Welcome
Main topics
1. Democracy work
Working democratically means discussing, negotiating and making decisions together on an equal and free basis. For the association Valtenbergwichtel e.V., it is important not only to represent values of democratic coexistence itself, but also to give young people an understanding of political processes and to get them involved.
Participation here does not mean that children and young people are simply there or can choose between two options that adults have come up with, but that their opinions and knowledge are really taken seriously: They should
- have a say,
- suggest,
- co-decide,
– because they are just as important part of society as other age groups and have a right to be. Therefore, participation is a fundamental principle of our work.
What democracy education means at the association Valtenbergwichtel e.V. can be found here: Flyer Democracy Work.
Elections in the under-18 category
We also have projects like the U18 election – a symbolic right to votefor all those who are not actually allowed to vote yet. Together with the Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk “German Children’s Fund“ organisation, we make democracy understandable and tangible there. You can find out how it works here: https://www.u18.org/willkommen
You can see the results of the U18 election 2021 here: U18 election result
Youth councils in the Oberland area
Youth Advisory Council Neukirch/Lausitz
One of the highest forms of such participation is the youth advisory council – an elected representation for the interests of young people within the municipality. In Neukirch/Lausitz, we are currently supporting five volunteers between the ages of 13 and 21 who bring their commitment and the concerns of other children and young people into the community. Have a look at their Homepage, what they are up to and feel free to leave your ideas, criticism and wishes!
Youth Council in Wilthen
In Wilthen, too, with the help of the “Youth Moves Municipality“programme, work has been underway since 2020 to establish a youth representative body. This body is supported by the city council and the mayor and aims to look after the interests of young people. Interested people are always welcome!
2. Media work
In our work, we immerse ourselves in the lives of children and young people, and this includes modern media. Working with them in our projects and training young people to use them is a matter of course for us.
Project: Flap and action – “Upper Lusatia Film Club”
Another example of our media work is our film project with young people. Already in 2019, the children from the film group were engaged in the project “Shadows – LIFE” (Schattenseiten – LEBEN) and “Upper Lusatia Art Bus” (Kunstbus Oberlausitz) (funded byStark im Land) and in 2020 they made their first feature film “Melody” (funded by Deutsche Kinderhilfswerkorganisation). From May 2021 to March 2022, this work continued as a part of a large-scale project in which, in addition to filming, the children worked on the topic of “screening films” (supported by the federal grant programme Kultur macht stark).
From the script to interviews and acting to editing, the young people always do everything themselves. They were supported by director Robert Heber and the Mobile Youth Work of the association Valtenbergwichtel e.V.
You should definitely take a look at these films, both of which won awards at theSaxon School Film Festival in Leipzigin 2019 and also in 2020! You can find this and more on our Wichtel channel on YouTube, which will certainly fill up with new videos over the next few months.
YouTube video:To play the YouTube video, please click on the image. We would like to warn you that by starting the YouTube video, data is transmitted to YouTube.
Projekt: “Oberland goes Globalland”
At the “Oberland goes Globalland” project, for example, young people between the ages of 14 and 21 were able to show the world how beautiful their homeland is in short films. The focus was not on perfect technical implementation – the idea was simply to shoot with a smartphone. Rather, it was about sharpening young people’s very individual, positive (!) view of the Bautzener Oberland area and showing it to others.
YouTube video:To play the YouTube video, please click on the image. We would like to warn you that by starting the YouTube video, data is transmitted to YouTube.
The Virtual Youth House on Discord
The association Valtenbergwichtel e.V. can now also be found on Discord! In our virtual youth house you can meet digitally from home or on the road with friends and staff of the association Valtenbergwichtel e.V. Do you like to listen to music, chat, play and stream games or just chill out? All this and more is possible here:
No idea how that works? No problem – our admins will help you! We look forward to seeing you and wish you lots of fun!
Age limit:
If you are under 13 years old, we need a confirmation from your parents that you are allowed to use Discord when you register on our server. You may use the following template for this:
“I, as a parent or legal guardian of
____________________
hereby confirm that I have personally registered my child on “Discord” and agree to the use of Discord and this server!
[Unterschrift]“
Data Protection Notice:
Discord saves all conversations, pictures or videos that you post on the server. Please be careful not to share private content or sensitive information on the server and in chats and be conscious with your information. The staff of the association Valtenbergwichtel e.V. can advise you on data protection alternatives to WhatsApp, Discord and others.
Projects
Within the scope of holiday projects, we also repeatedly deal with different media. For example, the radio play “The Cuckoo and the Elephant Lady”was created in Cunewalde, whose text, dramaturgy and montage were inspired by the musical piece “Carnival of the Animals” by Camille Saint-Saëns.
Radio play: “The Cuckoo and the Elephant Lady”
3. Gender sensitivity work
The association Valtenbergwichtel e.V. respects the diversity of genders and sexual identities. In concrete terms, this means that in our projects we take into account the different needs and life situations of all genders, together with our addressees we question corresponding role models and attributions, and we want to create safe spaces for open or intimate exchange and for people outside the binary norm of “woman and man”. To this end, we are in contact with experts in the field of sexual education and LGBTIAQ+ and are constantly educating ourselves.
Project: “Desire on canvas”
One example of this focus is the project “Lust auf Leinwand” (“Desire on canvas”), in which the youth centre in Neukirch regularly shows films about love and sexuality in all its forms. Here are the new dates with Paul, Julia, Ine and Johanna:
- Wednesday, 23.3.
- Wednesday, 13.4.
- Friday, 29.4.
- Friday, 20.05.
- Wednesday, 25.05.
- Wednesday, 15.06.
- Friday, 24.06.
Attention! Since many of you were not able to attend so late during school time, from now on we will always start at 3.30 pm!
If you have any questions about the topic until then, you can get in touch, for example with any elf you trust or with Danilo from the mobile counselling service “Queer through Saxony” on +491525 3262948.
YouTube video:To play the YouTube video, please click on the image. We would like to warn you that by starting the YouTube video, data is transmitted to YouTube.
4. Demand-oriented offers
Our services are always based on the needs and requirements of the young people we work with. What interests them? What do they need? What issues are they concerned about? … this results in our work assignments, for which we design suitable projects.
Project: ” FANkurve statt EigenTOR”
In this project, children and young people from grades 3 to 7 will be given the opportunity from July 2020 to July 2021to engage with the football club Dynamo Dresden and their very individual fanhood through different perspectives. In the process, contacts can be made with peers with similar interests, and both similarities and differences in the following of the same club can be identified. The project – funded by Aktion Mensch organisation – offers free space within the defined rough structure in which the children and young people can determine the topics dealt with themselves in order to directly address existing areas of interest and life worlds.
