The Bergische Agentur für Kulturlandschaft (BAK) acts as a link between agriculture and forestry, nature conservation, local authorities and specialist organisations. It has set itself the task of overhauling the subject of agriculture as taught in schools. An interactive brochure on the topics explains the situation in the regional agriculture and its dairy industry.
Planting for the future
The aim of the Solawi (solidarity agriculture) farm collective project at Hermann-Voss-Realschule in Wipperfürth is to teach practical and theoretical knowledge in nutrition, local direct marketing, organic farming, vegetable cultivation and natural recycling processes to students through the school gardening club. The school garden, which had been unused for an extended period, is also being revitalized as part of this project.
Zukunftsschmiede Hückeswagen/Oberberg
The “Zukunftsschmiede” (Future Forge) is a small workshop at the vocational college in Hückeswagen, where additional courses can be held in the afternoon alongside normal lessons. The aim is to get young people interested in technology and the associated professions in a fun and experimental way. Thanks to funding from the foundation, the college has purchased additional equipment, allowing for an enhanced range of courses in digitalization, robotics, virtual reality and 3D technologies.
Performance by the Cologne Hospital Clowns at District hospital in Gummersbach
Since 2005, a duo from the Cologne Clinic Clowns has been visiting young patients at the children’s hospital in Gummersbach once a week. The hospital clowns’ performances help to ease pain and anxiety and distract the children from everyday hospital life. The performances are particularly beneficial for traumatized children from war and crisis zones. The foundation supported with a one-off donation at a time when there was a reduction in small private donations.
Running pleasure for young and old
Every year, the city run encourages young and old to lace up their running shoes and participate. All Wipperfürth schools participate in the community project of the Engelbert von Berg High School and the Leichtathletik Gemeinschaft Wipperfürth (Wipperfürth athletics). In addition, a charity run raises money for a non-profit cause. The Hans Hermann Voss Foundation above all supports the enjoyment of running for youth: Medals are awarded to everybody participating in the student and child runs, jerseys are given to the children, and the school with the most participants is also awarded.
Clarification, prevention and support at schools dealing with social media
The aim is to sensitize pupils to the social media. The focus is on education about opportunities and dangers (data misuse or cyber mobbing) as well as on prevention and support measures. The approach is to train youngsters in classes 7-9 to become media assistants, while at the same time providing a training program for teachers. Under the leadership of the Education Agency of the district Oberberg, together with the Gummersbach County Police Department and the district Youth Welfare Office as well as other organizations as co-operation partners, a structured, district-wide training offer was created, particularly focusing on the rural structures of the region. The organization is to secure the project by setting up a network and long-term collaboration with cooperation partners so that students are not only media assistants at their own school, but also act as multipliers for primary schools and trained media assistants.
Support program for adolescents with school-related and social problems
The goal of the project “Climb aboard – and advance!” is to help young students with school-related and social problems to finish school and find an apprenticeship position. The project of the “Kölner Gymnasial- und Stiftungsfonds” (Cologne high school and endowment fund) has already been offered at various schools in Cologne since 2007 and thanks to funding by the Hans Hermann Voss Foundation, there has been a branch of the project in Wipperfürth since 2014.
Up to 30 students in the 7th grade and up can participate in the project. A social worker supports the youth and offers them a secure place to go for problems in school, at home, and in the social sphere. This counseling and support are still available to the students up to a year after they graduate.
Technology and natural science in schools
The project “TuWaS! Technik und Naturwissenschaft an Schulen” (Do something! Technology and natural science in schools) in rhineland is offered by the chambers of industry and commerce (IHK) Cologne, Bonn/Rhine-Sieg and Middle Lower Rhine. The Hans Hermann Voss Foundation allows elementary schools in the Oberbergischer Kreis district free participation in this offer.
The aim is to introduce children to questions of natural science and technology as early as possible and in a fun way. Lessons are offered on the topics of weather, solids and liquids, the life cycle of a butterfly, electrical circuits, chemical tests, motion, and structure. Tried and tested material for 16 progressive lectures will be provided to the schools. In addition, day-long training sessions for teachers are offered that will give teachers a theoretical and didactic foundation.
The experiment units are designed according to the curriculum for regular lessons. They include handbooks and materials with which the children can conduct experiments in groups of two or three over a time period of four to eight weeks. Delivery, pick-up, and maintenance of the experiment units are included in the concept. The day-long training sessions on guided research-based learning are offered biannually on every experiment unit for elementary school teachers.
Promotion of master’s theses of students of science and technology
RWTH Aachen University bundles its interdisciplinary research on the major social challenges of our time in currently eight profile areas. Here, the Hans Hermann Voss Foundation supports so-called “speed funds”, to promote master’s theses of students of science and technology who wish to contribute with their research to the solution of application-related problems. This format is designed to transform an idea into a concrete concept within about six months and then into a prototype that allows the idea to be evaluated. Funding is provided for material costs to cover possible additional costs incurred by the acquisition and construction of the hardware for the prototypes.
Support service for young people without graduation
START is a project under sponsorship of the Ökumenische Initiative Wipperfürth (Wipperfürth civic trust). With the project young people who dropped out of high school are given the opportunity to re-structure their lives, go back to graduate from school, and if possible, find a training position. Young single parents face an especially great number of challenges to find an apprenticeship without having finished school, and to do so with a child. It is precisely this target group that is to receive special support. Young families and single parents are offered the building blocks to achieve family skills and educational opportunities. The goal is to increase the level of education of young mothers and fathers and therewith also the educational opportunities of the children. A missing secondary school leaving certificate can be made up for and a career start can be found through an apprenticeship.