Non-Governmental Organization

RAA - regional centers for foreigners' concerns, youth work and schools in the German state of Brandenburg - is a non-profit organization based in Potsdam. We manage six "Regionale Büros für Integration und Toleranz" (BIT) (regional offices for integration and open-mindedness) and four other offices as well as regional and local projects. In 2004, we established "Globales Lernen/Entwicklungszusammenarbeit" (global learning and cooperation for development). For us, global learning is about raising awareness of the world as a whole, of interrelations between North and South, and about relating our everyday life to the lives of people in developing countries. RAA is involved in an enormous variety of development-policy projects. We offer working groups, workshops, and training for teaching staff, and support schools in organizing workshops for students. Long-term projects include supporting school partnerships between schools in Brandenburg and schools in Senegal, Zanzibar/Tanzania and Angola, as well as smaller-scale initiatives. "Begegnungen mit Sansibar" (meeting Zanzibar) is a project that combines education and cooperation for development. Since 1992, more than 160 adolescents and teachers have been given the chance to gain deep insights into another culture and to help promote interactions between Germany and Tanzania, and more will follow. The project in Zanzibar encourages participants to closely examine both the foreign culture and their own. It includes such diverse activities as the building of classrooms, theater projects, thematic research, workshops, seminars and continuous education for teachers. In Germany, the results of this work are available as educational materials, thus enabling our partners from Tanzania to present their life and their views in Brandenburg. In addition, RAA is in charge of organizing and holding the "Brandenburger entwicklungspolitische Bildungs- und Informationstage" (Brandenburg educational and informational days on development aid) as well as the education program of the 'Berlin Import Shop' fair.

Intercultural work with refugees, foreigners, students and Germans; anti-racism work, refugee social work, One World Shop

ReachOut is an advisory centre for victims of right-wing, racist and anti-Semitic attacks. The organisation offers, among other things, advice on legal possibilities, consultation regarding financial support, psychosocial counselling, and accompanied visits to authorities’ offices, doctors, lawyers and the court. Furthermore, the project offers various educational programmes for disseminators in the area of adult and youth education. The aim is to sensitise the public for the dimension and the consequences of racism and right-wing extremism as well as to achieve solidarity with the victims.

People involved for many years in promoting "democracy with children" and children's rights came together to found the association "Macht Kinder stark für Demokratie" (prepare children for democracy!). They work in many domains such as the media, industry and commerce, educational institutions, public administration, and children's rights organizations. Makista wants to ensure that children are respected from day one and that they adopt democratic values. In this way, they can learn to respect others and take responsibility for the community at large. Many institutions and private sponsors are committed to the rights of children and youths. Makista aims to provide basic information concerning children's rights. We support opportunities to share ideas and experiences. We organize symposia and workshops, and we develop web-based information services for pupils, parents and teachers. We are a network of people who, for many years, have been committed to supporting the rights of children as laid down in the 1989 UN Convention on Children's Rights. A main concern of the Convention is to give children and youths a voice in all matters that affect them. Our many years of experience with the involvement of children and youths of all ages show that when young people are taken seriously, they can do much more than we normally expect. This assumes that adults provide them with a supportive environment. We would very much like to provide you with information on our experience in this domain, as well as addresses, links, literature, practical tips and suggestions for valuable projects. Makista is not associated with any political party and it is recognized as a non-profit organization.