October 9, 2024, 8:16 p.m
Braunschweig. As part of the upcoming budget negotiations for 2025 and 2026, the Alliance 90/The Greens parliamentary group in the Braunschweig City Council submitted a motion at the meeting of the last school committee that calls for the extension of the “Diverse Democratic Civic Education” project. The group announced this in a press release on Wednesday.
The aim of the project is to continue to enable a diverse political education for all students in Braunschweig in an unbureaucratic manner and thereby strengthen democratic values in the city’s society at an early stage.
“At a time when polarization and extremism are increasing, it is more important than ever to support and promote the democratic education of young people in our city,” explains the Green Party’s school policy spokeswoman Bianca Braunschweig. “This was done in the last budget together with the SPD and BIBS applied for the project ‘Diverse democratic political education’ has finally started with the first project days in schools and can now prove that it can play a central role in teaching basic democratic values and promoting social cohesion. We would like to continue and expand this important offer and of course hope for support from all original applicants.”
Strengthen understanding of political processes
“Strengthening the democratic education of young people is a central task in our society today,” Bianca Braunschweig continued. “Especially in view of the increasing shift to the right and the rise of anti-democratic forces, we must do everything we can to enable the next generation to think critically, to strengthen their understanding of political processes and awareness of their own rights and obligations and to actively promote democratic values.” The Council faction Alliance 90/The Greens sees political education for young people as a crucial key to securing social cohesion in the long term.
The funding project
How does the funding project work exactly? Schools can book special project days for democratic political education, which are carried out by Braunschweig youth associations. The city of Braunschweig is completely responsible for organizing and financing these training units. This eliminates the usual bureaucratic burden for schools and teachers, making application and billing much easier. This unbureaucratic process makes the offer particularly attractive and accessible and enables Braunschweig to become a pioneer in the field of political education.
“In times when populist and extremist parties are specifically trying to win young people over to anti-democratic ideologies, it is our duty to invest more in political education,” emphasizes parliamentary group leader Leonore Köhler. “Democracy cannot be taken for granted. It has to be learned, experienced and actively lived, especially at a young age.”
Long-term funding sought
The Greens’ proposal aims to secure financial resources in the coming double budget so that the project can be continued successfully beyond 2024. Unfortunately, the school committee met on September 27th. not yet in a position to submit a proposed resolution on this application. Instead, he was allowed to go to the meeting of the Finance, Human Resources and Digitalization Committee (FPDA). The Green Council group is now hoping for broad support at the FPDA meeting and is calling on all other groups to join this important cause.
“Democratic education for young people is particularly important because it lays the foundation for active and informed participation in society. Young people are the decision-makers of tomorrow. The sooner they learn how democracy works, the better they will be able to take on responsibility later,” were the group leaders’ final words.
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