City-Partnerships: overview
Partnerships 2024-2025
Germany/Ukraine - City Partnership "Fildern" - Poltava
Project: BRIDGES – German-Ukrainian educational, cultural and citizen diplomacy partnership project
Project partners: Volkshochschule Ostfildern (leading), Volkshochschule Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Volkshochschule Filderstadt, NGO „Adult Education Center of Poltava Region
Project duration: November 2024 – July 2025
With the realization of the BRIDGES project between the “Adult Education Center of Poltawa Region” and the Filder-Volkshochschulen, both sides would like to foster relationships across borders, promote understanding, and create opportunities for cooperation in areas such as education, culture and citizen dialogues.
This project is designed to foster international cooperation and cultural understanding by focusing on citizen diplomacy through STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading and Writing, Engineering, Art, Math). It will include 6 workshops from each side, incorporating elements from STREAM disciplines.
All of these workshops will take place simultaneously in a hybrid format in Germany and in Ukraine to connect citizens and representatives of civil society. Each workshop follows an interdisciplinary approach based on STREAM and includes a theoretical input about the topic in German and Ukrainian and a practical application.
Germany/Ukraine - City Partnership Leverkusen-Nikopol
Project: City Images
Project partners: Volkshochschule Leverkusen, Public Organization “Cossack Alarm. Adult Education Center of Nikopol”Volkshochschule Leverkusen, Public Organization “Cossack Alarm. Adult Education Center of Nikopol”
Project duration: November 2024 – July 2025
The project “City Images” aims to present both cities and their citizens, using the power of art. It allows citizens to explore and share their heritage, showcasing the unique architecture, landscapes, and daily life of Nikopol and Leverkusen. By highlighting similarities and differences, this project encourages participants to appreciate their shared European identity and cultural diversity, promoting cross-cultural understanding.
As one element of the project, in Nikopol, images of a city under attack are conserved via photography and paintings to be collected in a book and presented in a consecutive exhibition with images from Leverkusen can complete this subject.
The project described is a powerful example of citizen diplomacy, fostering cultural exchange and mutual understanding between the cities of Nikopol and Leverkusen through art, history, and shared experiences.
Germany/Poland - City Partnership Husum-Trzcianka
Project: From Coast to Countryside: Building Bridges between Husum and Trzcianka through culture and collaboration.
Project partners: Volkshochschule Husum, Biblioteka Publiczna I Centrum Kultury w Trzciance (Public Library and Centre of Culture in Trzcianka)
Project duration: November 2024 – July 2025
In the project the two partners want to strengthen and revive the partnership between the cities of Husum and Trzcianka by fostering cultural and social connections. The partnership aims for an extension of engagement on institutional levels with new organisations like Volkshochschule, library and museum.
The creation of a promotional video from each city will not only promote both towns but also encourage community involvement by inviting the citizens of both cities to participate in the creation of a joint cultural project.
Germany/Poland - City Partnership Erfurt-Kalisz
Project: Empowering Women: Kalisz and Erfurt in Dialogue
Project partners: Volkshochschule Erfurt, Kaliska Rada Kobiet (Kalisz Women's Council)
Project duration: February 2025 - July/August 2025
- Strengthening international cooperation to support women and promote their role in society.
- Promoting the exchange of experience, good practice and knowledge between the Kalisz Women's Council and Volkshochschule Erfurt and involved other civil society organisations and local authorities.
- Organising events to support the development and mental health of women and highlight their role in culture, history and world of work.
- Building a platform for dialogue, joint initiatives and cooperation for gender equality.
Partnerships 2022-2023
PROJECT
Willkommen! Bienvenue! Welcome! Fostering a Welcome Culture and Preventing Racism and Discrimination
Project partners
Adult education institutions: Volkshochschule Aachen (Germany) and Rochdale Borough Council (Great Britain)
City administrations: City of Aachen, Rochdale Borough Council
Civil society actors: Big Life Health Improvement Service, Rochdale; NHS Heywood Middleton and Rochdale Clinical Commissioning Group; Action Together, Rochdale; NRWeltoffen, Aachen.
Project duration
May 2022 – February 2023
PROJECT
Shared Lives – Connecting Coventry and Kiel Residents
Project partners
Adult education institutions: Förde-Volkshochschule, Kiel (Germany) and Coventry City Council Adult Education Service (Great Britain)
City administrations: City of Kiel, Coventry City Council
Civil society organisations: ZBBS-Zentrale Bildungs-und Beratungsstelle für Migrantinnen und Migranten e.V. (Migrants Counselling Centre), Kiel; Migration Forum, Kiel; Coventry Refugee and Migrant Centre
Project duration
May 2022 - February 2023
PROJECT
Join in – Mach mit!
Teilhabe in unserer vielfältigen Gesellschaft - Participation in our diverse society
Project partners
Adult education institutions: Volkshochschule Gütersloh (Germany) and Inspire Learning, Broxtowe, Nottinghamshire (Great Britain)
City administrations: City of Gütersloh, Nottinghamshire County Council
Civil society actors and other: local NGO’s, German-British Association Gütersloh, tba
Project duration
December 2022 – September 2023
PROJECT
Joint Peace Centre of the twinned towns of Celle-Sumy “ART of learning and living together: Education for democracy, human rights and sustainable development”
Project partners
Adult education institutions: Volkshochschule Celle (Germany) and Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) Lifelong Learning Centre, Sumy (Ukraine)
City administrations: City of Celle, Sumy City Council
Civil society organisations: Sumy State University; Sumy Youth Leisure Centre; NGO Council of Young Scientists, Sumy; NGO “Centre for Civic Education and Business Initiatives in Sumy”; NGO Centre for Euroinitiatives, Sumy.
Project duration
May 2022 – February 2023
PROJECT
Lifelong learning project "Come together, learn together"
Project partners
Adult education institutions: Volkshochschule Leipzig (Germany) and NGO "Association of innovative and digital education", Kyiv (Ukraine)
City administrations: City of Leipzig and City of Kyiv
Civil society organisations/other partners: State Scientific Institution "Institute of education content modernization" of the Ministry of education and science of Ukraine, NGO "Ukrainian Students' Association", NGO "Association of Adult Education" (Ukraine), NGO "Ukraine-Kontakt" e.V. (Germany), Theater der jungen Welt (Germany)
Project duration
August 2022 - March 2023
PROJECT
Get in touch/Life Learning-Experience
Project partners
Adult education institutions: Volkshochschule Freiburg e.V. (Germany) and Centers Educatio Network, Lviv (Ukraine)
City administrations: City of Freiburg, City of Lviv
Civil society actors and others: German Ukrainian Society Freiburg, City Library Network Lviv, Amt für Schule und Bildung, “What if Creative Studio”, Lviv, etc.
Project duration
December 2022 – September 2023
PROJECT
KO : IN Pride
Project partners
Adult education institutions: Volkshochschule der Stadt Köln (Germany) and Max Kade German-American Center, University of Indianapolis (USA)
City administrations: City of Cologne, City of Indianapolis
Civil society actors and others: Queer organizations in Cologne and Indianapolis tba, Städtepartnerschaftsverein Köln – Indianapolis, Indianapolis – Cologne Sister City Committee, etc.
Project duration
December 2022 – September 2023
PROJECT
#START now – Sustainable Through Apolda and Rapid City Together
Project partners
Adult education institutions: Volkshochschule KVHS Weimarer Land in Apolda (Germany) and Western Dakota Technical College, Rapid City (USA)
City administrations: City of Apolda, City Hall Rapid City
Civil society actors and others: Rapid City Sustainability Committee, South Dakota School
of Mines & Technology, Dakota Rural Action, Black Hills Builders Association, WDTC Board of Trustees etc.
Project duration
December 2022 – September 2023
PROJECT
Celebrating Sister Rivers – Past, present, future
Project partners
Adult education institutions: Volkshochschule Nienburg (Germany) and Doña Ana Community College, Las Cruces, NM (USA)
City administrations: City of Nienburg, City Hall Las Cruces
Civil society actors and others: Sister City Committee, Freundeskreis, historic societies, cultural groups, Wasserschutzbehörde des Landkreises NI, DACC water treatment students etc.
Project duration
February 2023 – October 2023
