ConAct
| ConAct - Coordination Center for German-Israeli Youth Exchange |
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| founding | 2001 |
| Seat | Lutherstadt Wittenberg |
| main emphasis | Development and promotion of youth exchange between Germany and Israel |
| people | Christine Mähler (Head) |
| Website | www.conact-org.de |
ConAct - Coordination Center for German-Israeli Youth Exchange is a nationwide service and information center for youth contacts between Germany and Israel based in Lutherstadt Wittenberg , Saxony-Anhalt. Its aim is to build and strengthen German-Israeli relations . The activities include advice on the planning and financing of German-Israeli youth exchanges, the provision of country information, the networking of actors and initiatives to further develop youth exchanges between Germany and Israel.
ConAct is an institution of the Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ) with the support of the states of Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania . It works nationwide and is locally sponsored by the Evangelical Academy of Saxony-Anhalt . The partner on the Israeli side is the Israel Youth Exchange Authority (IYEA) Tel Aviv, which works on behalf of the Israeli Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The work of ConAct is accompanied by the coordination council for the German-Israeli youth exchange, which meets under the chairmanship of the BMFSFJ.
history
During his visit to Israel in the spring of 2000, Federal President Johannes Rau suggested active support and sustainable expansion of German-Israeli youth contacts. For this purpose, the German Federal Youth Minister Christine Bergmann and the Israeli Minister of Education Yossi Sarid agreed to set up coordination offices for German-Israeli youth exchanges in Germany and Israel:
“Learning and practicing how to deal with one another will never stop between the people in Germany and Israel. I would like to ask you to do everything with me to encourage this learning. In these days we will sign an agreement on a German-Israeli youth forum that will serve this purpose. We will create a scholarship program that will help to familiarize young Israelis with today's Germany. "
On October 23, 2001 the office in Lutherstadt Wittenberg was opened in the presence of the Federal President. At the invitation of the city, ConAct moved into the old town hall on the market square . On the occasion of the ten-year cooperation between ConAct and IYEA, Federal President Christian Wulff invited to a festive event at Bellevue Palace in 2011 and paid tribute to the work of the two coordination offices as well as the sponsors in Germany and Israel.
numbers
Since the founding, around 90 new project partnerships have been established through the work of the coordination offices. In over 140 of its own specialist events, networking was carried out in a bilateral framework and qualification offers were made available for more than 5,500 participating professionals from youth exchanges and youth aid. In 2013 the budget of the BMFSFJ for the German-Israeli youth exchange was increased to 2.2 million euros annually. About 300 exchange projects are funded every year from these funds via ConAct.
Tasks and work areas
The core tasks of the coordination centers were laid down in the joint declaration of intent of the BMFSFJ and the Israeli Ministry of Education . The following tasks are listed there:
- advise and support the organizations and institutions involved in the German-Israeli youth exchange
- Encourage exchange projects and help establish and deepen contacts between interested organizations and youth initiatives
- stimulate new forms and areas of cooperation and exchange
- Organize partner exchanges and specialist conferences on German-Israeli youth exchanges
- Train employees of the German-Israeli youth exchange to qualify the cooperation
- Provide assistance with the placement as well as support with the organization of seminars for internships and observations in educational institutions
- Make recommendations to the mixed technical committee for the German-Israeli youth exchange as well as to the responsible national authorities
- Develop and publish information and work materials
- Identify and convey funding opportunities and seek sponsors.
Central tasks
Information, networking and service
ConAct helps with content planning and the organizational implementation of German-Israeli exchange programs. It provides information about the German-Israeli youth contacts, advises German-Israeli project partnerships on the conception and implementation of joint youth exchange and specialist programs, and creates pedagogical handouts that serve the content preparation and practical implementation of German-Israeli youth encounters.
Qualification of multipliers and group leaders
ConAct designs seminars for the exchange of experiences and specialist conferences for further training for group leaders and multipliers in the German-Israeli exchange. The aim of these specialist programs is to maintain the continuity of contacts and agreements despite the often uncertain security policy framework and to sensitize the group leaders to social developments in both countries. These include the match-making seminars, where new youth work organizations from Germany and Israel are networked with one another, specialist conferences on German-Israeli youth exchange and bilateral specialist seminars on youth policy cooperation.
Funding and funding
On behalf of the BMFSFJ, ConAct administers the funds of the Federal Child and Youth Plan (KJP) for the promotion of extracurricular youth exchanges as well as specialist programs for extracurricular child and youth welfare. ConAct advises sponsors on how to apply for funds, forwards the funds to youth associations and the responsible regional offices, and checks the usage lists.
Further development of the German-Israeli youth contacts
In the central work areas, questions can be found at various points regarding the further development of German-Israeli youth contacts against the background of current challenges in German-Israeli youth exchanges. ConAct is working on further developing the content of the exchange work in the key areas of “Remembering Together”, “Sharing Commitment” and “Living Diversity”.
Living Diversity in Germany and Israel
The aim of the project, linked to the focus on "Living Diversity", is to establish a German-Israeli network of providers and specialists in extracurricular youth work, who feel obliged to take a diversity-conscious approach in their educational and exchange work and who are committed to social and equitable togetherness work against exclusion and discrimination.
Remembering together - building bridges
As part of a three-year bilateral work process with the Bavarian Youth Ring and the City of Jerusalem , ConAct worked on the design of joint commemorative events within the framework of German-Israeli youth encounters, with the focus on “remembering together”, as remembering is a central concern of the encounters between young people Germany and Israel shape. Joint visits to memorial sites and preoccupation with the Shoah make it clear to young Germans and Israelis that they belong to the following generations of perpetrators and victims, which means specific challenges for the encounters and rapprochements of young people from both countries. The aim of the pedagogical manual, which was published in 2008 as a result of the project and revised in 2014 and expanded to include specific pedagogical methods, was the aim of the pedagogical manual, which was published in 2008 as a result of the project, to be able to absorb the strong emotional reactions, to prepare commemorations together and to integrate them sensibly into the context of German-Israeli encounters.
German-Israeli volunteer program for young Israelis in Germany - Kom-Mit-Nadev
In 2010, the Kom-Mit-Nadev pilot program began as part of the focus on “Sharing engagement” on the initiative of numerous sponsors and coordinated by ConAct, with which reciprocity in the German-Israeli context was established for the first time in the field of voluntary services. In 2011, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of ConAct, Federal President Wulff emphasized the importance of this new program. In July 2015, the program was terminated for the time being after a five-year pilot phase. Many of the German and Israeli organizations continue to cooperate to enable young Israelis to do voluntary service in Germany.
Anniversary "50 years of German-Israeli diplomatic relations"
As part of the celebrations for 50 years of German-Israeli diplomatic relations and 60 years of German-Israeli youth exchange, the German-Israeli youth congress took place in Berlin and Neve Ilan (Israel) as a cooperation between the BMFSFJ and ConAct. For this purpose, 300 young people from both countries experienced in youth exchanges met to discuss experiences, successes and challenges. During the part of the program in Berlin, the young people also had the opportunity to exchange ideas with Presidents Reuven Rivlin and Joachim Gauck.
In addition, on the occasion of the anniversary, ConAct revised the German-Hebrew website "Exchange Visions", which has existed since 2005. It serves to research and process the history of the German-Israeli youth exchange.
As part of the youth exchange project "Spotlight on ... 50 Years Israel & Germany", which is supported by media education, five short films were made, which will be available for use in future educational work.
In a brochure on 60 years of German-Israeli youth exchange, dates, figures, voices and stories have been compiled; In the textbook "MOOVING MOMENTS CONNECTING FOR LIFE", German and Israeli authors write about research results, content, dynamics and pedagogy in German-Israeli encounters.
Publications (selection)
ConAct publishes publications that deal with various topics of the German-Israeli relationship, with a special focus on youth work. A large part of it is completely bilingual in German and Hebrew.
- Spotlight on… Germany & Israel. Five short films by young people on the past, present and future of German-Israeli relations with methods for educational practice. Lutherstadt Wittenberg, published April 2016
- Moving Moments Connecting for Live - German-Israeli youth exchange in research and practice. NDV GmbH & Co. KG. Lutherstadt Wittenberg, 2015. ISBN 978-3-87576-784-1
- 50 years of diplomatic relations between Germany and Israel - 60 years of German-Israeli youth exchange. History (s) - Insights - Information. Lutherstadt Wittenberg, 2015.
- Israel - Near to the East. Edited by ConAct - Coordination Center for German-Israeli Youth Exchange and NDV Rheinbreitbach. 2011, revised. 2nd edition 2014
- Remembering together - sharing commitment - living diversity. German-Israeli conference. Lutherstadt Wittenberg 2013
- Remembering together - building bridges: Between the past and the future, from person to person. Lutherstadt Wittenberg, 2008. revised. u. exp. New edition 2014
- “A stone falls from my shoulders”. Methods of language animation for the German-Israeli exchange in German, Hebrew, Arabic. Lutherstadt Wittenberg, 2010. ISBN 978-3-00-033339-2
- ConAct-Info series of publications. Constantly updated editions
- ConAct-Info - Common provisions for the implementation and promotion of the German-Israeli youth exchange
- ConAct-Info - Funding from the Federal Children and Youth Plan (KJP) in the special program Germany - Israel
- ConAct-Info - Voluntary Services in Israel and Germany
- ConAct-Info - Language courses: Learn Hebrew and Arabic in Israel and Germany
- ConAct-Info - Good ideas cost money - Funding opportunities for German-Israeli exchange programs
- ConAct-Info - Fit for the exchange. Overview of educational materials for German-Israeli encounter programs
- Acting together - Poalim Jachad. Catalog for the exhibition project “Working Together” with art objects from German-Israeli youth encounters. Lutherstadt Wittenberg, 2012
literature
- Mähler, Christine; Hahn, Jonas M .: 50 years of diplomatic relations between Germany and Israel, 60 years of German-Israeli youth exchanges. Four theses on the importance of exchange against the background of historical developments and connections between German-Israeli youth contacts. in: Center for International Youth Work of the Federal Republic of Germany e. V. (IJAB) (Hrsg.): Forum Youth Work International - Shaping child and youth welfare transnationally. Bonn, 2015. ISBN 978-3-924053-59-8
- Bonus, Stefanie; Chehata, Yasmine; Per. Dr. Thimmel, Andreas (Head): A new step in German-Israeli youth contacts. Report on the scientific support of the German-Israeli volunteer program Kom-Mit-Nadev . Cologne University of Applied Sciences, 2013
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ History of ConAct. ConAct website. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
- ^ The beginnings of the German-Israeli youth exchange. Jehuda Erel, HaGalil.com. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
- ↑ Address to the Knesset - speech by Federal President Rau. Website of the Federal President. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
- ↑ 10 years of German-Israeli youth exchange. Website of the Federal President. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
- ↑ Working bilaterally - changing perspectives - acting together: Accompanying and promoting the German-Israeli youth exchange for over 60 years. In: ConAct - Coordination Center for German-Israeli Youth Exchange (Ed.): 50 Years of Diplomatic Relations Germany-Israel | 60 years of German-Israeli youth exchange. Wittenberg, 2015, p. 73
- ↑ Letter of Intent on the establishment of coordination offices - BMFSFJ and Ministry of Education Israel. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
- ↑ Working bilaterally - changing perspectives - acting together: Accompanying and promoting the German-Israeli youth exchange for over 60 years. In: ConAct - Coordination Center for German-Israeli Youth Exchange (Ed.): 50 Years of Diplomatic Relations Germany-Israel | 60 years of German-Israeli youth exchange. Wittenberg, 2015, p. 70.
- ↑ Federal Family Ministry promotes further development of the German-Israeli youth exchange - project presentation. ( Memento of the original from April 21, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. BMFSFJ website. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
- ↑ German-Israeli manual “Remembering Together - Building Bridges” presented - project presentation . Website ConAct. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
- ↑ Goodbye - Kom-Mit-Nadev ... - press statement. (PDF file) Kom-Mit-Nadev website.
- ^ German-Israeli Youth Congress - program booklet. ( Memento of the original from April 21, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF file) Youth Congress website. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
- ^ Israeli, German Presidents Meet in Berlin to Mark 50 Years of Diplomatic Ties - newspaper article. Website Haaretz . Retrieved March 9, 2016.
