Contact to experts/visiting speakers

The experience of the peaceful "Wende" in 1989 awakened in many people the hope that a Germany without a military could be possible. This hope led people from various civil initiatives in Halle together to found the Friedenskreis in 1990. The Friedenskreis Halle e.V. is an group of people of differing world views, religions, nationalities and political affiliations. We see peace not as a state of being or as a distant goal, and not simply as the absence of war. Peace is for us a means to a common, just and non-violent life together in diversity, where the personal development and liberty of the individual is made possible. The conception of this life together is always a new experience. This is why we try to explore, find and pass on new ways of doing so, while never forgetting to question the same. We are consequently involved in education, peace-associated activities and in projects for civil conflict resolution on both the domestic and international levels. Our work is made possible by paid and voluntary staff and carried through donations and public subsidies. Our current programme and projects

• Seminars and educational programmes in the areas of communication, conflict resolution, mediation, dealing with violence and learning how to speak out
• Consulting for initiatives and projects
• Lectures and seminars on current peace-associated themes
• Civil conflict resolution through the development of an educational and encounter centre in Jajce, Bosnia.
• Work camps, youth encounters and volunteer work in the countries of the Balkans.
• Counselling on military service and conscientious objection
• Cooperation in activities and campaigns against militarisation
• Coordination of the initiative "Zivilcourage: Bündnis für Gewaltlosigkeit, Demokratie und Toleranz in Halle"

Through global learning, scholastic education becomes part of the international world. The process of global learning will help students understand the concept of the One World, and it will allow them to identify the interrelations between various global issues. While inspiring them to address questions that have remained unsolved, it will also encourage young people to take active part in shaping the world of tomorrow.

It was with this in mind that the German state of Baden-Württemberg created the Foundation for Development Cooperation in 1991. The SEZ's main focus lies on education and public relations with regards to the relationship between the northern and the southern hemispheres. We see ourselves as an advisory center for individuals and groups that have taken an interest in the so-called "Third World". Our main objective is to support exchange and networking between individuals and groups involved in development policy, and to assist private, communal and regional initiatives working in the context of the Third World.

In the educational sector, the foundation acts as an information center for global learning in Baden-Württemberg. We are able to provide schools with a variety of information, ideas, advice, and teaching materials concerning the "One World". The resources we offer include various publications and workshop materials.

While offering advice, we also help schools design workshops and establish contacts with guest speakers and artists. We offer assistance in all aspects and stages of projects such as exchange programs or the twinning of schools. In addition, we advise those who are interested in gaining work experience abroad, for example as an intern. We see ourselves as a forum for exchange and continuing education, and we cooperate with higher state departments of education in order to hold seminars and workshops on a regular basis.

Equipment of the protestant land church in Wurttemberg for development related educational work.

The DEAB is composed of over 100 Third World Stores, Third World Groups and other organizations related to development policy in Baden-Wuerttemberg. It is the parent organization for action groups involved in development policy and it focuses on topics like debt remission, fair trade and development aid. The many DEAB representatives acting within diverse committees work constantly to foster basic human rights in developing countries. The DEAB is the oldest and largest German network related to development policy. Every organization or group in Baden-Wuerttemberg which is engaged in development policy and which promotes justice worldwide can become a member of the DEAB.

The SüdZeit is a DEAB magazine that sets new trends related to development policy within and outside of Baden-Wuerttemberg. This magazine is published quarterly and contains reports, portraits and detailed overviews related to development policy activities in Baden-Wuerttemberg. Part of the service section of the SüdZeit is available at www.deab.de, the regularly updated website of the DEAB.

The DEAB group advisors for fair trade in Mannheim, Bodensee-Oberschwaben and Stuttgart support volunteers who work in "third world" shops or are involved in our action groups. Each of these groups can contact our advising services in case of problems or questions concerning issues like moving to a new location, sales levels, group activities or possible cooperation with other groups in its region.

Furthermore, the DEAB can provide a "fair trade" stand for professional use at consumer fairs. It is also engaged in an international campaign for debt remission (www.erlassjahr.de). The DEAB is a founding member of the Germany-wide "attac" network.
The DEAB fights for a vision of worldwide justice that encourages everyone to live and act responsibly in business and political life so that people everywhere can live a life of dignity. The DEAB also provides information about social ills in our globalized world, shows how we are partly responsible for those problems, and promotes change for the better.

The Society for solidarity development cooperation was founded in 1990. She realizes projects in southern countries as well as in the development education in Germany. The third field of activity is the Fair Trade. All the activities are connected.

Ecolo ist an environmental communication agency with core business in camapigning, PR, webdesign, online-communication tools and projectmanagment.

The Open School 21 offers students in and around Hamburg (Germany) a broad program for global education. It aims to raise their awareness of global correlations and realities. At the same time concrete options for action are created for and together with students that enable them to make a self-determined contribution to a sustainable development and more global justice. In the Open School there is the experience that one can make an important contribution to justice, environmental protection, peacekeeping as well as poverty reduction by oneself and that success in these areas is possible.

Open School 21 offers about 40 different workshops, project days, city walks and harbor tours on request. Topics of the Open School are globalization, human rights, poverty reduction, world agricultural trade, climatic change, flight and migration, fair trade, sustainable
consumption, child labor, colonial history as well as living conditions and environments in different countries.

The program of The Open School 21 is directed to school students from every grade and school form. The activities take place at the harbor, in different parts of the city, in the education center “Werkstatt 3” or in one’s own school.

The events are held by self-employed experts with abroad and migration experiences that come from the field of development cooperation, arts and science. For teachers, the Open School 21 offers consultation for global education, support for day-projects as well as materials for preparation and follow-up of events.