Klausenhof project and youth work for political education

“Open” is the name of the project – and it should become something like an open door for the political education of local youth. “Open youth work and political education engaged together” was the subtitle of the youth work team in Hamminkeln and the Dingden Academy Klausenhof as a further education institution for their joint project during the presentation. Last Friday, the project was launched internally in the courtyard of the comprehensive school in Hamminkeln with the launch event.

The aim is to strengthen political education and anchor it in the minds of young people. Times are such that this approach is urgently needed, Mayor Bernd Romanski said during the presentation. “Democracy is being tested right now,” he said. This is why the long-standing cooperation between the city and Klausenhof is so important.

The project is proposed by the Education Transfer Office of the Transfer for Education Association with funding from the Essen-based Mercator Foundation. The “Open” project opens up prospects on site; in Hamminkeln, the “strengths and potential of open child and youth work and political education of young people in North Rhine-Westphalia” are to be brought together. This is by no means new territory in the city. The youth work team and the Klausenhof Academy had already launched a large-scale campaign in Dingden for the 2021 federal elections, but it was not entirely convincing. Among other things, the format brought a discussion with the then contestants and about 200 general school students to the event tent. This time it should go beyond the debate.

“Young people should learn that they can influence something in everyday political life,” Romanski said. Because many young people would think that “politics has nothing to do with their lives”, said Thorsten Gonska of the Klausenhof division’s management. The campaign aims to support the formation of opinions, judgment and political action among young people. In other words: “The cooperation partners have set themselves the goal of promoting youth participation in Hamminkeln. And there are three elements – also scientific – within the project.

Firstly, a so-called social space analysis will be carried out in cooperation with the Catholic University of Münster by September 2023. It should examine the current living situation of young people in Isselstadt, record their wishes and criticisms of the offers of the city, etc. The duration of the project is until October 2023.

Second, city walks follow between summer and autumn holidays. You want to walk around their respective neighborhoods with the ninth graders of the OGS (Open All-Day School) to explore their favorite places and their “anxious dreams”. Photos and descriptions should document this and ultimately turn into a small exhibit.

Thirdly, an action is planned under the title “1000 per 1000”. These are concrete project ideas for which young people can advertise in order to receive financial support. “If young people have an idea of ​​what is missing in their neighborhood, whether it’s a concert, a gift box or a central meeting point, they have the opportunity to put their project in practical,” he says. A total of six ideas are supported with three times 500 or three times 1000 euros.