Young people in the Coesfeld district: Intercultural understanding strengthens integration!

An interactive workshop at the Oswald von Nell Breuning vocational college in Coesfeld recently helped young people to master the challenges of integration into German society. Anja Hölscher, employee of the municipal integration center of the Coesfeld district, reported on the workshop, which aimed to convey knowledge and stimulated a lively dialogue to promote mutual understanding.

The participating young people showed great commitment and an open attitude. The workshop focused on concrete everyday situations to make it easier to communicate about cultural differences. Central topics included the naming of cultural differences, the understanding of gestures and eye contact, neighborhood behavior as well as differences in behavior in public, school, in professional life and in the family environment.

interactive learning methods promote understanding

interactive exercises, discussion rounds and role -playing games were central building blocks of the workshop, which enabled young people to communicate and learn in a secure framework. The positive feedback from the participants underlines the importance of such offers for integration. The vocational college plans to carry out similar events in the future and to develop the concept in order to promote integration sustainably.

In addition to the workshops, there are also training programs that strengthen intercultural competence. These programs aim to understand how culture influences perception and action, as well as to recognize cultural differences and to deal with them productively. Topics such as empathy, stress management and dealing with psychosocial stress are dealt with, as described on the website of the BISS Institute. There it is also explained that stress management training for people with high loads, including refugees and social employees, are offered.