Networking

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

The Landeszentrale für Umweltaufklärung Rheinland-Pfalz is an institution founded by the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It reports directly to the Minister of the Environment and is based in the ministry responsible for the environment and forestry in Mainz. The national centre was founded by a cabinet decision on 1 February 1990. Its objective and task are to inform the population about environmental concerns and to motivate them to learn an environmentally sustainable lifestyle. The crux of the matter is the following: We have already been living beyond our means for a long time. We live at the cost of following generations. And, still, we refuse all too easily to believe that terms like ‘climate catastrophe’ and ‘ozone hole’ are real threats. We continue to live as if the supplies of natural resources and energy sources were inexhaustible, as if water, soil and the atmosphere are able to indefinitely absorb toxic substances. However, an acceleration of this development is foreseeable. About 20 percent of the global population use approximately 80 percent of the resources for themselves and are responsible for the corresponding share of the environmental damage. When the remaining 80 percent of the global population follow (why shouldn’t they?), the collapse of the system ‘earth’ will not be long in coming. We have no choice but to introduce sustainable development that brings economic and social interests worldwide in accordance with each other. It does not help much, though, to point a finger at ‘the others’, the industry or the government. It is up to all of us. The first step towards change is a change of (environmental) thinking, which is what the LZU demands. And everyone has to participate.

The OeVA - Oecumenical Planing-Comittee for the Intercultural Week in Germany (ÖVA - Ökumenische Vorbereitungsausschuss) prepares the annual intercultural week (IKW) which is taking place all over the country. It recommends content focuses, suggests a theme, carries out the annual, nationwide preparatory conference  offers materials available for the preparatory groups and organizes a central nationwide inaugural event.In the EPC 15 members are appointed from the churches. Up to six additional members are coopted from institutions, organizations and socially important areas.

What is the intercultural week?
The annual intercultural week (IKW) is an initiative of the German bishops' conference (DBK - Deutschen Bischofskonferenz), the Protestant church in Germany (EKD - Evangelischen Kirche in Deutschland) and the Greek-orthodox Metropolie that takes place throughout all Germany. The intercultural week is held ince 1975 at the end of September and is supported by churches, local authority districts, welfare associations, trade unions, integration advisory boards and commissioned, migrant's organizations and initiative groups. In 2016 about 5,000 events were carried out in more than 500 towns and municipalities. The Refugee Day is a component of the intercultural week.

Foundation for Citizens Cooperation tries to assist, coordinate and integrate democratic NGO-activities in Germany with a clear focus on smaller initiatives and Self-Help-Organisations.

The developing-educational information centre EPiZ in Reutlingen is a house of global learning which acts on a regional and national level, as well as all on an international one. The program of EPiZ is “Bildung trifft Entwicklung” (BtE), “education meets development”, which allows global learning in cooperation with advisers from the development policy and from voluntary services related to development policy as well as with people from countries of the global south. The library and the global classroom with their interesting materials towards development policy give access to a variety of possibilities to deal with the topic of global learning. The rooms open for our guests the whole world in its cultural diversity and at the same time show acting options for one world.

Catholic Diocese of Hildesheim – Social Welfare Work – Worldwide Church

• Partnership program with Bolivia (information, guests, trips to meet our Bolivian partners)
• Financial support of educational work and lobbying activities related to development policy and the Worldwide Church
• Continuing education events for professionals
• Recommending guests and speakers from developing countries and eastern Europe
• Information and additional material on the "www.erlassjahr.de" (year of remission) campaign