Month: April 2024

Project DEFY (Design Education for Yourself) is underway in India, along with other places, and works to create spaces in which people can pursue their own further education. The “Initiative Neue Bildung e.V.” association from Germany works with Project DEFY. The core idea of the project is the construction of so-called “nooks”, which act both as alternative schools as well as cost-efficient centers for independent learning that local (village) communities help create and organize themselves. The aim of the nooks is to ensure that, in areas where children and young people cannot make it to the classroom, the educational environment comes to them. At the same time, nooks are intended to be safe spaces in which people and social groups affected by poverty, social exclusion or an unstable environment can find a place of learning. Supported by a mentor, learners can create their own learning projects in the nooks. The equipment includes laptops, internet, technology, electronics and tools, as well as various, often recycled materials and resources. The Nooks are open to lifelong learning for people of all ages. With a start-up funding, the Hans Hermann Voss Foundation has been supporting the construction of a new nook in the village of Katchipedu near Chennai, southern India. 

The protestant church in the market square in Wipperfürth is getting a new organ with a new design. As a certified “Little Scientists’ House” the parish’s five-group kindergarten is familiar with working with natural scientific learning material. This led to the idea of not only making music with the organ, but also building the organ as an object for learning and experiments: In the future, the organ won’t just be used for musical accompaniment at church events but will also be used to bring technology and physical concepts in acoustics to life for children and young people. Therefore, the possibilities of how to show children and young people how an organ works, how sounds are made, as well as other concepts were discussed with local church organ experts and various organ builders. With financial support from the Hans Hermann Voss Foundation, the organ will be accessible and designed with appropriate glass fittings.

The “Studienbrücke” is a worldwide preparatory education program from the Goethe-Institut that works to prepare students with outstanding academic performance for starting a bachelor’s program at a German university in a STEM subject or in the field of economics. This aims to provide an incentive for qualified students from non-EU countries to learn German and to come to Germany. In addition to language courses, subject-specific modules are also offered, as well as  intercultural training and modules to help students learn about German university culture. Depending on the language level when they start, the preparation time for the students is between one and three years. The Goethe-Institut supports the students during the preparation period abroad and when they start their studies at partner universities in Germany. The program is paid for by the students themselves but partial scholarships are awarded to particularly talented participants. The Hans Hermann Voss Foundation funds twelve scholarships for students in Mexico and five scholarships for students in Brazil.

Further information can be found on the website of the Goethe-Institut.