skills needed for youth and educational projects; but some are natural talents without even knowing it. If one can win over such artists, doors previously shut may swing open. A project consultant in the Foundation describes it this way: „Sometimes it is a sculpture, sometimes it is a theater play, a musical, a film, a dance project or an art exhibition. A rock concert or a colorfully painted staircase in an otherwise dreary school building. A writing workshop or break-dance course is also conceivable. We are active in schools, youth clubs, and city districts or in a village in Uckermark. And if we can create art with adolescents there, we will have changed the lives of all who come into contact with it”.

Jubilee Project On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Freudenberg company, several partners decided to set up their own project to overcome the effects of war in former Yugoslavia. With the donations made by more than 50 partners, a special fund of Û 1 million was formed to support projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as in Macedonia. At the same time, the initiators founded an advisory council, whose nine members decided to closely supervise the planning and implementation of the jubilee project, which was first limited to three years and later expanded to a period of five years. The jubilee project enabled the Foundation to become active in two new countries and to gain important experiences there. Through cooperation with other foundations and the establishment of a civil foundation in Bosnia, we have managed to firmly establish the projects called into life in Tuzla-Simin Han (Bosnia) and Skopje (Macedonia).

Lange Förderung How can the long-term existence and dissemination of a project be ensured? It is relatively simple to identify needs with the help of experts and persons actively working in the field as well as to collect good ideas and initiate a project together with supporting organizations and partners; however, it is much more difficult to ensure the permanent existence of a project so that the experiences gained there can be disseminated. The efforts involved in determining a social problem and discovering practical solutions through a project at a certain place must not be underestimated; yet, it is discouraging when everything disappears again after the project is over and all that

101 remains is a memory of the hopeful beginning. This happens every day, because short-term funds are a frequent response to long-term problems. Therefore, an important goal of project work is to establish permanently the ideas that have been put into reality. The fact that the Freudenberg Foundation has accomplished this in the majority of its projects is based on several reasons: the first reason is that we frequently support projects for a long time. The Center for Turkish Studies, for example, became an independent foundation, sponsored primarily by the state of North Rhine- Westfalia, after 15 years. The project „Turkish mothers and children” was supported almost 10 years before the concepts developed through this project found a new home, so to say, in Gelsenkirchen.

Cooperation The second reason for the permanence of the Freudenberg Foundation’s projects can be traced back to the need to enter into cooperation. When one already works together with government agencies, other foundations and competent organizations during the development of the project idea, the probability of ensuring the long-term existence of the proven model increases. The same holds true for disseminating the results.

Attaining public attention The third reason is that many of the projects of the Foundation have attained considerable public attention. Thus, we support publications, conferences as well as press reports and try to involve public figures.

In spite of everything, it sometimes is impossible to gain public attention for good ideas, proposals and experiences if the prevailing political trends or interests are opposed to them.

The memorandum „Ways out of the Employment Crisis” prepared by the forum „Youth-Education-Employment” was presented to the Federal President and met with general approval in many discussions and conferences. The experts agreed that the 20 recommendations put forward in the paper pointed in the right direction – nonetheless, hardly any notice was paid to them in politics. The political course was set in a different direction. In situations like this persistence is called for: it is necessary to continue supporting the projects that prove the reasonableness of the recommendations in practical applications, perhaps to focus on partial goals, to look for new partners and to hope for better times. In connection with its project work, the Freudenberg Foundation has several goals which call for a long-term approach.

The practical projects in all areas of interest, for example, have come to the conclusion that the separation of school and youth work should be abolished. However, the border between these areas is highly protected by syndicates and limits of competence. Nonetheless, this line can be

102 overcome. RAA Berlin, for example, encouraged the formation of a student club in a school in Hellersdorf, where the students could freely organize the program. Even though a social pedagogue supervised the club, it was still considered to be a part of the school. The club could make use of the best that both sides had to offer. Shortly afterwards, a student club was opened in a school in Cottbus. The Minister-President came and liked what he saw. A department head from the Ministry for Youth commented on the pleasure of the Minister-President with the remark that this club would be supported by way of exception; apart from that the spheres of competence would have to be observed.

Establishment of the The fact that things turned out differently can primarily be attributed to the German children and successful establishment of the German Children and Youth Foundation. Youth Foundation The International Youth Foundation proposed the establishment of this new foundation. The objective of this initiative was to identify good and successful projects for children and adolescents ages 5 to 20 in many countries of the world and to collect money for the dissemination of these projects. Rita Süssmuth, who was President of the Bundestag at the time, invited the Minister-Presidents from eastern Germany, several foundations and large companies such as DaimlerChrysler and Deutsche Bank to participate in this joint action.

The foundation was established in 1994. The Robert Bosch Foundation and the Freudenberg Foundation in conjunction with the board of management of the German Children and Youth Foundation „built up” this foundation – frequently encountering condescending smiles – without money. Today the German Children and Youth Foundation collects and allocates about Û 10 million. It has succeeded in promoting student clubs and, consequently, overcoming the traditional borderline between youth work and schools in several German states. This borderline still exists and is being defended intensely. Yet, the German Children and Youth Foundation has evolved into an instrument that can seriously contribute towards the fall of this borderline. Within the scope of the federal government’s investment program „Future, Education and Supervision”, the German Children and Youth Foundation is responsible for the design of all-day schools. However, the realization of this project demands that schools open up. The German Children and Youth Foundation is a valuable partner in such projects as „Learning responsibility” (service learning) of the Freudenberg Foundation and the Mercator Foundation.

Currently, the German Children and Youth Foundation, amongst other things, is active in three areas that also are of interest to the Freudenberg Foundation: First, community schools; second, learning democracy; and third, attaining qualifications for the future. Since it is a partner in this

103 foundation, the Freudenberg Foundation is a partner of the entire program. Many parts of the program originated with the Freudenberg Foundation or were developed together with us: building up „student clubs” and „student companies”, learning responsibility (service learning), early vocational orientation, preparing for employment as well as collecting and awarding prizes to outstanding project instruction (Schola 21). The German Children and Youth Foundation also works together with RAA to implement its programs in different German states and in this way helps strengthen the network that is of such importance to us. The German Children and Youth Foundation has not only become an important partner of the Freudenberg Foundation, it also collaborates with such large foundations as the Jacobs Foundation, the Körber Foundation, the Robert Bosch Foundation, the Mercator Foundation as well as companies such as Deutsche Bank. In view of the fact that all eastern German and, in the meantime, also western German minister-presidents are members of the foundation’s board, the foundation has been able to promote cooperation between foundations as well as develop models for the – at times problematic – collaboration of states and foundations. The German Children and Youth Foundation has become an expert in public-private partnership.

Everyone active in the foundation’s work agree: if the German Children and Youth Foundation didn’t already exist, it would have to be invented now. Yet, if it didn’t already exist today, no one would be able to invent it anymore. A prerequisite for this foundation was the prevailing situation of young people in eastern Germany, which caused people to become involved in something as unusual as „joint action”. The Freudenberg Foundation put considerable effort into the establishment. A good investment as far as ensuring long- term existence and dissemination of projects is concerned.

Eastern Germany faced one problem that the German Children and Youth Foundation could not attend to directly, but which became a central task of the Freudenberg Foundation: namely, the xenophobia, aggressive racism, propensity for violence, anti-Semitism, and right-wing extremism that spread increasingly in eastern German everyday culture. Although these phenomena existed and still exist in western Germany, too, the weakness of the civil society in eastern Germany enabled the xenophobic climate to become established in many areas. The 18 RAA in eastern Germany brought notice to the danger of spreading right-wing extremism at an early time. However, they could not look the other way since they experienced attacks against anyone who did not „look German”.

Together with RAA, we established the „Center for Democratic Culture – Right-Wing Extremism, Youth Violence, New Media” so as to be able to describe the problem accurately, to draw the attention of the general public

104 to the situation, and to develop counter-strategies and counseling options for RAA, initiatives active in this field, communities and government agencies. In the course of its counseling activities, the Center discovered numerous, frequently isolated, courageous initiatives, and some of them were supported by the Freudenberg Foundation. Yet, it became clear that more would be needed to stabilize the projects and disseminate effective concepts of action as well as help victims of violence. Publicity, a movement, commitment on the part of civil society and search for help throughout Germany were needed. The problem of right-wing extremist violence and the creeping spread of an everyday culture influenced by right- wing extremism should be at the top of the political agenda. That was not a task that a foundation like ours could have handled. Therefore, we took up the initiative of the manager of RAA Berlin and participated in the establishment of the Amadeu Antonio Foundation, which we are still supporting today. The name is a reminder of the first victim of right-wing extremist violence, the Angolan worker Amadeu Antonio, who was beaten to death by right-wing extremists in Eberswalde in 1991.

Five years after its establishment, it can be summarized that this initiative has developed well. When the Federal Chancellor called for an „uprising of all decent people” following the bomb attack in Düsseldorf, stating that government programs against right-wing extremism, anti-Semitism and racism would evolve from this, the Amadeu Antonio Foundation and the Center for Democratic Culture were able to suggest encouraging initiatives that deserved to be promoted. In conjunction with the Amadeu Antonio Foundation, the Civitas program was launched. With funds of about Û 5 million per year, democratic culture is to be defended and strengthened in civil society. The funds are earmarked for the promotion of initiatives as well as counseling and assistance for victims of violence, mobile counseling teams in all German states and the interconnecting of all efforts. At first, the Amadeu Antonio Foundation was involved in managing these funds, but it then decided to concentrate on three of its own projects: the mobilization of private support for ten key projects and their sustained existence after expiration of government support, the project „What can be done against anti-Semitism?” and the development of two civil foundations to further civil society wherever it is still weak.

Amadeu Antonio The Amadeu Antonio Foundation has attained public notice for its projects: Foundation the news magazine stern planned and implemented its campaign „Courage against Right-Wing Violence”, which included rock concerts, publications and fund-raising events, together with the Amadeu Antonio Foundation. The funds raised were used for projects assisting the victims of right-wing violence and the EXIT program (a program helping right-wing extremist youths „drop out” of the extremist scene), which was also supported by the

105 Freudenberg Foundation. The weekly DIE ZEIT and other newspapers also appealed to their readers to support the projects of the Amadeu Antonio Foundation. The active involvement of Wolfgang Thierse, President of the Bundestag at the time, proved helpful. He visited individual small initiatives, publicly supported them and became patron of the foundation. Companies like SAP also chose this foundation to be their partners in their involvement against xenophobia. The Amadeu Antonio Foundation was one of the co- organizers of the large OSCE Conference against anti-Semitism and informed about the problem and possibilities of action in schools in an exhibition. In short: the Amadeu Antonio Foundation proper has become a project for strengthening civil society. And presumably this is the most important strategy for ensuring the long-term existence of projects.

The problem involved in all initiatives that depend on public support is the short period of time during which the public takes notice. Very few reports about right-wing extremism can be found in the media, even though the number of violent attacks has not changed. The threat posed by anti- Semitism also will be replaced by other news topics soon. In this respect, it is important to be able to follow a goal, even it stands against the flow of political trends. However, to do so, the Amadeu Antonio Foundation would need not only donations but also a small amount of capital to secure its

106 position. One of the founders has promised to donate a large sum of money if others donate the equivalent amount as well. We hope that in the long run the Amadeu Antonio Foundation will evolve into a strong and reliable force.

Prospects The Freudenberg Foundation is participating in a program called „INSP” (International Network on Strategic Philanthropy). The Bertelsmann Foundation, together with the Compagnia di San Paolo in Turin, the Carnegy Corporation in New York and others, asked about 40 foundations to study the quality development of foundations. The term for this is „strategic philanthropy”. Among the topics discussed here, we find innovation management, evaluation, ethics, program development and cooperation. In the course of the discussions, we noticed that the guidelines which have governed our work for the past two decades allow us to endow this term with concrete meaning and experiences. It is encouraging to find that more and more foundations, also in Europe, are developing a common understanding of this kind of „strategic” action for charitable purposes and looking for possibilities of cooperating with other foundations. This allows the hope that the prospects of strengthening civil society are more than good.

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Total expenses 2003 and 2004 Euro 1. Integration and immigration RAA, regional centers for issues concerning foreigners, youth work and schools in the new German states Support of individual RAA 461,693

Counseling center of the Project Weinheim for immigrants in Weinheim Promotion of language skills and integration of mothers and children in Weinheim Refugee help Weinheim 75,946

Civis Medienpreis 165,390 Jewish counseling center in Berlin 15,000 Asylum in churches 3,000 Weinheim Forum: Promoting language skills of children and mothers with an immigrant background 10,685 Council on Migration 11,826 Reconstruction Zirovnica 7,000 Windows Hebrew-Arab magazine for children and teenagers 3,687

2. Sinti and Roma Ethnobarometer (Roma´s identity) 8,016 Project „Sinti-TV“ of the Association of German Sinti – Regional Association Rhineland-Palatinate 7,668 EQUAL-Employment and securing the economic position of Roma and Sinti through self-organization, incl. qualified assistance 69,184 Pakiv European Roma Fund 30,371 Foundation Autonomia, evaluation 4,837 Summer school in Bijeljina (jubilee project) 20,000 Dendo vas, promoting education of Roma in Gorce Petrov, Skopje 90,000 Society for anti-Gypsy Research: Study for preparing a project application 3,000

109 3. Young people encountering problems between school and working life Job Central, Weinheim model Youth-Education-Employment 153,810 Qualipass Development of a concept to promote „local vocational education policy” and conference on vocational education policy 7,757 Business Start-Up Project (ProFi), Mannheim 66,000 4. Learning democracy and assuming responsibility in school and the community Learning democracy and responsibility 248,049 Volunteer agencies promote „Learning responsibility“ 6,000 Volunteer centers of Caritas associations 11,200 Long-term study of group-related misanthropy and Weinheim Forum: Results of the long-term study of representatives from science, politics and practical fields of work 46,218 Center for Democratic Culture 90,154 Learning and living democracy, Volumes I + II 5,444

5. Work for mentally ill persons Weißenseer Integration Behinderter (WIB e. V.), Berlin Final conference 5,000 Work Source 1,000

6. Development of local models Mannheim-Neckarstadt West 198,200 Community management with private supporting organizations Promotion of language skills and integration: Rucksack and reading center Transition from school to employment Youth culture work Strengthening self-initiative and entrepreneurship Students from elementary school and Hauptschule learn responsibility with the university Activation and coordination of all sub-projects of the Intercultural Education Center Tuzla - Simin Han (jubilee project) 469,008 All-day supervision Civic foundation RIOS („Razvoj interaktivnih otvorenih Skola“ – translated: development of interactive open schools) 110 Ramle Trust of Programs: from working with children and mothers to community development 35,014 plus Linden Foundation 20,000 Building up other locations for models 50,000

7. Developing, supporting and disseminating the projects Coordination in the National Association 73,168 German Children and Youth Foundation 102,798 Amadeu Antonio Foundation 180,350 YEPP - Youth Empowerment Partnership Program 31,929 Youth Cultural Work fund 48,598 Forschungsgruppe Modellprojekte e. V. (FGM)/ Stiftungs- und Fördergemeinschaft Modellprojekte (SFGM) 15,962

8. Miscellaneous Small projects 49,046 Purpose-oriented projects 145,383

9. Management and project management 831,671

Sum 2003 2,119,247 Sum 2004 1,759,812 Total 3,879,059

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Board of Partners:

Dr. Dr. Peter Bettermann (Chairman) Dr. Hans Otto Bräutigam Professor Dr. Dr. h. c. Peter Frankenberg Dr. Hans-Jochen Hüchting Professor Dr. Jutta Limbach

Dr. Reinhart Freudenberg (Chairman) 1984 to 2003 Dieter Freudenberg 1984 to 2002 Professor Dr. Herbert Grünewald 1984 to 1998 Professor Dr. Heinz Staab 1984 to 1993 Dr. Jürgen Zutt 1984 to 1997 Dr. Michael Rogowski 1997 to 2003

Board of Trustees:

Andreas Freudenberg Dr. Dorothee Freudenberg Dr. Reinhart Freudenberg (Chairman) Bischof Professor Dr. Wolfgang Huber Dr. Petra Lidschreiber Gabriele Müller-Trimbusch Dr. Hans-Henning Pistor Professor Dr. Ingo Richter Stefanie Wahl

Hermann Freudenberg (Chairman) 1984 to 2003 Professor Dr. Caspar Kulenkampff 1988 to 1991 Dr. Ruth Leuze 1984 to 1991 Dr. Ingrid Mielenz 1991 to 1996 Professor Dr. Dieter Sauberzweig 1984 to 2003

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Executive director:

Christian Petry

Program managers:

Pia Gerber Christel Grünenwald Jasna Jasareviç (Tuzla) Monika Kleck (Tuzla) Christoph Leucht Dr. Anne Sliwka

Administration:

Letizia Allegra (Auszubildende) Vera Djezic (Tuzla) Silke Hirt (Sekretariat) Nicola Hermann (Sekretariat) Andrea Voß-Leib (Finanzen)

Consultants:

Dr. Benita Daublebsky Katarina Gehring Dr. Teresa Jurado Anetta Kahane Dr. Wilfried Kruse Florian Lindemann Dr. Helga Reindel Meto Salijevic Ida Schildhauer Reinhold Weinmann

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Guidelines

1. The Freudenberg Foundation shall promote and initiate projects. It shall consider itself an operational foundation, but it shall also support external projects and initiatives.

2. Projects of the Freudenberg Foundation are to be initiated in social areas characterized by economic, cultural and social disadvantage or discrimination, where the negative effects of social development (e.g. technical and industrial progress, bureaucratization, erroneous developments and reduction of social services) are particularly tangible. Therefore, projects involving the direct support of underprivileged margin groups and cultural minorities are to be given priority.

3. However, such projects shall not be limited to social work, rather they should encourage civil participation and co-responsibility. In connection with cultural minorities, they should promote the development of the group’s own cultural identity. These prerequisites are to ensure that the projects are up-to-date and guarantee implementation on the basis of exemplary measures.

4. Priority is to be given to decentralized initiatives at the local level.

5. Other organizations, above all local and, if necessary, government institutions should be asked to participate or cooperate, e.g. through foundation initiatives. Cooperation with other foundations shall be a basic objective.

6. In deciding on the promotion of projects, the Foundation shall give preference to the following types of projects and measures: - Projects and measures aiming for help to self-help and self-organization, promoting self-initiative and stimulating voluntary work; - Projects and measures leading to the opening and cooperation of public and private institutions in the fields of education, vocational education, further education and accompanying social and psychological assistance as well as addressing new ideas; - Projects and measures incorporating international experiences.

7. The Freudenberg Foundation preferentially shall promote projects leading to transferable organizational models.

8. Above all, the projects should strive for practical effectiveness; however, in this connection they should make use of research results, call in expert advice and be evaluated. 117

Selected publications

Integration and Immigration Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft der RAA: InfoBrief 10: Yeff! Young European Film Forum for cultural diversity. Berlin 2003.

Apitzsch/Halm/Pfeiffer/Riotte/Sack/Sauer/Spindler/Wetzels: Junge Türken als Täter und Opfer von Gewalt - Tagungsdokumentation. Wissenschaftler(innen) und Expert(innen) aus Verwaltung und Praxis im Gespräch über die Gewalt- belastung junger Migranten türkischer Herkunft. Weinheim, September 2000. ISBN 3-00-007100-8.

Klaus J. Bade/Rainer Münz (Hrsg.): Migrationsreport 2000. Fakten-Analysen- Perspektiven. Campus Verlag Frankfurt/New York, 2000. ISBN 3-593-36328-3.

Klaus J. Bade/Rainer Münz (Hrsg.): Migrationsreport 2002. Fakten-Analysen- Perspektiven. Campus Verlag Frankfurt/New York, 2002. ISBN 3-593-37005-0.

Klaus J. Bade/Michael Bommes/Rainer Münz (Hrsg.): Migrationsreport 2004. Fakten-Analysen- Perspektiven. Campus Verlag. Frankfurt/New York, 2004.

András Bíro, Nicolae Gheorghe, Herbert Heuß, Jennifer Tanaka: „Toward a Pakiv European Roma Fund – Income-generating programmes for Roma in Central and Eastern Europe“. May 1998.

Esser/Jurado/Ligth/Petry/Pieri (Hrsg.): Towards Emerging Ethnic Classes in Europe? Volume 1. Workshop proceedings, project conclucions, integration and ethnic stratification, ethnic economy and social exclusion. Weinheim, Februar 2000. ISBN 3-00-005690-4.

Aja/Baganha/Diéz/Farina/da Fonseca/Marques/Ruspini (Hrsg.): Volume 2. Southern Europe. Country Reports on Italy, Portugal and Spain. Weinheim, Februar 2000. ISBN 3-00-005691-2.

Haynes/Jurado/Jamin/Kehla/Martiniello/Smith/Wistrich (Hrsg.): Volume 3. Western Europe. Country Reports on Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Weinheim, Februar 2000. ISBN 3-00-005692-0.

Teresa Jurado: Easy Scapegoats: Sans Papiers Immigrants in Europe. State Strategies and Intervention Strategies for the Civil Society. Weinheim, Dezember 2000. ISBN 3-00-007369-8.

119 European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC)/European Foundation Centre (EFC)/ Freudenberg Stiftung: Funding Minorities and Mul- ticulturalism in Europe Funders’ Activities against Racism and for Equality in Diversity. Brüssel, 2001. ISBN 2-930107-13-8.

Young People between Andreas Flitner/Christian Petry/Ingo Richter (Hrsg.): Wege aus der Ausbil- school and working life dungskrise. Memorandum des Forums Jugend-Bildung-Arbeit mit Unter- suchungsergebnissen des Instituts für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung der Bundesanstalt für Arbeit. Verlag Leske & Budrich, Opladen 1998. ISBN 3-8100-2196-2.

Freudenberg Stiftung/Servicestelle Qualipass: Fachgespräch „Coaching mit Jugendlichen durch Freiwillige. 11. - 12. Oktober 2002 in Weinheim.“ April 2003. ISBN 3-00-011439-4.

Peter Kalb/Christian Petry/Karin Sitte (Hrsg.): Jugendarbeit und Schule. Für eine andere Jugendpolitik. 3. Weinheimer Gespräch. Weinheim/Basel 1994.

Learning democracy and Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft der RAA: InfoBrief 9: Peer Leadership Training assuming responsibility für demokratische Bildung und interkulturelle Kompetenz (dt./engl.)

Amadeu Antonio Stiftung, Initiativen für Zivilgesellschaft und Demokratische Kultur: - Initiativen für Zivilgesellschaft und demokratische Kultur (Mappe mit Faltblättern) - 5 Jahre Amadeu Antonio Stiftung. Stärken. Vernetzen. Fördern. Berlin 2004.

Zentrum für Demokratische Kultur: Bulletin 5. Antisemitismus und Anti- amerikanismus in Deutschland. Klett-Verlag, Berlin/Leipzig 2004.

Peter Kalb/Christian Petry/Karin Sitte (Hrsg.): Werte und Erziehung - Kann Schule zur Bindungsfähigkeit beitragen? 4. Weinheimer Gespräch. Weinheim/Basel 1996.

Peter Kalb/Christian Petry/Karin Sitte (Hrsg.): Rechtsextremistische Jugendliche – was tun? 5. Weinheimer Gespräch. Weinheim/Basel 1999.

Anne Sliwka/Peter Kalb/Christian Petry: Durch Verantwortung lernen. Service learning: Etwas für andere tun. 6. Weinheimer Gespräch. Beltz Verlag. Weinheim 2004.

120 Stefan Gönnheimer/Hartmut Ferenschild/Margret Rasfeld/Anne Sliwka: Verantwortung übernehmen. Kontrovers zu: Leistungslöhne für Lehrkräfte? Pädagogik. 56. Jahrgang, Heft 5. Mai 2004.

Die Täter-Opfer-Falle. Journalisten und Psychoanalytiker im Gespräch über Rechtsradikalismus und Fremdenfeindlichkeit. 2. Auflage. Weinheim, August 2000.

Wilhelm Heitmeyer (Hrsg.): - Deutsche Zustände. Folge 1. Suhrkamp Verlag. Frankfurt am Main 2002. ISBN 3-518-12290-8 - Deutsche Zustände. Folge 2. Suhrkamp Verlag. Frankfurt am Main 2003. ISBN 3-51812332-7

Demokratie lernen und leben – Eine Initiative gegen Rechtsextremismus, Rassismus, Antisemitismus, Fremdenfeindlichkeit und Gewalt. Gutachten und Empfehlungen: - Roland Eckert/Wolfgang Edelstein/Wolfgang Frindte/Hajo Funke/Jan Hof- mann/ Lothar Krappmann/Wolfgang Melzer/Jörg Neumann/Bernd Wagner: Band I. Probleme – Voraussetzungen – Möglichkeiten. Weinheim, 2001. ISBN 3-935696-01-0. - Anne Sliwka: Band II. Das anglo-amerikanische Beispiel. Weinheim, 2001. ISBN 3-935696-02-7.

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Imprint

Editorial staff and contents:

Christian Petry, Pia Gerber in cooperation with: Benita Daublebsky Christel Grünenwald Anetta Kahane Monika Kleck Helga Nickich Ida Schildhauer Evi Scholz Anne Sliwka Britta Kollberg Susanne Felger

Layout:

Silke Hirt

Translation:

Virginia Schildhauer

Graphics and printing:

Jürgen Hatzenbühler Druck + VerlagsService Helmut Haas GmbH

FREUDENBERG STIFTUNG GMBH Freudenbergstr. 2 D-69469 Weinheim Tel. +49-6201-17498 Fax +49-6201-13262 [email protected] http://www.freudenbergstiftung.de Weinheim, June 2004

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