From February 17th to 23rd, 2019, representatives from the Wilma-Rudolph-School, the Paulsen-Gymnasium, and the Willi-Graf-Gymnasium, along with members of their student councils, gathered at the wannseeFORUM for a student council seminar. The seminar theme was "Solidarity." The week began with a brief introduction to the topic and presentations from each school. Each school highlighted areas where its students acted in solidarity. Afterward, everyone divided into five artistic workshops. In addition to discussions about the situation at their respective schools and student council activities, the students worked on their projects in the workshops, which they presented at the end of the week.
The groups Theatre, Film, Comics, Rap and black and white photography dealt with the theme of "solidarity" in a variety of ways, addressing different focal points, such as the Fridays for Future movement or sexual diversity.
On Saturday, a student council meeting was simulated. Based on the topics discussed throughout the week, the students developed proposals which they then submitted to the meeting at the fictional school. Students also took on the roles of parent and teacher representatives, as well as the student body president. Everyone had the opportunity to discuss and vote on the proposals, with the goal of applying this experience to their own schools and improving their student councils.
The entire week was spent trying to fully grasp and understand the concept of solidarity. The word was explored in a variety of creative ways until finally, the term "solidary" rather than "solidaristic" stuck in our minds, and our brains were working harder than before.
Throughout the week, the students also had the opportunity to contribute their ideas, organize, and moderate the morning plenary sessions and the evening programs. For example, they played Capture the Flag and held a quiz night. The week culminated in a successful closing buffet and party.
Finally, on Sunday we brought the seminar to a close with a slideshow and a joint evaluation of the week.
We wish all participants every success in their future student representation work and look forward to seeing them again next year.