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Concerts, lectures, films, discussions, prayers for peace, readings or digital cooking courses – the program of the event series of the Intercultural Weeks in the Offenbach district in September and October 2021 offers many opportunities to deal with different religions, lifestyles and attitudes of people.
At around 70 events that were prepared by the Offenbach district’s integration office and many initiatives, associations, religious communities and parishes, visitors can get to know the wide range of international diversity in the district.
People from around 180 countries of origin feel at home in the 13 municipalities. The events as part of the intercultural weeks offer an ideal forum for encounters and discussions. The motto of the intercultural weeks this year is “#open goes – people and cultures in the Offenbach district”. Due to the pandemic, the number of program items is lower than in previous years, and some offers are also digital.
This is how Professor Dr. Beate Küpper in an online lecture on the question of whether the middle of society is really as democratic as many assume. Cooking is also done on the Internet and not as a face-to-face event. In culinary terms, the motto “Diversity to taste” means “Experience the Orient at home” or, for example, “A trip to Afghanistan. The current events in the country, which has been burdened by war for decades, in which the armed Taliban has now taken control and many people are fleeing out of fear, are the focus of a discussion of the “Round Table”, which will take place on Friday, September 24th at District center Hirschsprung-Breitensee in Dreieich is always a place.
The diversity of the program of the intercultural weeks is expressed by the fact that municipalities set thematically different priorities. And yet the events always deal with the central question of how people in a pluralistic society with all its extreme movements, many contradictions, but often with the same longing for an intact family, good friendship and happiness, can live together peacefully.
The district town of Dietzenbach is particularly diverse and therefore dealt early on with what it means to be a stranger and what problems can arise when society is divided into “they” and “we”. An event of the Intercultural Weeks is entitled “Ten Years of the Dietzenbach Integration Concept”.
When dealing with “new” or “foreign” children, children are often less prejudiced than adults. “How do you meet a child who is new to daycare or what do you wish for when you are new to the group?” These questions were asked by language support staff in Dreieich girls and boys. The answers are issued in four day-care centers in Dreieich-Sprendlingen. The result is heartwarming ideas and paintings that reflect children’s unbiased perspective. Or as a child said: “A stranger is a friend whom I have not yet met”.
The program of the Intercultural Weeks is on the Internet at www.kreis-offenbach.de/interkulturelle-wochen retrievable.
(Text: PM Kreis Offenbach)
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