YES Forum - Youth and European Social Work
Kinderstadt Goes Europe! | Of Romanian Rainbows and Swedish Culture

Dear ###USER_first_name### ###USER_last_name###,

all over Europe it has become apparent: Active citizenship is needed for democratic societies to thrive. And is there a better way to learn than through hands-on experience from an early age on? Well, have you heard about our Kinderstadt Goes Europe project yet?

Together with our long-time partner St. Johannis GmbH and over the course of 21 months, the Kinderstadt Goes Europe project trains youth organizations from several European countries in order to support them to create, design, and later on implement, their very own Kinderstadt.

We are very proud of the great work being done in this project - and therefore decided to dedicate this Special Edition newsletter to it.

We wish you a pleasant read!

What is Kinderstadt?

Kinderstadt (Engl.: 'Children’s Town') is a pedagogical concept which consists of a sort of mini-city that enables children and young people to experience the complex relationships and processes of social life. In a playful and low-threshold way, it shows what active participation in democratic and civic life can mean.

Through the organisation of their "lives" in the Kinderstadt - participants will have to find a job, can earn and spend money and take part in local political activities - participating children and volunteers gain many skills regarding social life, political and economic processes, active citizenship and many more. 'Children’s Town' is planned, organized and implemented by professionals working with participants, together with local actors such as SMEs, banks, but also political decision-makers. The concept is always supported by young volunteers.

Kick Off at Kinderstadt Bärenhausen

In July 2018, the Kinderstadt Goes Europe project started off with a first training hosted by coordinating organisation St Johannis GmbH in Bernburg, Germany. The training took place at the same time as the Kinderstadt Bärenhausen, Bernburg's annual Children's Town, which is the starting point of the project. It proved a great opportunity for the project partners to experience a working Kinderstadt firsthand. Project partners got actively involved as embassadors for their countries giving the participating children and young volunteers the chance to learn about Italy, Romania, Sweden, Lithuania and the Netherlands.

The Kinderstadt Bärenhausen was also a great inspiration for project partners of how different actors across the community can become involved: While the children are participants, older youth help out as volunteers, local businesses send their trainees or young staff to share their skills as well as providing funding and local politicians have the honourable task of opening the Kinderstadt, meaning everyone is involved! Read on here.

Oraselul Curcubeu - Kinderstadt in Romania

Kinderstadt Goes Europe partnered with Ruhama Foundation in Oradea, Romania where the Kinderstadt partners met for their second transnational project meeting in January 2019. Read on about the meeting here

Hosting partner Ruhama Foundation was also the first to kick-off their own Kinderstadt in May 2019 with a concept adapted to cater for the needs of 3-6 year olds. "Oraselul Curcubeu" - Rainbow City was the name of the inclusive Kinderstadt bringing together Roma and non-Roma children from the local community. The many young volunteers from the community were greatly involved, thereby learning about and experiencing active citizenship themselves. What a success it was! Find out more on Ruhama's Facebook page (in English).

"Let's Go Kids!" - Kinderstadt in Sweden

Yet again quite different from the original Kinderstadt concept and well adapted to the needs of the local community, the Kinderstadt Arvidsjaur (Sweden) took place as part of the town's summer festival "Let's Go Arvidsjaur" from 4 - 6th July 2019.

Fifteen different houses gave the participating children the opportunity to try out different handicrafts, learn about democracy and experience traditional Saami culture. Luckily, project partners were able to visit the Kinderstadt during their training. Read on here.

Would you like to know more?

We will keep you updated on the project's progress in the news section of our website. For more detailed information about the project in general, read the project description here or go straight to the project's website by clicking here.

Please also feel free to contact Sven Hohle if you have any questions!

 

Last but not least: A big thank you to all project partners for their enthusiasm so far! Without you, this project would not be possible!

 

Many kind regards from Stuttgart,

The YES Forum Secretariat

YES Forum
Wagenburgstr. 26 - 28
D-70184 Stuttgart
Germany

Tel: +49-711-16 48 92 7
Fax: +49-711-16 48 92 1
E-Mail: office@dont-want-spam.yes-forum.eu
Website: www.yes-forum.eu

The Kinderstadt Goes Europe project is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.

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