Networking

The Institute for Environmental and Sustainability Communication was founded in 1996. Today, it is part of the Faculty of Environmental Technology at the Leuphana University of Lüneburg. The institute's academic staff carries out research, teaching, and knowledge-transfer activities related to environment and sustainability communication. Scientific analysis, theory elaboration, and concept development are the key components of all research projects carried out at this institute. Their objective is to promote the development of competencies at the individual, institutional, and collective levels in order to create a future based on the principle of sustainability. In the autumn of 2005, this institute was awarded the UNESCO Chair in Higher Education for Sustainable Development. The Chair's goal is to integrate the principle of sustainability into teaching activities and strengthen the institute's international orientation by establishing new cooperative ventures.

Since 1990, EAPN has been an independent network of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and groups involved in the fight against poverty and social exclusion in the Member States of the European Union.

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"

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.

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.

EADI, the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes, is the leading European network in the field of development research and training. EADI is a Europe-wide network of institutes, researchers and students of various disciplines in the field of development studies. It organises activities and offers facilities for the international exchange of knowledge and experience in the professional field. Its most prominent activity is a General Conference devoted to a topical issue every three years. The official languages of EADI are English and French. EADI is the prime professional association for development studies. As such it promotes: quality in research and education in development studies, the exchange of relevant information among members and with others, the strengthening of relevant knowledge networks at the regional and global level, and influencing both national and European decision-makers in the development cooperation field. EADI’s two objectives are, firstly, to generate and stimulate and exchange of information among European academics and researchers concerned with development issues and to develop contacts with researchers from other regions of the world. And secondly, to promote interdisciplinary studies on specific themes. EADI is financed by its members’ contributions, an institutional grant from the German government and other project-related subsidies and private donations. EADI receives core funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development (BMZ) and the Land North Rhine-Westphalia / City of Bonn.

Networking of asylum and refugee policy initiatives