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During three days of talks, workshops and group work, people participating in the Krzyżowa conference 'The future begins today...The new reality of international exchanges with the young in the lead role' tried to diagnose the challenges of the times of change and, above all, to develop solutions that would help optimise international youth meetings.
The diagnosis was helped by a workshop in which the topics of intercultural exchanges were looked at from a psychological, educational, geopolitical or technological perspective by such experts as:
dr Anna Kubiak - Psychologist, works with children and youth and their families in a systemic approach, assistant professor at the SWPS University in Poznań;
Prof. Dr. Jacek Pyżalski - researcher, pedagogue, trainer, professor at the Faculty of Educational Studies of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, works for modern, youth-friendly education;
Prof. Dr. Monika Sus - political scientist, associate professor at the Polish Academy of Sciences and visiting professor at the Centre for International Security at the Hertie School in Berlin, her research focuses on international politics, in particular the foreign, security and defence policy of the European Union;
Nils-Eyk Zimmermann - project manager "Digital Transformation and Adult Learning" for the Association of German Educational Organisations (AdB), secretary of the European network DARE - Democracy and Human Rights Education in Europe, initiator of projects at the interface of civil society, urban activism and education);
o. Paweł Brożyniak SJ - Catholic priest, theologian and education manager, director of the Jesuit Education Centre in Nowy Sącz, works for value-based education;
Elżbieta Kosek - studied management and media pedagogy, deputy managing director and specialist for educational programmes at Kreisau-Initiative e. V. in Berlin, implements inclusive international youth meetings or
Charlotte Lohmann - graduate in intercultural communication and sociology, educator at the Amadeo Antonio Stiftung in Berlin, works on ethics in social media.
The meeting identified the challenges faced by teachers, educators, meeting houses and intercultural exchanges. Then, in collaboration with the young people attending the meeting, solutions were developed as a signpost to change youth meetings.
The conference was held thanks to the financial support of the National Institute of Freedom - Centre for the Development of Civil Society, the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Wrocław and the Polish-German Youth Office.
