(Bonn) – “vhs. Stand with Ukraine”: This is the motto used by adult education centers throughout Germany to express their ongoing support for Ukraine one year after the start of the Russian war. As cosmopolitan institutions that work every day for dialogue, community and peaceful coexistence, this war has deeply shaken the adult education centers in Europe, which was believed to be safe. Many vhs have since expressed their solidarity with Ukraine.
More importantly: “We actively live this solidarity by reaching out to the people affected by this war, welcoming them to towns and communities, helping them to find their way around Germany and giving them a helping hand amidst the turmoil of flight pointing out perspectives,” says Martin Rabanus, Chairman of the German Adult Education Association (DVV). In addition to a large number of educational and integration offers, adult education centers also provide support through partnerships with Ukrainian cities.
“Learning, community, education for a wide variety of life situations – that’s our job,” says Liliane Steinke, head of the adult education center in Celle, summarizing the task of adult education centers in times of war and crisis from her point of view. Even before the start of the war, her own adult education center began cooperating with the Lifelong Learning Center in the Ukrainian city of Sumy as part of the partner city project Urban X-Change Network of the Institute for International Cooperation of the DVV (DVV International). What began as an intercultural educational exchange became even more important when the war broke out. This is how the vhs Celle became the contact point for refugees from the Ukraine and actors in the Ukraine aid. Similarly, the Lifelong Learning Center Sumy is committed to the needs of internally displaced persons.
The partners developed the original cooperation idea further and jointly founded the “Joint PEACE Center Celle-Sumy”, which aims to counter the attacks on freedom and democracy in the world with intercultural education, conflict and peace education. With a sentence that she often heard from the Ukrainian partners of the vhs Celle about dealing with the war, vhs director Liliane Steinke sums up the commitment of her adult education center in this crisis: “Everyone helps where they can.” – 850 adult education centers throughout Germany do the same.
“The attack on Ukraine is also an attack on the fundamental values of freedom, democracy and human rights, which also include the right to education,” said Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, President of the DVV Contribution to defend these values in the face of war
Further information
More about the work of the vhs Celle, the commitment of the adult education centers for refugees from the Ukraine and education in times of war and crisis on the DVV topic page on the Ukraine war at www.volkshochschule.de/ukraine
Press contact:
Sabrina Basler, Public Relations Officer
Source and contact address:
German Adult Education Association (DVV) Press Office Königswinterer Str. 552 b, 53227 Bonn Telephone: (0228) 975690, Fax: (0228) 9756930
(jg)
