Exchange of experience at the international level

Directors and heads of the urban project development department in Istanbul are guests of the cultural association «dieKunstBauStelle». Launch of a major joint EU program.

Visit from Istanbul to the Landsberg Cultural Association “dieKunstBauStelle e.V.”: From 19 to 25 June 2018, a delegation of white administrators and two project managers from the Istanbul City Council came to Landsberg am Lech. Its special department is abbreviated to PGUB and stands for “Project Development and Implementation Unit” of the district of Küçükçekmece, the largest district of Istanbul with 760,000 inhabitants alone. Under the direction of the Landsberg Association, a larger EU program will be developed in Istanbul in the next few years. On Wednesday, the guests met with Wolfgang Hauck, the initiator and chairman of the club dieKunstBauStelle and the Mayor of Landsberg Matthias Neuner in the historic town hall. The guests were given a tour of the historic town hall and, of course, mutual gifts were not missing on this occasion. Afterwards, opportunities for cooperation and cultural exchange at different levels were discussed.

Help for disadvantaged youth

The department PGUB was launched in 2015 to develop projects aimed at young people and young adults to develop in the district Küçükçekmece. There live alone 190,000 young people and young Erachsene between the ages of 13 to 30 years. The district is very populated by refugees and migrants due to its privileged location and the strong character of industry and craft industries and therefore also a social hotspot in the seething million metropolis. In this district alone, whose name means “the small drawer” in German, the development department manages a total of 152 schools, 8,500 teachers and 161,000 pupils. “We want to help young people find their way back into social activities, drive their personal development and re-value their value as humans,” says Neslishan Sagbas Önal, EU project coordinator at the Istanbul City Council.The expertise of the experienced Landsberger Wolfgang Hauck is very much in demand. He has been involved in many areas of cultural education, the Verein derKunstBauStelle, international theatrical work with the Stelzern and as Chairman of the Association of the Free Performing Arts in many areas wide network has. “Essentially, with our support, the organization wants to develop projects in Istanbul that will be implemented in schools, youth facilities and social centers. Our part is primarily projects of a cultural nature, but there is also a great deal of interest in sports activities and vocational training measures, “says Project Manager Hauck. The delegation was very inspired by the many formats and opportunities, but also by the decades of experience in the cultural and educational work, both in Landsberg, as well as other organization in Germany existing “We in turn benefit from the great experience of the Turkish project partner and the major cultural departments in Istanbul, “says Hauck. “For us, the EU project can hardly be accomplished because of the required staff costs.”
“German-Turkish Youth Bridge”The aim of the visit was to exchange experiences, to plan measures in the cultural, sports and educational fields of education and to establish partnerships. “We are here to see what kind of activities are offered and realized here for these youngsters, especially in the field of art, theater and music, to promote and integrate the disadvantaged youth in our district,” says Önal.

The group has already visited cultural institutions in Bavaria to transfer knowledge. In addition to educational institutions such as the vocational school in Marktoberdorf, extracurricular measures were also attended, such as the theater school “mobile” in Marktoberdorf or the theater “Eukitea” in Diedorf, which has gained a lot of experience with prevention theater. “But our partners also want to get to know our experiences in cultural work with refugees, the problems that arise and their solutions,” continued Hauck. “It is important to mix German and Turkish youth – to create a bridge,” adds Önal – “a German-Turkish youth bridge.”

Wolfgang Hauck is impressed by “how open-minded and how strong the state initiatives in Istanbul are”. “Through our Culturel Relief Program in Turkey and work for the Goethe Institute in recent years, we have become well known in Turkey. The commitment of the cooperation in the base and administration is considerable and shows other, hopeful aspects of Turkey, as one knows from the Turkish joie de vivre and hospitality. ”

Invitation to Istanbul in autumn

But also the Landsberg hospitality can be seen. “We are very pleased how cordially we have been received here,” says Metim Nari, Administrative Director of the National Education Department of the District of Küçükçekmece. “We love the city, its many historical aspects, the architecture and also its nature. And we are very impressed by the work of our partner and the art and culture in Bavaria and Landsberg am Lech. ”

Finally, there will be a counter-invitation in the autumn: “For October or November 2018, a kick-off with stilts and costumes is planned in Istanbul, with the focus on disadvantaged youth and refugees in Küçükçekmece,” says Hauck. “Here we would like to use our experience – but only in elite schools where we have otherwise carried out our projects, but in schools and institutions in social hotspots.” That is therefore obvious, since from a project in 2015, many more stilts in Istanbul are located. “In addition, a further expert meeting is planned in order to be able to put together the programs from the EU Erasmus funding together and in the long term.” With that, the international exchange of experience will lead to the next, promising round.

Photo: Conny Kurz