There is still no protective umbrella for non-formal education in Germany. Hopefully, this situation at the beginning of April 2020 is only a temporary one. Support is urgently needed so that the spectrum of educational institutions, associations, foundations and initiatives that have developed over decades can be preserved. The German civic education system (and related fields of work) is based on pluralism, independence and subsidiarity. It is therefore an essential source of democratic culture and civil society involvement, which we will urgently need after the crisis.
Unfortunately, the situation in our case sounds too familiar: Due to the coronavirus threat, all companies stopped providing services in March or adapted them to the current reality - for the sake of health protection and for the sake of solidarity with people who are particularly vulnerable to the virus. According to current information, educational institutions will be closed by the end of April. However, it is already clear that many projects will not take place long after this period and groups will still cancel their bookings.
Read more: Non-formal education in Germany still without a protective umbrella | Ole Jantschek
The COVID-19 pandemic, despite being a relatively new phenomenon, will certainly change the world. We see the beginning of the global economic crisis and the accompanying political and social changes. All this will also change the situation of NGOs and the activities they are offering.
The changes in the activities of non-governmental organisations in Poland became very noticeable already in the first days of restrictions related to preventing the spread of the virus. Many, especially local organizations, started to organize aid groups. They joined initiatives such as "Widzialna ręka" (Visible Hand) - facebook groups containing offers and requests for help in everyday matters, such as shopping or walking with a dog. Other organisations have started actions related to sewing face masks for hospitals and groups at higher risk. It is also visible that the networks of organisations are sharing their potential and working together in the face of the crisis, including sharing their resources and taking coordinated, larger scale actions.
Read more: What does the pandemic mean for non-formal education and NGOs in Poland? | Agnieszka Janik
The epidemic of the coronavirus has stopped the world from functioning as it has been known for generations. It puts to the test not only financial liquidity, family relationships, the psyche of the individual, but also a classic school model, with which we were forced to say goodbye at the beginning of March.
Teachers had to face the challenge of distance learning, use platforms and tools that have not been tested so far, familiarize themselves with and co-create a new space for education, with methods of management, control and feedback, which have not been tested yet.
The creation of this new distance learning structure is currently facing a large wave of criticism within the educational environment as well as from parents. Closing the schools overnight prevented the teaching council from developing joint and coherent methods of action during the crisis, setting priorities, or finding optimal solutions. There was no time to analyze even hypothetical educational activities conducted remotely, and there was not enough space to set specific educational goals.
Read more: Pandemic and the situation of education in Poland. The future of international youth exchanges|...
On one of the weekends in January 2020, about 70 employees and volunteers of the Krzyżowa Foundation for Mutual Understanding in Europe, from three decades, celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Foundation in Krzyżowa. Everyone was asked to send their souvenir photos from the time they worked in Krzyżowa. The meeting organizers wanted to prepare a presentation of these photographs for a festive evening. In numerous photos from the 90s you could see Ewa Unger among colleagues. It was understandable, at that time she was the chairman of the foundation's board and at the same time she worked socially in the Foundation's office in Wrocław and regularly participated in working session, meetings and public events in Krzyżowa. Participants of the jubilee meeting gave Ewa Unger written wishes and greetings, which reached her in the form of a several-page letter. The recipient read these words in full awareness, several times, with joy, although she did not know all the authors personally. Today we know that this letter was a symbolic farewell and thanks - thanks for 30 years of existence of the institution that would not have been possible without Ewa Unger, one of the great, important and distinguished women in the history of Krzyżowa.
[FOTO: Marek Aureliusz Pędziwol]
Read more: Farewell to Dr. Ewa Unger (20.10.1926 – 15.03.2020) | Annemarie Franke
