The Urban X-Change Network project, funded by the German Federal Foreign Office, aims to build up cooperation between German Adult Education Centres (Volkshochschulen) and adult learning and education (ALE) institutions in Ukraine, Great Britain and – starting in December 2022 – in the USA. The focus of the project is on cross-border cultural and educational activities of the centres and institutions within the framework of the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals set by the global community.
“Foreign Policy of Societies”
Close cooperation with city administrations and civil society is an integral part of the project. Cities and adult education institutions are key actors in engaging citizens.. As independent intercultural places of learning and encounter, they contribute to a lived social exchange and to a so-called “Foreign Policy of Societies” – a foreign policy that does not exclusively take place at the highest levels of government, but a policy that involves broad sections of the population in its activities.
The Urban X-Change Network project started in September 2021 with a pilot phase and already interesting cooperation between German “Volkshochschulen” and ALE institutions in Ukraine and Great Britain. Topics like peace, migration, integration and digital education were funded in order to be implemented by the respective partners.
New partners
In the second phase of the project, “Volkshochschulen” were asked by their regional associations to express their interest in working with an ALE institution in the USA. The feedback was very positive. Three additional “Volkshochschulen” were chosen for the Urban X-Change Network project: vhs Ludwigshafen along with its sister city Pasadena, California, vhs Köln with its sister city Indianapolis, Indiana and kvhs Weimarer Land – in the city of Apolda – with its sister city Rapid City, South Dakota.
The motivation and positive attitude of the participants was not only shown in earlier online meetings, but especially displayed at an official UXC Kick-Off event in October 2022 in Bonn, Germany, when nearly all project partners of the second phase met in person to work on project and budget ideas. The UXC Kick-Off event was overall a great success; all the participants went home with many inspiring ideas.
The implementation of the new partner projects between Germany and the USA will take place between December 2022 and September 2023.
Further information on the Urban X Change project: https://www.urbanxchange-network.org/
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