Exploring the Tension Between Traditional Volunteer Work and Innovative Commitment in Germany

Discussion about the tension between traditional voluntary work and innovative commitment: Voluntary participation and assumption of responsibility is used in Germany as an indicator of social cohesion, as an essential resource when it comes to overcoming the crisis of the welfare state, demographic change and dynamic migration processes. The religious communities in Germany in particular play a central role in this.

At the conference “Spirituality and Civic Engagement” on Saturday, November 4th, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., in the AntoniterQuartier, Antoniterstrasse 14-16, the aim is to present an exemplary discussion from the perspective of the Hizmet movement in North Rhine-Westphalia and the Evangelical Church in Cologne and region show how voluntary commitment and dialogue are practiced and how the tension between traditional volunteer work and innovative commitment is shaped.

Lectures, discussions and presentations of volunteer projects

The program highlights include inspiring lectures in the morning, interactive discussion groups and the presentation of innovative volunteer projects in the afternoon. The top-class experts, including senior professor Dr. Annette Zimmer from the WWU Münster, Rafael Nikodemus, church councilor in the regional church office of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland in Düsseldorf, and Hilal Akdeniz, research assistant at the Dialogue and Education Foundation in Berlin, will show new perspectives and exchange ideas with the guests about various areas of volunteer work .

In the afternoon, the future workshop on civil society engagement will be about presenting the following successful and innovative volunteer projects:

• Coexister: Youth movement for social peace, social cohesion and friendships between people with different beliefs and world views
• Community organizing Köln
• Diakonisches Werk Cologne and Region: Designing social spaces transculturally
• Forum for a culture of welcome: supports Cologne welcome initiatives and other actors in refugee work
• Outline e. V.: Cultural education for young people in Cologne-Chorweiler” (grafiti, hip-hop)
• Association of committed civil society in NRW e. V.: Social responsibility in Hizmet

“At a time when voluntary participation and the assumption of responsibility are pillars of social cohesion in Germany, our event plays a crucial role,” says Martina Schönhals, Managing Director of the Diakonisches Werk Cologne and Region. “Together we want to solve social challenges such as: Mastering demographic change, migration processes and the future of the welfare state through voluntary commitment.”

Admission is free. Registration by email to anmelde@melanchthon-akademie.de is required, Tel: 0221 931 803 0, anmeldung@melanchthon-akademie.de.