„From Street to School und Globales Lernen e.V. ermutigt junge Menschen im vom Bürgerkrieg gezeichneten Liberia gemeinsam Verantwortung für eine menschenwürdige Zukunft zu übernehmen.“ (Dr. Martina Metzger, 2021)
Who coins the organization?
We have been inspired by seven-graders from Pestalozzi-Gymnasium and young Liberians.
Dieser Beitrag ist in Englischer Sprache. Wir wollen nämlich für die Unterstützer in Spanien und im Vereinigten Königreich verständlich sein. Ihnen liegen die Projekte von From Street to School, inc ebenso am Herzen wie uns. Hier geht es auf Deutsch weiter: Über uns! und Mitgliedschaft oder hier schnuppern, was wer wir hier und dort sind: Points of View
Those who made the first steps were shocked about the photos and information that were offered in German media and by their their moral-education and catholic relgion teacher. They were given information about the Liberian civil war and the kids involved. They felt inspired by the idea of being creative and expressing their own feelings. They fought for the dream of spending free time for a good purpose while others would sit as usual. With their amazing BlowUp they participated in a big demonstration on Marienplatz in München. The NGO Missio had called especially young people to show their solidarity during school hours and in the afternoon.
Preparation for and the event itself had several notable consequences we need to recognize to understand the history of From Street to School und Globales Lernen. Students made a point, because they experienced high self efficacy, powerful corporate citizenship and tried to establish a grassroots student-movement in their school. Some years later the momentum got changed a lot, because money came in and captured the planing. Who do we want to sponsor, how can we control whether money had been well invested, what would be the most efficient way to let our organization grow. Pro Liberia e.V. was established in 2005 to get hold of those organizing and money issues. Its a pity how assymetric wealth shrinks phantasy and dominates discussions. Harshly spoken Liberians expressed their need and thanks and Germans increased their fundraising. Students at our school in Munich from year to year lost a realistic estimation of new Liberian reality. Pro Liberia tried hard to change the focus again, but failed. We had to change the structures in a long process.
After some trials within the structures we changed them basicly. What we kept was the primary student experience which is contained in the scientific term of Global Learning. Global Learning as we us it means: instructing young people how to collaborate. We use methods of creative writing, moderation, brainstorming and knowledge about biography and detailed facts that allow young people to feel empathy with other cultures. We use to create an inclusive learning-atmosphere where noone is left behind.
There is one aspect of this desire to do Global Learning at school, that makes it difficult to have it realized in every-day-scheduled school systems – in Liberia as well as in Germany: This kind of learning has a high level of self experience, collaboration, free chosen work-time and tolerance for different solutions. Teachers‘ style is closer to a mentor or a moderator than to someone giving lessons of instruction and having controlled the outcome by one and the same scale of measurement for all individuals at the same time.
Global Learning is about peer teaching and workshops where students may grow stronger through complex and ambiguous information. Simplification is welcom – but is never kept as a single story or taught. Many aspects of practising Global Learning Workshops are complementary to acedemic traditions and everyday teaching at school. Bavarian curricula even assign us teachers to save space for it. Nevertheless people who join have to be couraged a lot and therefore need a backup like From Street to School und Globales Lernen.
All this experience made us change the structures of Pro Liberia. Read, what we have now and please download our constitution and membership application below!
- Our Liberian partners and we agree, that we are not speaking the same language, even if you use the same words.
- We are permanently implementing metalevels of communication about basic attitudes. Nevertheless we are working practically at our schools in Munich.
- We stay addicted „Leaning through irritation“, but have reduced addiction to monetary funds. We rarely find us in line with supposed expectations, when we have intercontinental meetings. We think that it is necessary to talk about everything. ( Our website’s name is „Speak : Out!“ )
- Fundraising is a big challenge for us. It’s fun to focus on, but it’s always a temptation. If you raise funds you put all your creativity in a single story. It is hard work to come out of this.
- This is why we have fixed structures for information and fundraising. We are free to concentrate on the content.
- We have Zoom meetings, student exchange, penpal, workshops in Liberia and workshops in Germany and we have cooperation in projects that concern global citizenship and awareness.
- We started to have school-collaborations with different schools in Munich, because children can learn Global Learning competences even at home with the cultures they meet there.
- To cope with ambiguities and to slow down the speed of consuming is the Red Thread which coins the Liberiaprojekt-Activities and the ecological movement at our schools (Umweltschule).
We complement each other and work together for sustainable and fair development. From Street to School und Globales Lernen highlights challenges and ambiguity in all issues. We train critical thinking, evalution, trustfulness and having fun together. From our view in Germany we are trying to implement a bit of Ubuntu in our school culture:
I am because you are
With students and adults from Liberia we can see them trying to implement a bit of efficiency thinking and civic consciousness in their volonteer groups.
I am because I am working because I can make my dreams come true and sell what I have on a „market„
What we have already
- Liberiaprojekt: platform for ideas coming from both countries
- Tax-free account as a sponsoring association for From Street to School, Liberia
- Students in the Pestalozzi-Gymnasium and the Nelson-Mandela-BOS who appreciate exploring the world through projects: AK Liberia und Projekttage, Afrikatag, Europatag, Umwelttage und Kreatives Schreiben/Globales Lernen
- Personal Encounters on line and in real world settings (student-exchange, visits, zoom meetings)
- Experience from nearly 20 years of successful and failed intercontinental communication and aid
Where we want to go together …
- high level of reflected values and resilience (critical use of media information)
- more adequate schooling
- free school for all children
- less hunger, more income
- good life for future generations
- peace not war, deescalation instead of generating hate
- understanding instead of justifying and labeling other cultures and the past
- inclusive structures to guarantee universal human rights for all (including knowledge about and care for the planet’s needs)
How to join us – come back in few days to download our new membership form
Contact via Email liberiaprojekt (at) liberiaprojekt.de
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Constitution of From Street to School und Globales Lernen, München.
Find more Information about us all across this website, especially on our menue-target Information of concern.