News

An international team of academics and practitioners led by The Open University and including cultures interactive e.V. has won € 3.16 m funding, to help people handle the increasing emergence of so-called ‘extremist views’ at home and abroad in the run up to major political events, nationally and EU wide. Psychologists at the Open University, good practice researchers at Cultures Interactive e.V. and the other consortium member are working on developing tools for the project that has been funded by the European Commission’s ‘Horizon Europe’ programme involving 17 partners across Europe and beyond its borders.

„I want to write a book to prevent other young people from going to Syria and joining the so-called Islamic State!“ These were the words of a young man in prison who was mentored by a social worker from the Jamal al-Khatib project team. Once part of the jihadi scene in Austria, he wanted to prevent other young people from repeating the mistakes he had made. This initiative gave rise to the web video project ‚Jamal al-Khatib – Mein Weg!‘ in 2017.

If you want to work effectively with young people on democratic attitudes, you have to pick them up in their lifeworld. Youth cultures are particularly suitable as door-openers for achieving effects with adolescents from different milieus through a political education oriented to their lifeworld. Youth cultural activities can create informal learning spaces that promote emancipatory and critical awareness as well as the examination of social issues. At the same time, youth culture work can teach young people how their personal interests are linked to their broader social environment. In addition, youth cultural offers make human rights-oriented and democratic values such as justice, diversity and solidarity tangible, which can make young people resistant to ideologies of inequality.

After a three-year break due to the pandemic, we are finally back this year: From June 5 to 9, we invite you to the old Nudelfabrik Zeitz in Saxony-Anhalt for Summer School! Summer School - that means five days of educational festival with professional exchange, further education, networking and change of perspective.