Theme of the years 2020-2021: Together responsibly creating
The main idea is to act together. Nobody will save the world alone but together with other people through an exchange of ideas, dialogue and discussions, we can put solutions that take into account different points of views or communities. Everybody is responsible for questioning their own lifestyle and changing it following the idea of a good future for all. Things we need to do in order to reach this goal include informing, raising awareness, self-reflecting, promoting critical awareness and, eventually, encouraging to take actions on the political level.
That is precisely what we do in our focal area Social-ecological Transformation. During international programmes we organise in this focal area, people from various generations work hand in hand on concepts of sustainable actions for a better future. This is also the principle of educational and exchange programmes in the other two focal areas, Contemporary History and Human Rights and Inclusion, as well as of the cooperation in our international partner network. By organising various projects, the Kreisau-Initiative enables the youth to experience their own self-efficacy, get connected with other people and get involved on the local as well as international level. In our projects, we empower participants, make them aware of their possibilities to act and encourage them to create.
Because it is exactly an action, the realisation of ideas, that make a positive future possible. In this respect, communities of practice play the primary role [1]. These are groups with a common identity that aim to reach a goal by cumulating their abilities in the process of group learning. A role model is the Kreisau Circle that we could call a community of practice from today’s perspective. Despite different world views, the group had a common identity, and its members were cooperating to reach a common goal while going through a group learning process. The Kreisau Circle developed strategies for overcoming difficulties and obstacles and managed to get different abilities and experiences of the group members for the group's benefit.
Such communities of practices are always in the minority, yet still can initiate social transformations. Thus, one should not wait, until somebody else will take action, but just get started – in one's own environment and according to one's own abilities. That is when we are together responsibly creating.