Young action
The Junge Aktion (JA) is the youth association of the Ackermann community and a member of Aktion West-Ost in the Federation of German Catholic Youth (BDKJ). The focus of the work lies in the history of the association - the Junge Aktion was founded in 1950 by Christian displaced young people from Bohemia , Moravia and Silesia - in the encounter with the Central and Eastern European neighbors. JA is a community of children and young people between the ages of 10 and 26 who want to contribute to a “Europe of the people” through their activities. It promotes the development and development of young people on the way to a responsible life in the state and society and actively participates in the growing together of Europe.
history
In 1946 Catholic expellees joined together under Hans Schütz and Father Paulus Sladek OSA to form the Ackermann congregation. Based on the poem Der Ackermann von Böhmen (around 1400), they endeavored to come to terms with their fate in a positive way. The aim of this union was to be advisors, comforters and helpers to the people in their new homeland and to contribute to reconciliation between Germans and Czechs or Slovaks.
In 1950 the Junge Aktion was founded at Burg Wörth . Her goals at that time were personality development, popular political education and deepening of faith. One of their concerns was a good neighborhood in the east, dealing with communism and helping the persecuted church. Even then, the highlights of a JA year were the Easter days in the Benedictine monastery in Rohr and the major federal weeks with sometimes over 400 participants. Since 1951, the JA worked alongside other member associations as an “Action for Displaced People” - today, Aktion West-Ost in the BDKJ . The first guiding principles of the JA were announced in 1956.
In the 1960s, private and group trips were used to establish and maintain contact with groups of unauthorized Catholic youth in the ČSSR. In addition, in cooperation with the social work of the Ackermann congregation, theological literature, which reflected the dawn of the Second Vatican Council , was promoted for interested theologians on such trips. During the Prague Spring , Czech young people were able to come to Germany to take part in a federal week of the JA and subsequent holidays. At the end of the 1960s, however, the iron curtain was closed again and the connection could only be maintained through individual contacts.
In the 1970s one dealt with the recognition of the GDR and peace with Central Eastern Europe in view of the new Eastern Treaties . The guiding principles were revised from 1973 to 1975. In addition to the historical development, the conditions for reconciliation were also discussed. New forms of youth work and the organization of church services - spurred on by the Second Vatican Council - as well as new issues - often related to Europe - provided a "breath of fresh air".
At the beginning of the 1980s, the JA mainly dealt with issues of democracy education, European integration, minorities in Europe and human rights. Contacts with Czech young people intensified. Increasingly, young people without a family history of displacement also worked.
After the fall of the Iron Curtain , more trips were organized with the aim of getting to know the eastern neighbors. In 1989 the first meeting week took place in Prague . In the 1990s, the political environment in Germany and Europe changed and with it the form of youth work. The first partner groups in the Czech Republic emerged from the joint activities; In 1998, with the German-Czech children and youth encounter Plasto Fantasto, the age group eight to 15 years could be included for the first time. Also in 1998, the Junge Aktion Würzburg, together with the partner groups Rytmika Sumperk and Talita Kum of the St. Ursula School, received the Würzburg Peace Prize for their long-term German-Czech youth encounters. Through the personal contacts of these youth encounters, Germans and Czechs get to know each other, begin to process the history of their countries and practice international understanding on this "grassroots level". At the political level, this project led to the district partnership between Šumperk and the district of Würzburg. The Würzburg Peace Prize Committee saw the award-winning project as a model for the necessary reconciliation between people affected by war and displacement, e. B. People from Bosnia or Kosovo.
In 2002 the guiding principles (statutes of the Junge Aktion) were brought up to date and adapted to the new political realities. In addition to the connections to Czech youth groups, there was an intensive exchange with young people from Slovakia, especially through Hej Spiš. Since 2006, a young person from the Czech Republic or Slovakia has been able to help shape the work of the JA as part of a voluntary service in Munich.
German-Czech relations
Since the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, Junge Aktion has been campaigning intensively for good German-Czech neighborhood. The central element here is the encounter between young people from Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, which is reflected in numerous joint projects. In addition, the Junge Aktion tries to give weight to its concern for a good neighborhood in central Europe on the political stage. In March 2008, the federal executive called for an expansion of the teaching of Czech in Bavarian schools. On Sudeten German Day 2008 in Nuremberg, the youth association revived an old debate among Sudeten Germans with a hearing as to whether a Sudeten German Day could also take place in the Czech Republic.
Guiding principles
Christian life
The young campaign of the Ackermann congregation is committed to the Christian faith, according to which the human being is personal, social and related to God and is based on the basic Christian values of justice, peace, solidarity and charity. Everyone has dignity, and the Junge Aktion campaigns for their recognition. The Junge Aktion meets people of different faiths openly and ready for dialogue. As an association and as individuals, they assume responsibility in their environment, in society and in the church of which they are part.
Human rights
The Young Action of the Ackermann congregation opposes human rights violations worldwide and against the appropriation of people by the state and ideologies. The Junge Aktion resolutely opposes any discrimination against individuals and groups, especially if it occurs on the basis of religious and ethnic affiliation. The members work for the realization of democracy and social justice in order to combat the causes of flight and displacement. The integration of people affected by migration is part of the work of Junge Aktion.
Encounter with the Central and Eastern European neighbors
The central concern of the work of the Junge Aktion der Ackermann-Gemeinde is to meet young people from neighboring countries in Central and Eastern Europe, especially the Czech Republic. For the Junge Aktion, encounter has a historical, political, cultural and social dimension. The members of the Junge Aktion are committed to an equal partnership, which they understand as an intercultural exchange of gifts. As a basis for this, the Junge Aktion provides knowledge of the history, culture, religion, society and language of Central and Eastern Europe.
Europe of the people
Through the political unification of all the states of Europe, nationalisms can be overcome in the long term. In this process, political action must be people-oriented. With the work of the Junge Aktion, the foundation is laid for this and Europe is made tangible for the individual. The Junge Aktion sees this Europe of the people as a contribution to world peace.
structure
The federal executive board and federal leadership are responsible for managing the JA, and they support the commitment of the members. The federal leadership consists of a maximum of four federal spokesmen, the spiritual advisory board and the federal manager. The task of the federal leadership is to lead the Junge Aktion and its organs according to the decisions of the federal executive committee. She represents the interests of the Junge Aktion internally and externally. The federal board consists of the federal leadership, five board members elected by the JA members, a media representative, a representative for the children's and youth camps with the name "Plasto", one delegated member each of the Ackermann community and the Ackermann community, the Youth education officers as well as appointed and co-opted members.
The federal spokespersons and their deputies are elected by the members for a period of two years. The ecclesiastical advisory board and the federal managing director are confirmed by the federal executive committee at the suggestion of the federal spokesman and deputy. The federal board is the decision-making body of the Junge Aktion and is responsible for the organization of the work and activities of the Junge Aktion at the highest level. His special tasks include the planning and implementation of projects and encounters. The board of directors has to inform the general assembly about its work.
Legal entity
The legal entity of the Junge Aktion is the Ackermann-Gemeinde eV based in Munich . She is entrusted with financial questions and the full-time work of youth officers. In all other matters, the Junge Aktion makes its own decisions.
membership
Anyone who is willing to work for the tasks and goals expressed in the guiding principles and to support the community of the Junge Aktion can become a member of the Junge Aktion. Members must be at least ten years old.
Events
The regular encounters of the Junge Aktion are among others:
- a political training week over the Easter days,
- the German-Czech New Year's Eve,
- a summer week,
- international leadership training,
- Children's and youth days,
- German-Czech children and youth encounters
Partner associations / organizations
Anti-complex
The citizens' initiative Antikomplex, founded by Czech pupils and students, is dedicated to the difficult topics of German-Czech history. Antikomplex became particularly well-known for their exhibition "Zmizelé sudety The Disappeared Sudetenland", for which they were awarded the Georg Dehio Culture Prize in 2005. In 2002, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the destruction of Ležáky, the Junge Aktion organized a seminar on the culture of remembrance together with Antikomplex. Since then there has been a close cooperation between JA and Antikomplex, u. a. as a partner in the "search for traces in the Czech border area".
Mládež pro interkulturni porozumĕni
The Czech partner group of Junge Aktion in Brno , Czech Republic was founded in 1998 as a youth association. “Mládež pro interkulturni porozuměni” (MIP) means “youth for intercultural understanding” and is an association of young people from the age of 16 who are interested in issues of contemporary society, politics and culture in the Czech and (Central) European region. The members share a common interest in developing communication on these issues, both in the Czech Republic and between the Czech public and neighboring countries. The best-known member of the group was Ondřej Liška , Minister for School, Youth and Sport of the Czech Republic in 2007–2009.
Rytmika Šumperk
The second partner group of the Junge Aktion is “Rytmika Šumperk”. This group is originally the singing and play group of the town parish of Šumperk , Czech Republic . Rytmika Šumperk has existed as a registered association since 1995 with the main aim of carrying out encounter trips, especially with the JA of the Diocese of Würzburg . The main goal is to meet young people in Germany, where u. a. singing together plays a major role. The Christian motivation of the members between the ages of 14 and 26 is important for all activities. Rytmika has already published two CDs and the song book "Banana", which was developed jointly with JA Würzburg. In 1998 Rytmika Šumperk and the Junge Aktion (Diocese of Würzburg) received the Würzburg Peace Prize for “... peace work that promotes international understanding ...”.
Hey Spiš
In 2003, through a school partnership with young people from Levoča , the first contacts were made with the Bamberg / Eichstätt youth campaign . By participating in and co-organizing many events at the federal level, they decided in 2005 to found their own association in eastern Slovakia called Hej (German: Ja) in order to organize encounters with German and Czech young people as a partner of the JA Enrich the Slovak-Czech-German dialogue.
JUKON (youth contact organization)
JUKON is the youth association of the German minority in the Czech Republic. Through their activities they want to contribute to a positive relationship between Germans and Czechs and other minorities. The Junge Aktion cooperates with JUKON in the “search for traces in the Czech border area”.
Spirála
Spirála was founded in 2009 as the youngest partner association from the Czech Republic. Spirála is the Czech partner organization for the Ackermann Community's Young Action and HEJspiš and is an organization that does educational work with children and young people. It came about as an idea of some Czech JA members from Brno / Brünn, who wanted to join forces to form a Czech partner organization. Spirála focuses on the target group of adolescents and young people who would like to learn a little more about politics and the common history of Germans, Czechs, Slovaks and other Europeans. The main goal of Spirála is to be the Czech partner in international encounters and projects, and to develop further in terms of content together.
Web links
- Young Action website
- Website of the Ackermann community
- JUKON website
- Rytmika Šumperk website ( memento from July 19, 2009 in the Internet Archive )