Social inequality – a project day

Introduction/contextualization:

The issue of social inequality is omnipresent in our society – noticeable in public discussions about poverty, movement of labor, underpayment and unemployment. Their social status unsettles many young people. Recurring economic crises exacerbate this situation. Social inequality is widely accepted part of our social system and is thus seen as normal. Even the existing participation opportunities cannot address these problems, as they remain (too often) invisible. With our workshop „social inequality” we aim to react to these shortcomings by showing possible roots and manifestations of social inequality and its consequences.
Didactics and methods within this workshop are adapted to the everyday lives of adolescents and young adults. The participants are confronted with their own social situation and learn to place their own experiences in a broader, societal context. Furthermore, we introduce and discuss participation opportunities, which enable young people to actively participate in social processes. Here, we focus on opportunities and limits of self-organization.

Target group	Adolescents and young adults aged 15 years and over (9th grade) as well as other interested parties
Group size	10 -30 participants
Duration	at least 6 x 45 min.
Charge for costs	honoraria + travel costs
Booking	6 weeks before the desired date
Leaders	two qualified young adults
Place	Room without fixed seating

Objectives

With this educational project we aim to sensitize the adolescents to aspects of social inequality and its roots. The participants learn about the interrelations between social injustice and our social system. They have the opportunity to reflect on their own role within the society and the expectations which are associated with their role. Moreover, they discover possible courses of action for supportive cooperation and solidarity. Finally, they learn about the distribution of privileges, poverty, wealth and assets in Germany (and the world). The workshop encourages the participants to develop own critical views on societal conditions.

Contents

The project consists of four interlinked modules framed by an introduction and a conclusion at the end. These are:

Based on a biographic approach we deal with experiences of the participants with social inequalities
Examples of social inequality and its consequences in Germany
Roots of injustice
Courses of action for supportive cooperation and solidarity

Methods

Not only reflections on unconscious attitudes and values, but also mutual learning and definition of one’s own location within our society build the basis for a successful work in democracy-building education and Global Learning. By our methods we try to initiate such learning processes. Our educational approach to use scientific evidence to develop interactive methods which adapt to the everyday life of our participants and allow them to experiment, to understand and to reflect. By combining methods (such as communication agreement, group work, positioning, presentations, simulations, …) we encourage non-discriminatory and sensitizing interactions. Simultaneously, we increase social skills.

Notes on booking

Notes on booking:

Please contact us 6 weeks in advance, if you want to book a seminar. This deadline enables us to realize your requested date. For booking, please send us an e-mail including following information:

Your preferred date
Expected number of participants
Age/grade of the participants
Do they have prior knowledge?
Special requests regarding the project day