The student council seminar from January 25th to 31st, 2014, was entirely dedicated to the topic of "democracy". At the beginning, the question arose as to what democracy meant to the student representatives present. Wilma Rudolph School, of Willi-Graf-Gymnasium and the Paulsen-Gymnasium What does this mean? Is a majority decision sufficient, or is consensus required? What makes a decision-making process democratic? The school groups then discussed how democratic their own school actually is and how decisions are made there.
The results of this initial brainstorming session were incorporated into the artistic exploration of the topic in small groups, the results of which were presented to guests on the fifth day of the seminar. Video group A film with the plot-guiding title "Who Decides?" was created, focusing on the everyday life of a young person. Black and white photo group Among other things, it dealt with the rise and partial decline of democracy after the recent surveillance scandals, with gender equality, and with the relationship between the individual and society. Theatre group He brought several short scenes to the stage, warning of the consequences of the loss of democracy. In the radio play "A World Tucked Away" by Audio Group It was about a dictator who is overthrown by the opposition, but what happens then…? Weblog group documented the seminar results on their self-created website: „Deblogacy“ and compiled interesting facts about democracy.
Throughout the seminar, negotiation processes repeatedly took place within the group, the democratic nature of which was subsequently discussed. This was particularly evident in the simulated student council meeting, where, after an intensive exchange of arguments, decisions were reached that were sometimes more, sometimes less, democratically legitimate. Armed with these diverse insights, the seminar participants left the wannseeFORUM, determined to strengthen democracy in their own schools.