Emerging discrimination, racism and anti-Semitism are creeping into our society, which is why it is becoming increasingly important to train social skills in order to preserve liberal democratic values. Only in this way can we ensure the free development of personality and orientation in a peaceful and modern world.
This year, two special events started to mark our 15th anniversary in the “School without Racism – School with Courage” network.
Cyberbullying & HateSpeech
On April 17 and 18, a workshop on the topic of „cyberbullying and hate speech“ was held for the 6th grade. The speaker was Sebastian Zollner, who ran a two-day workshop with all the students in the year group. During this workshop, the young people were able to discuss with Mr. Zollner what appropriate reactions to discriminatory statements on the Internet are. Hate speech does not affect everyone equally, it is primarily directed against those who are already socially disadvantaged or those who show solidarity with these people. The participants learned effective strategies to not let the hate go uncommented, but to take a clear stand – to show moral courage against hate comments of any kind online.
Author reading Christopher Kloeble
On Wednesday, July 10, 2024, a reading and interview with the author Christopher Kloeble followed for the students of the MSS. The author, who lives in Berlin and New Delhi, reads individual chapters from his work „Home – Made in India“ to describe his relationship with the country. In the interview that follows, together with Dr. David Emling – the regional coordinator of SoR – SmC – he talks about his experiences abroad and how this changes his perception of our society in Germany. For example, he talks about racist and discriminatory experiences that he had in Berlin with his wife, who comes from India, and creates a multi-perspective and intercultural comparison between India and Germany.
The students of the ETGA senior class follow the interview with interest and are able to ask Mr. Kloeble many questions afterwards, which creates a relaxed atmosphere for the conversation.
All activities were possible thanks to the generous help of the support association, the friends‘ circle of the Evangelical Trifels-Gymnasium, the school administration and the State Center for Political Education. Many thanks for this!
Florian Stender
