Non-Governmental Organization

The Society for Development Cooperation in Solidarity Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania e. V. (GSE), as the state agency for global learning in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, is a provider of development education in schools and day care centres in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Using target group and experience-oriented methods, the topics of Global Learning / Education for Sustainable Development are discussed with children and conclusions are drawn about the everyday lives of girls and boys. In addition to the work with children in kindergartens and primary schools, we offer further training for educators (elementary and primary level), in which we present approaches and methods of Global Learning, which the participants can later use in their educational work and thus help to establish development policy topics in the educational work with children. Every year, the GSE participates in the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Development Days with its own projects.

We are an association of 54 Munich-based initiatives, groups, organizations and about a dozen private individuals who are active in the area of development policy. The objective of our association is to bring the important concerns of the countries of the South, which are the developing countries, to the North in order to initiate changes on both sides in favor of a common future. Therefore, as a North-South Forum, we do lobbying at a regional level and beyond.

We are particularly active in educational and public relations work. We organize seminars, information events, symposia, plays, exhibitions, campaigns etc. and we compile didactic accompanying and background material. We also collaborate with other initiatives, social groups, and institutions in order to emphasize our common interests. Moreover, it is important to us to provide a platform to people of the South to ensure and expand the intercultural dialogue.

Apart from their work in their respective (independent) groups, many of our members are also active in the open work groups of the North South Forum; e.g. in the One World Education work group (global learning and issues of the North-South work in schools, children and youth institutions; development of materials). This work group played a leading role in the foundation of the regional work group entitled 'School and One World' as well as the Global Learning Forum in which our work group and the North-South Forum actively participate.

The BEI was established in 1994 as an umbrella association for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in order to set the stage for more coordinated and co-operative development projects. The BEI's main objective is to create a network and provide assistance for the development projects of its 65 associated member organizations. These organizations focus on different aspects of development policy-related work and have different political approaches to achieve solidarity in our "One World." Their main objectives include:

• to promote education on development policy, public relations and intercultural communication in Schleswig-Holstein
• to support the Human Rights Movement and the Emancipation Movement in developing countries
• to co-operate in development projects with partner organizations in developing countries - to promote Fair Trade
• to support the Agenda 21 goals
• to provide information about the countries of origin of immigrants and refugees, reasons for migration and refugee flows, and racism
• to promote environment and climate protection

The BEI aims to establish a network for these different One World projects, which are carried out by full time and voluntary workers. The association wants to provide support and training for the involved partners, and aims to represent their and its own development policy concerns in terms of political and administrative issues. The BEI's work is based on the concept of Sustainable Development, which combines ecological, economic and social issues. This concept makes changes necessary both in the North and in the South. In this context ecological issues are as important as the development concepts, because they are mutually dependent.

In different projects and events the BEI functions as a facilitator of co-operation among its associated member organizations, other local development networks or initiatives, and organizations concerned with different aspects of development policy-related work. In Germany the BEI is co-operating on a federal level with the Platform of the German One World Regional Networks (agl) and the Association of German Development NGOs (VENRO).

The non-profit association "Bund für Bildung" translates socially relevant issues into educational projects. The focus is on issues of inclusion, participation and democracy.