Plan Together – Experience Exchange!

Youth associations and youth education experts have been planning German-Israeli encounter programs for more than 60 years. Good practice is passed on, however, time and again questions on "Why?", "What?", "Who?", "Where?" and "How?"emerge in the process of planning the program which to answer is challenging not only for newcomers. A comprehensive answer to them has not been written anywhere – until now.

The new Practical Guidebook for the German-Israeli Youth Exchange offers newcomers as well as experienced group leaders a variety of assistance. It contains numerous ideas for finding a partner, preparation, implementation, reflection and the follow-up of encounter programs. In doing so, it does not contain any simple "recipes" nor blueprints for programs. It rather aims to stimulate a bilateral planning process. For this purpose, partner organizations from both countries can rely on concrete assistance in the guidebook: checklists for practical process steps, various references to literature and links on the internet and the suggestion to search for thematic priorities and target group oriented approaches in a differentiated way.

Over the last years, there is a growing sensitivity to the diversity of individual identities and collective affiliations of participants in German-Israeli encounters. Youth from both countries bring with them a variety of stories, while both societies are struggeling to support the coexistence of inhabitants with diverse individual and cultural background. Volume II of the pracitcal guidebook makes diversity-conscious education applicable for German-Israeli exchange programs: It invites experts in German-Israeli exchange and educational work to consciously choose methodological approaches for their exchange projects that address the diversity of the individual and collective background of young people from both countries.

To read online or download the guidebook go here:

The Practical Guidebook

Background:

ConAct – the Coordination Center for German-Israeli Youth Exchange is a nationwide working service and information center for exchange projects between German and Israeli youths, located in the sector of non-formal education. Since 2001 ConAct administers the funding of German-Israeli youth exchange, supports exchange programs between young people and offers qualified trainings for professionals in the field of German-Israeli youth work.

The employees of ConAct inform about organizational requirements and offer assistance in the educational preparation of exchange projects, arrange contacts between new partners from both countries and organize information days and professional conferences. Each year, over 300 projects of extracurricular education are financially and pedagogically supported.

ConAct works on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, supported by the federal states of Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. ConAct is formally connected to the Protestant Academy of Saxony-Anhalt in Lutherstadt Wittenberg, yet as a state institution it is not being connected to any religion. Thanks to the invitation of Lutherstadt Wittenberg, the office of ConAct is located in the historical city hall.

 

Editorial remarks

Source: ConAct.