This year, 100 students at the wannseeFORUM prepared themselves for their roles as student mentors, team members, and in their buddy projects. In two courses (May 27-31, 2013 , and June 3-7, 2013), the young volunteers met for exchange, training, and to develop new ideas. Many schools had been guests at the forum before, while others were visiting for the first time. The range of mentoring projects at the participating schools was equally diverse: some were just starting out, while others had already established a network through the LiBT project (initiated by Konstantin Bandmann of the Gutenberg High School). This led to a lively exchange about various activities and practical tips.
In small, mixed-school groups, the mentors, guided by guest lecturers, learned to understand themselves as a team, to plan and implement creative ideas, and how to resolve potential conflicts. Overall, this strengthened the students' self-confidence and allowed them to reflect on the group processes they experienced – preparing them for their role as student mentors and thus enabling them to be a contact person, buddy, and/or team member for the new students.
There was no shortage of creativity: the wannseeFORUM was quickly transformed into the scene of an extensive scavenger hunt and into a haunted house, sporting competitions were organized, and some people are probably still dancing the "Banana Shake" today..
Participating schools:
Course I: Gutenberg High School (Lichtenberg), Kant High School (Lichtenberg), Alexander Pushkin High School (Friedrichsfelde)
Course II: Friedrich-Ebert-Gymnasium (Wilmersdorf), Kerschensteiner-Schule (Marzahn), Wilma-Rudolph-Schule (Dahlem), Hufelandschule (Buch)
Photos (2,4): Fabian Harnisch