Summer School 2022: Caring Communities & Community Building - Envisioning a different future

 

Watch a video about the summer school (klick on the picture) or read the report below.
Summer School group picture in Blumenthal
Video editing credits: Saad Kadiri
Picture credits: FHWS/Mends

As part of the AttiMa project, a blended-learning international summer school was organised to provide an opportunity for professional and intercultural exchange on the topic of "caring communities & community building-envisioning a different future" and a mutual learning experience for students from FHWS (Germany) and MUBS (Lebanon). The summer school included a stay in Germany in June 2022, several online lectures about Lebanon in July 2022 and the participation in the online symposium “International Social Work Acting in Times of Crises” in September 2022. Five students from FHWS (Master International Social Work with Refugees and Migrants) and nine students from MUBS (four students Bachelor Social Work and five students Bachelor Public Health) participated in the summer school.

The presence part in Germany took place from June 9 – 16, 2022 in Würzburg. The program comprised lectures, institutional visits, participation in workshops, group discussions and group work on different topics, a 3 days trip to the city of Augsburg and the visit of historical attractions like the Residence of Würzburg. Special learning experiences for the students were for example the workshops “community building with community theatre – experiences from Ukraine” by Natalia Vainilovych, “Deep Democracy” by Christiane Leiste and the visit to Blumenthal Community. The program was not only theorical but also there were also other activities included to enrich the learning experience, like methods of energizing exercises, meditating or cooking together to live by the “caring community” principle during the summer school.

In July 2022 online lectures were held by NGOs and social initiatives from Lebanon discussing their work on the topics of youth work, dialogue & reconciliation and ecological communities. The students also participated in the online symposium “International Social Work Acting in Times of Crises” in September 2022 and presented the results of their group work on various topics.