40 Events Planned for Days of Political Education in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
40 events on days of political education in MV

09/05/2023 4:31 p.m

Schwerin/Neubrandenburg (dpa/mv) – The organizers are hoping for a lively turnout and lively discussions for the days of political education in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. As Susan Schulz from the Heinrich Böll Foundation announced on Tuesday in Schwerin, 40 events are planned nationwide so far.

A discussion event with the author Anne Rabe, who was born in Wismar, marks the start on September 15th in Neubrandenburg. Her latest novel, “The Possibility of Happiness”, which deals with dealing with the history of the GDR, was nominated for the German Book Prize 2023.

The start date was just as consciously chosen as the end of the two-week series of events, it said. September 15, 2007 was declared International Day of Democracy by the United Nations General Assembly. October 3rd, on which a joint reading by the award-winning author Helga Schubert and Anne Rabe is planned to conclude in Rostock, is the Day of German Unity.

The current debate about the post-reunification period and respect for the life achievements of East Germans is only one aspect of the series of events, said the head of the state center for political education, Jochen Schmidt. Of course, it will also be about the increasingly obvious skepticism about democracy and the need to promote democratic participation. “Political education is an ongoing task. It starts with imparting knowledge about historical contexts and ways of getting involved,” explained Schmidt.

He was critical of the federal government’s announcements that it would cut funding for the Federal Agency for Civic Education by 20 percent. So far, project sponsors in the north-east have also received federal funding. Cuts would therefore affect their work, predicted Schmidt. The state government in Schwerin, on the other hand, did not plan to cut funds in political education in its draft budget for 2024 and 2025.

According to Schmidt, the days of political education are a joint campaign by political education providers and foundations in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and the state center for political education. The program shows the wide variety of offers, both regionally and in terms of content.