Summer School

Educational festival for professionals from social work, right-wing extremism prevention and political education

Once a year, cultures interactive organizes a summer school on the prevention of right-wing extremism in the field of youth (social) work. Experts from the fields of social work, right-wing extremism prevention and political education come together for several days in the summer at an educational institution to attend specialist lectures, workshops, discussion rounds and workshops, to learn from each other, exchange ideas and network. Each day has its own theme and begins in the morning with a specialist lecture on the respective focus of the day. Workshops then offer in-depth insights into the day's topic before the participants can reflect on what they have heard and experienced in a workshop in the late afternoon and apply it to their own work context.

From Walchensee in Bavaria to Zeitz in Saxony-Anhalt – the previos summer schools from 2018 to 2023

The first summer school took place in 2018 in the foothills of the Bavarian Alps at Walchensee. Youth culture and media education approaches to preventing group-focused misanthropy, right-wing extremism and religious extremism were presented there. In 2019, the event then moved to Oldau in Lower Saxony. This year, the Summer School focused on various approaches to youth cultural work and political education between prevention and intervention.

In 2020 and 2021, the Summer School had to take place online due to the pandemic. In 2020, the focus was on the tension between online and offline prevention services and digital options for action in youth (social) work. In 2021, on the other hand, the participants of the Summer School dealt with the prevention of right-wing extremism in the various phases of life. In 2022, the Summer School was held as a shorter conference in Berlin due to the pandemic. Under the title "Nothing but crisis(es)?", this year's conference focused on the consequences of the numerous simultaneous social crises for young people and youth work.

In 2023, the Summer School was able to take place again as usual. For five days in June 2023, the participants held intensive discussions at the Nudelfabrik Zeitz on the changing requirements of right-wing extremism prevention for youth (social) work.