Issue 01/10: Is Europe possible?
This issue with the title Is Europe possible? addresses the subject of Europe as it is experienced by its senior citizens. The authors, older people from education organisations in various European countries, write about their experiences from cross-national project meetings, as well as about their private encounters, wishes and concerns.
For this issue we have also gathered information about good practice projects, education activities and news items in this area.
Lead Article
Intercultural experiences in Europe
Carmen Stadelhofer, ZAWiW, Ulm University
For older adults in Europe, intercultural perception is often influenced by experiences from their childhood and youth (war, flight, banishment, forced labour, separation of families). Those who are willing to (self)-reflect, can, when asked about their experiences, distinguish between negative, ambivalent and positive experiences and events (support in situations of need, unexpected friendliness, discovery of “communities of fate”).
Furthermore, the times of war often resulted in extraordinary individual as well as collective experiences; for example, many Germans, who had lived in harmony with people of other nationalities and cultures in the former east German regions, were banned from their homes and were then, coming to West-Germany, treated as “aliens” [...] continue reading
Soča Fidler, Ljubljana, Slovenia
This is our first letter to you and we hope to receive a word from you, too.
We are a group of Slovene ladies who are fond of English and enjoy travelling very much. Since our pensions are not too high, we prefer to stay within your big garden in case we need your help. [...] continue reading
Marlene Faul, Senior Student, Ulm
Even when I was a young girl, I was severely interested in foreign countries and people. As soon as 1953, when I was 16 years old, I travelled to Italy with a friend of mine. I continued travelling trough out my whole life, today I am 72. [...] continue reading
Kristina Ehrhardt-Westerhaus, Neckarstadt, Germany
“Are you serious?“ was the comment we heard from most of our friends and neighbours when we broke the news of our upcoming move from Feudenheim East to Neckarstadt West. More than a quarter of a century Wolfgang and I had been living with our three kids in a single family house in Feudenheim, a quiet suburb with a clear middle class structure – many doctors, psychologists, lawyers and teachers living there. [...] continue reading
Hanns Hanagarth, Senior Student, ZAWiW, Ulm
Walking through the streets of Lahr 60 years ago, one must have felt as in a French garrison city. Alright – this may be a little far fetched, especially since I was only 5 years old then and may thus not be the perfect judge. Lahr, a small town in the south German Baden between Freiburg and Strasbourg, was the domicile of [...] continue reading
Barbara Heinze, Senior Student, Ulm
A German-Russian seminar in Kursk
After a ten-hour bus ride we arrive in Kursk at midnight. It is dark, there is almost no lighting in the streets, it is cold. Stiff, after the long drive, we get from the bus. Outside, a group of 15 people, who have waited in the middle of the night for us and who are going to be our hosts, are welcoming us. [...] continue reading
Werner Toporski
Dear bridal couple (Anja and Marinko), dear friends!
You know, it is the very essence of marriage to join what is different. Two individuals form a couple, from which new individuals will emerge, now with a new combination of attributes, of characters. So far everything is as usual. However this wedding is not quite as usual. Take a look around: Not only are there Germans from all over the country; there are also many Croatians, your family, Marinko. There is Andrew, a Brit, who is married to your sister, Anja, about to move to the US, their daughter, our granddaughter is growing up bilingual. [...] continue reading
“Stories of a Possible Europe” is the name of a European project which was accomplished from January 2009 till January 2010 through institutes of adult education in 6 countries (Italy, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, Great Britain and Germany) with the support of the Europe for Citizens program of the European Commission. [...] continue reading
A method for an intercultural role play
In the frame of the European project meetings, ZAWiW organizes now and again „European Soirées“. This is an intercultural event, developed by ZAWiW. One person adopts the role of an important person from history, culture or economy and invites to a „European Soirée“ persons from various eras [...] continue reading
Dana Steinová, Center of Lifelong Learning, Prague
People who lived in Czechoslovakia between 1948 -1989 had very limited possibilities to travel abroad. Their travels were confined to the countries of the communist block. [...] continue reading
Seniors from 7 countries along the Danube work together in a project and visit cities on the Danube. This time they met in Vienna. [...] continue reading
Doris Becker, AK Europakontakte (work group “European Contacts”) at ZAWiW of Ulm University
In 1994, ZAWiW (Centre for General Scientific Continuing Education) at Ulm University offered, as a part of its annual spring- and autumn-academies a work group dealing with the European Institutions in Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxemburg. [...] continue reading
Strangers, when we meet…
Birgit Meinhard-Schiebel, member of the project group Danube-Networkers from Vienna
The Danube-Networkers have seen what it means to meet as strangers and to see the other person as a stranger. We were united by one issue – the Danube. It flows through many countries and does not pay attention to nationalities, cultures or languages. [...] continue reading
Hildegard Neufeld, Bad Homburg, Germany
Everything started with a pamphlet that I had taken with me rather thoughtlessly, perhaps out of an unconscious wanderlust. Thousands of them are held in stock every year at travelling agencies. A little later I detected a special offer – a journey to my old home that I was forced to leave three decades ago. [...] continue reading
Branka Ribicic and friends, U3A at POUZ, Zagreb, Croatia
I wanted to find out what some of my friends and acquaintances think and how they feel about Europe. So, I asked them. This questionnaire isn’t a vote for or against the European Union. These are simply experiences of my friends – those who live in the EU and those who live in Croatia, which is currently in pre-accession negotiations. [...] continue reading
Dr. Dietmar Eisenhammer, Senior Volunteer, Wiesbaden
To start with, let me state one thing: After having finished your professional life, senior volunteering is indispensable if you want to stay active and enterprising in this new phase of your life. Volunteering gives you energy for new undertakings and enables you to use and enlarge your experiences even in later life. [...] continue reading
Dunja Loncar Pticek, U3A at POUZ, Zagreb, Croatia
I am very much aware of how politics can influence the life of every individual. The history of my family illustrates this.
My mother was born in Trieste in the period of the Austro–Hungarian Monarchy. Her father was working at the Austro–Hungarian Railways and my grandmother used to travel to Vienna for shopping clothes for her three daughters. [...] continue reading