Global learning at AWO International

Humiliating and exploitative working conditions, destabilization of ecological systems, unjust world trade relations and flight/migration are central themes of our educational work. In a two-year project, we critically review our educational offerings and ensure broader access to our services.

Our materials and methods are now being expanded to include the subject area of flight and migration, which has been on the educational agenda since 2015. We would like to contribute to a factual flight and migration debate in Germany and have therefore invited people with and without a history of flight and migration to become multipliers for Global Learning and to jointly develop educational material on these topics. In a participative and inclusive process between July and September 2017, we have achieved a lot together: A total of 15 trainers are forming tandems of multipliers with and without a history of flight, with little or no pedagogical experience, in order to work together in our diverse pedagogical environment: Our pool of multipliers is located at AWO International and EPIZ Berlin in the field of development education.

We have found that development education and information material is mainly aimed at people without impairments and disabilities. As we are committed to inclusive, accessible and comprehensible learning at home and abroad, we have set ourselves a new goal: We would like to make development policy education accessible to all the diverse target groups in our association. Up to now, our educational offer has also been directed mainly at multipliers* and volunteers who can see, read, understand and act without restriction. Our educational game "Journey of a Jeans" also met with great interest beyond these target groups, but due to its form and content it is not usable by everyone. That is why we are developing a new, inclusive and barrier-free version together with our partners from bezev e. V. and the Studio für Gestaltung. The aim is to encourage all people who take advantage of the offers of our association to reflect on the hidden social and ecological costs of our clothing consumption and to address global injustice.

Our material and further training offer is directed at full-time and voluntary educators who are active in extracurricular youth work or training and further education. In order to facilitate the implementation of our own educational offers with a global perspective, we offer method boxes whose objectives and content are based on our workshop offer. We offer further training in the use of the materials and establish a pool of multipliers.