Encounters - Setkavani
An Encounter with Minorities
“Because the play of colors in encounters is unlimited ...” F. Leonhard
Encounters at FSG take place on a daily basis, especially between students, teachers and parents. It means being in touch with the culture and the traditions of the neighboring country and their minorities.
International and intercultural encounters have therefore always been an issue at our school. Receiving the delegation of the regional Domowina-Association Bautzen on September 16, 2016 was just another example of what our school life is about.
Students, teachers and representatives of our school leading team with Mr. Wenzel on top welcomed the 37 mostly elderly guests. An exchange of thoughts and ideas took place in the pleasant atmosphere of the lovingly decorated hall with coffee and cake which the students of a binational class had made.
Mr. Wenzel opened the event and talked about the special aspects of our school and the main points of our mission statement.
The guests were interested in projects and traditions that make the coexistence of different cultures a subject of discussion, e. g. our cooperation with the Brücke/Most Foundation or the ERASMUS-project ‘Discovering the world of minorities’. After all, preserving and promoting their language in times of globalization is something that the Sorbian people particularly care about. Since the work of the Domowina-Association Bautzen is based on the cooperative partnership of a majority and minorities, multilingualism and biculturalism are regarded as unique characteristics of the region.
The mission to come together in a conversation with and about minorities was accomplished that morning.
Students from different bilingual grades together with their teachers were responsible for the program and the arrangement of the meeting, which they realized in the form of speeches, presentations, music, songs and delightful treats.
Take, for example, the project ‘Contemporary Witnesses’, supervised and introduced by Mr. Steinert. In the context of this round of talks that put the experiences of the older generation in focus, new possibilities for a further cooperation between different cultures and different generations opened up.
Binational collaboration with minorities offers room for further research projects. This also became clear in the lively conversations.
Our guests said goodbye with the Sorbian folk song “Happy Day”, which was downright symbolical for any further cooperation.