Course instructors are coming from Columbia, Taiwan and Nigeria this year. At 10 Berlin grammar schools and within several two-day workshops held in English, they will give an insight into the culture and history of their home countries to several hundred pupils between the ages of 16 and 20. Additionally, each instructor will present a socio-political topic in relation to their home country that the pupils will work on in an interactive manner. The focus will be the overcoming of linguistic and cultural barriers, as well as cultivating an interest in cultural diversity. In addition to that, the pupils are to be made more aware of political development problems.

Participating pupils from past years have always been enthusiastic about the idea and execution of the project. Last year, a pupil from Dathe-Oberschule in Berlin-Friedrichshain called Bridging Cultures “excellent, authentic and very interesting”. Also, Mr. Tietz of the Otto-Nagel grammar school in Berlin-Biesdorf said the following about of his pupils:

“They especially liked the authenticity, realistic nature and the friendly atmosphere. They also liked the change to the daily school routine, that they were able to speak English continuously for a long time and that they received first-hand information.”
Such positive feedback motivates and stimulates us at the same time to keep the project going in a creative and sustainable manner. In 2011 the project received the UNESCO award for “Education for Sustainable Development”. It was awarded to Hope Foundation as part of the World Decade of the United Nations 2005-2014.

So far, more than 1500 pupils from over 18 Berlin and Brandenburg grammar and secondary schools have participated in this project. The young instructors have managed every time to excite the young people with their open attitudes and personal stories.

The immense interest and engagement of the pupils was always reflected in the lively discussions on topics like corruption, crime, human rights, diseases and security of nourishment – of course the fun despite the very serious topics was not neglected either.
The Bridging Cultures project contributes to open-mindedness and to the enjoyment of cultural diversity in a global world. As an international, young and pulsing city, Berlin provides the perfect background for the execution of this project. 

(The initiator of the projects is the German and Cameroonian Association Hope Foundation e.V.)
The huge success of the past years and further great interest from the schools this year both show the significance of subjects such as globalisation and development politics. The emphasised integration of such topics into school curricula would be very desirable.
More information on our projects is available on:
http://www.hope-found.org/de/unsere-arbeit/unsere-projekte/11

Hope Foundation e.V.
The Hope Foundation is a non-profit, German and Cameroonian association with the goals of promoting community development and alleviating poverty in the rural areas of Cameroon. In Germany, a series of informational events and cultural projects are undertaken. For more information about Hope Foundation visit: http://www.hope-found.org