How should international school exchanges be designed in 2030? What is important for a fair and cooperative exchange? These questions were discussed at the International Expert and Evaluation Conference of the ENSA programme, regarding "School Exchange Now & Then - 2030 and beyond", from 5 to 8 November 2017 in Berlin.
The development of a common vision for international school exchange in 2030 is worth thinking about in large dimensions, stakeholders from Ghana, Tanzania, Benin, Senegal, South Africa and Germany agreed on after two days of intensive talks. Only those who try the impossible can achieve the possible. In a close exchange with each other, teachers from the Global South and North reflected about the central role of the issue of partnership for a successful international school exchange.
With the focus on school exchange projects between Germany and the African countries, ENSA contributes to the African-German Youth Initiative (AGYI). Strengthening global partnerships and promoting the quality of exchanges are the main topics of youth exchanges within the AGYI.
"Partnership means looking in the same direction and solving problems based on shared ideas," said German teacher Odile Dzeutouo Meni epse Leuga from Douala in Cameroon. With her pupils and her partner school, she would like to create a new world in which commonalities rather than differences would be emphasized in the future. Odile Meni is worried about the uneven financial contribution: "I wish that Africa would be more financially involved in the exchange in the future, otherwise it will not be equal."
Above all, successfully implementing an international school partnership requires an exchange at eye level. This demand was brought up in many workshops, seminars and roundtables that took place during the conference. "In our work, eye-level is absolutely important to us. No one can do better in the partnership than the other. We want to learn from each other, "said Tobias Rusteberg from the Tilman-Riemenscheider-Gymnasium in Osterode in Harz, Germany. He is in daily contact with project manager Elhadj Mamadou Diouf from the partner school in Kaolack, Senegal. A close friendly connection could also be observed between the young people. Social networks facilitated contact between students on both continents "With the help of Whatsapp, they exchange picture and voice messages," said Tobias Rusteberg.
The participation of selected young people - current as well as former ENSA students from Germany and African countries - in the evaluation of the international school exchange turned out to be particularly enriching. At the joint film workshop, many students proudly said that they had grown in experience in another culture. Many prejudices about Germany or African countries could not be confirmed. "I wanted to see Germany with my own eyes," said Khensani Mugabe, a student at Orlando Secondary High School in Johannesburg, South Africa. "I was afraid of being lost in Germany. I thought the white people - the Germans - were rude, but that's not true. I've learned that they only open up after you got to know them better. And before that happens, people just mind their own business. Today, I can even imagine living in Germany and studying here, "said Khensani Mugabe.
By promoting school exchanges between Germany and African countries, the ENSA programme supports the AGYI's goal of promoting critical reflection on images of Germany and Africa in international youth exchanges, as well as the development of contemporary and differentiated images in order to break prevailing stereotype images. "I already assumed that the people in Rwanda would be very polite and friendly, but when it turned out how lovable they really were, I felt overwhelmed," said the German ENSA student Anna Steiner, who took part in a student exchange with a school in Kinigi, Rwanda in 2015. "I also was amazed at how much farmland you could see in Rwanda. In my mind, Africa had always been just a big, empty and not very green savanna. "
At the end of the conference the participants were satisfied and the fair and cooperative behaviour among the participants was positively emphasized. "The will for a change is there," said Malick Ndao, chairman of the German teachers' association in Senegal. In addition to the school exchange, teachers were particularly interested in a professional international exchange of teachers. For a sustainable cooperation the teachers therefore wanted a common platform for interested people, participants and alumni. The final podium agreed on that the international school exchange is already a win-win situation for all partners.
