Ghana

Students from over 120 different nations, aged 16 to 19, selected exclusively on the basis of aptitude (talent, commitment, motivation), live and learn together at one of the thirteen United World Colleges for the last two school years until they graduate from high school. The colleges are located in Wales, Norway, Italy, USA, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, the Netherlands, Swaziland, Venezuela, Costa Rica and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The association "Schulwälder für Westafrika e. V." (School Forests for West Africa) - together with the "Youth and Environment Club" in Ghana - works for the preservation of the rainforest and for a climate-friendly and healthy environment. In order to inspire pupils in Germany and Ghana for nature and its protection, the association arranges partner schools between the two countries. In this way, pupils and teachers from Germany and Ghana can work together for the forest/rainforest. Practical action promotes sustainability education and a sense of responsibility for people in other countries. In addition, pupils learn to dedicate themselves to a project in the long term. While pupils in Ghana plant and maintain trees for shady places in their schoolyards with the motto "solar lamps/ football as an incentive for tree planting", pupils in Germany start tree planting in different places. In connection with global learning, the pupils can exchange information about the living conditions in the respective other country, e.g. these topics: Climate protection (tree planting/forestation of the forest or rainforest/tree nursery), biodiversity (animals and plants), energy (solar lamps with the possibility of charging the mobile phone), health and poverty (solar lamps instead of paraffin lamps), education (computer centre in Nyakrom, environmental education materials for primary schools), climate (including seasons), consumption of resources (trees as firewood), conservation of resources (chains made of recycled paper), consumption (clothing, food and housing), children's rights.

The North German mission, with its head office in Bremen, was founded in 1836 by Lutherans and Reformed Christians. Since 1847, it has been involved in development projects in West Africa. Now the NM works on behalf of its associated churches: the Bremische Evangelische Kirche, the Evangelisch-Lutherischen Kirche in Oldenburg, the Evangelisch-reformierte Kirche, the Lippische Landeskirche and (since 2001 as an equal partner) the Eglise Evangélique Presbytérienne du Togo and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana. The NM helps people in Togo and its neighboring country, Ghana, West Africa, to improve their standard of living. The Protestant churches in Ghana and Togo are the NM's partners on site. Their church services strengthen the people's faith and lead to the foundation of new parishes. The NM also supports social projects that promote humanitarian development,. Within these projects the NM fulfills diverse tasks, such as supporting schools, hospitals, and health care centers, programs for women, projects for youth welfare and agriculture, training in crafts and skills. Furthermore, the NM promotes self-help groups that organize their own courses against illiteracy for women, reforestation projects, and the training of unemployed youths In addition, the NM helps to establish contacts between people of different cultures by organizing workshops, partnerships among parishes, and conferences (for example to establish a dialog between Christians and Muslims).

The NM is financed by Church subsidies and other means; every donation goes entirely to Ghana and Togo. Without these donations, projects of the associated churches could not be carried out and many people would remain without aid.

YFU is a non-profit student exchange program. They place students in over 30 countries and accommodate students from over 40 countries in Germany. For one year, students live with a host family and attend school.

The Pantheater Hamburg e. V. is a group of professional actors who perform their own plays for children, adolescents and adults all over Germany. These plays are related to development policy in our One World. The group acts in schools, cultural centres, theatres and congregations, but also at public events, such as the Church Congress, meetings on the national level, conferences, congresses, fairs, as well as at events and project weeks in the context of global learning, development policy and environmental policy.

Bookable Event: Explorations in the One World

"Explorations in the One World" are multimedia and scenic travel narratives intended to provide information and encourage commitment to various subjects in an entertaining way. The explorations in Chile, Mexico, India, South Africa, Tanzania, Cuba, Colombia, Brazil and Ghana deal with the struggle for democracy and social justice, fair trade, the situation of street children, racism, the privatisation of drinking water and solar power. They also deal with dignity, identity and much more.

This event includes the performance of an act and a subsequent dialogue with the audience. Moreover, the actors offer to participate in follow-up workshops.

Difäm, the German Institute for Medical Mission, based in Tübingen, was founded in 1906. It is a specialized advisory center, medical relief organization and bearer of the Paul Lechler Clinic for Tropical Diseases. We provide support to development and relief organizations worldwide (for example: Brot für die Welt [bread for the world], social welfare work and disaster aid) for the implementation of health projects; we assist our local partners in planning their projects and offer them ongoing support.

Our doctors have run health programs in southern countries for years and can thus provide the necessary specialized knowledge. Our main goal is to establish a firm basis for sustainable health care by promoting basic health care services and home health care. With our seminars in public health and treatment of tropical diseases, we further the training of local health care specialists and of qualified personnel.

Difäm promotes and carries out projects that help patients suffering from disabilities or diseases such as AIDS, tuberculosis, and leprosy. Our medical aid service provides indispensable medicine, medical tools and auxiliary materials etc. for partner clinics and health care stations in over 90 countries around the world. Our long-term goal, however, is to make these countries independent of foreign aid. For this reason, Difäm provides raw materials, tools and training for local personnel in order to support the local production of pharmaceuticals. In addition to providing direct aid, we are also active in political lobbying and public campaigns for the right to health care.

Since October 2010, the responsibility for the “One-World”-policy in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) has been in the hands of the State Chancellery section of the Ministry for Federal, Europe and International Affairs. In December 2012, the Cabinet passed on a new „One-World”-Strategy, through which North Rhine-Westphalia underlines its global responsibility as the most populous federal state in Germany. The new “One-World”-Strategy functions as the basis for the future development work in North Rhine-Westphalia and for its development cooperation with partners in countries of the South. The strategy states the six strategic fields of action of the development contribution of North Rhine-Westphalia: education and youth; science and research; climate protection; economy; Good Governance and administrative action; participation of the civil society. Basic principles of the North Rhine-Westphalian involvement are global justice, sustainability, inter-departmental coherence and concentration.

*What is CHAT between WORLDS?*
CHAT between WORLDS combines global learning with digital media. The programme is designed to address the perspectives of various target groups living in Asia, Africa, Latin America, or Southeast Europe: School classes and individuals can exchange experiences with students in Germany through online communication. That way, CHAT between the WORLDS overcomes geographical distances and offers the opportunity for authentic and personal encounters. School classes of all school types with students from the age of 10 can take part.

*What does a virtual exchange look like?*
At CHAT between WORLDS, there are two forms of CHATs: peer-to-peer CHATs and expert CHATs. During peer-to-peer CHATs, children and young people get in touch with school classes in Germany. While during expert CHATs, professionals share their expertise with students in Germany online. Depending on time differences and local internet connections, the virtual exchange can take place via live stream or via video messages. Before each CHAT, participants are prepared for the CHAT topic using methods of Global Learning. Both the content of the exchange and the rules of conduct during the CHAT are drawn up in advance. Through question and answer sessions, the participants learn with and from each other. However, other forms of digital experiences are also possible: For example, a digital scavenger hunt, a jointly designed online pin board, or a cooking campaign across the globe. The common languages of the virtual exchange are French, English, Spanish or German.
After the CHAT, the participants reflect on the knowledge and impressions they gained during the CHAT. The students are encouraged to think about their own courses of action, plan their own projects and subsequently implement them independently.

*Who is organizing CHAT between WORLDS?*
CHAT between WORLDS is implemented by five civil organisations in seven federal states of Germany (Baden-Wuerttemberg, Brandenburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saarland, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia). CHAT between WORLDs is coordinated by Engagement Global gGmbH with funds from the Ministry of economic Cooperation and Development.