On September 14, FOFJ.org staff member Sören Köpke had the opportunity to take part in a day seminar on “Food Sovereignty in the classroom”. It was held by Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) and the Association of Development Initiatives of Lower Saxony (VEN).
The question central to the seminar was how to properly present topics related to food sovereignty, food security and flaws in the food system in the context of school education. The seminar was aimed at NGO representatives from environmentalist and development NGOS and is the first in a series of seminars to train people in education for sustainable development. Seminar participants came from youth networks and youth organisations as well as educational initiatives, but there were also two teachers present.
Dagmar Israel from Deutsche Umwelthilfe started the day with a round-up on current trends and problems in the food system. She introduced DUH’s program “McMöhre” (McCarrot) which is aimed at promoting healthy and tasty food in schools. Afterwards, participants split up in groups to prepare a vegetarian lunch together.
After the food preparation, Georg Krämer from Welthaus Bielefeld took over. He provocatively tested participant’s knowledge of current issues in food security with a little quiz. His aim was to point out contradictions and ambiguities that necessarily pop up when one tries to build an opinion on the complex aspect of modern food production, trade and consumption. Krämer insisted that educators who work with students in schools should not chose a confrontative way of presenting their messages. Students must not be overwhelmed by these messages, they can’t be forced towards the educator’s moral position. It is the task of NGO representatives who work with students to facilitate learning processes, not to disperse a clear-cut opinion. This led to some discussion, but in the end it was agreed that contacts between educators and students should be based on respect for each other’s opinion, not on some idea of “neutrality” and not on “advertising for the cause”.
The final session of the day looked at what to expect when working in schools. Here, very concrete ideas and demands were discussed. It became apparent that communication between teachers and NGO representatives is key to enable good sessions for all involved.
The seminar was a frutiful first step to addressing issues which arise when NGOs work with schools. It was a great opportunity for networking between local initiatives. We are looking forward to similar events in the future.