The writing workshop has been running since mid-2021. It is a new language and writing project that is not just about teaching language, but also aims to promote the creativity of the participants. Whether online or in person: It is held once a week and is aimed at anyone who wants to improve their German language skills or try out creative writing. Instead of antiquated and repetitive tasks, creative and playful impulses and suggestions are provided. This enables participants to implement their own topics and ideas individually. Traditional language courses often assume a certain level of proficiency and can therefore sometimes be perceived as intimidating. The writing workshop avoids this, as it is aimed at anyone who wants to improve and experiment with writing, regardless of their current language level.
Through our existing network, which we have established through other projects, we primarily target (young) people with a migrant or refugee background. However, we also encourage people born in Germany to participate. This creates “incidentally” encounters between people who would most likely not have met in everyday life. This is another advantage of the low-threshold approach, which brings together a wide variety of people, regardless of their social or cultural background. They get creative together and learn with and from each other. This strengthens the general sense of solidarity and not just their language skills. Both of these factors contribute to the long-term development of the participants’ diverse skills.
Project managers Emilia Zielonka and Charlotte Rosenow see the language barrier, which at first glance appears to be an obstacle, as the complete opposite. Although it is not always easy to cater to everyone’s individual needs, together with the participants, they find creative ways to communicate with each other. As a result, the two project managers do not act as “traditional teachers” but rather participate actively themselves, making them participants in a way.
For them, the project was a “learning by doing” experience, and Zielonka and Rosenow made it their mission to provide completely new and inspiring tasks and suggestions every week. Another challenge was to respond flexibly to the changing participants, which was also one of the goals they set for themselves. Furthermore, the project managers report that, despite the difficult pandemic situation, they were able to ensure positive experiences and successes. This was also confirmed by the annual review of the core group of participants, where the feedback was consistently positive.
The goal was thus achieved, and all participants were able to improve their language comprehension and language level, which indirectly led to strengthened self-confidence. As a result, the participants perceive themselves differently in society; they are stronger and act more self-determined. And by learning together, their sense of solidarity with one another was strengthened as well. It is therefore all the more fitting that the writing workshop is funded by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation’s Educational Equity Fund for scholarship holders (Bildungsgerechtigkeitsfonds der Stipendiat:innen der Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung).
This event is no longer taking place!
