Two of our Youth Ambassadors, Juliet and Veronica, set up this fantastic UK-German blog. It aims to break down stereotypes, and is bursting with interesting topical and cultural posts.

http://stillandsprudel.wordpress.com

The blog 'Don't Mind the Gap' focused on the identity of young people, while various posts and videos highlighted similarities and differences between the UK and Germany. Every two weeks features from both countries were uploaded, on topics such as Remembrance Day and Kraftklub. This highlighted individuals and their opinions rather than just showing facts about the countries. Megan & Friederike

https://dontmindthegap16.wordpress.com

The 'Graffiti Project' looked at the effect graffiti has on young people and their identity and society as a whole. Pupils between 11 and 18 years old took part in a variety of activities such as finding German graffiti artists and creating their own graffiti with poignant messages. Together with many other students the participants made their own version of the Berlin Wall and came up with questionnaires that were completed in the UK and Germany to show how graffiti is perceived in different cultures. Felicity

As part of the primary school project 'history of the Berlin wall' the pupils investigated the nature of a police state and discussed whether something similar could happen in 21st century Europe.
The 'EU project' was aimed at older students and included debates on the arguments of the EU referendum, and other themes such as identity, freedom of movement and what institution meant in the context of a globalised world. Daniel

The project 'Identity and the Role of Young People in Society' had pupils in both countries create and exchange a 'time capsule' out of different materials such as posters, cards and toys in order to illustrate the cultural differences and similarities between Germany and Britain.
The project increased cultural awareness and allowed young people to think about their role in society and the many responsibilities and challenges that they face. Erwin and Yuri

The aim of the 'Fairytale Project' was to make young people understand their role and opportunities in modern society. The pupils created and exchanged posters about 'The Bremen Town Musicians', discussed young people's attitudes towards fairytales in regard to technological advances and learned about Germany's culture, regions and language. Lauren

Im Rahmen des 'Wahl-Projekts' diskutierten die Jugendlichen über die Wahlergebnisse der Landtagswahl in Baden-Württemberg und erarbeiteten die Unterschiede und Gemeinsamkeiten zum Wahlsystem im Vereinigten Königreich. Thema waren unter anderem das 'Wahlalter' und die Rolle der Jugendlichen bei den Wahlen in beiden Ländern. Sophie

The death of David Bowie was the basis for the 'Heroes Project', that had the pupils talk about their own heroes and had them discuss who is inspiring young people in Great Britain and in Germany today. Relating to recent events and debates in Britain, two schools from the UK and Germany exchanged opinions on the subject and cultural knowledge of young Brits and Germans as part of the 'EU Membership Project'. Rebecca

Das Ziel des Jugendreferendums war die Simulation des EU-Parlaments. Zum Thema "Reformation of the EU – 'Unity' in times of the Euro crisis, the refugee crisis and widespread anti-Europeanism" erarbeiteten Oberstufenschüler/-innen in drei Komitees Lösungsvorschläge, die anschließend in einer Vollversammlung diskutiert und angenommen wurden. Dadurch lernten sie die Arbeitsweise des EU-Parlaments kennen und entwickelten ein besseres Verständnis für andere Positionen und Meinungen zu aktuellen Themen wie dem 'Brexit'-Referendum. Sebi

Als Teil des 'Brieffreundschaftsprojekts' wurden den Kindern zweier Grundschulklassen aus Deutschland und Großbritannien bestimmte Feiertage und Traditionen beider Länder nähergebracht, mit dem Ziel, Vorurteile abzubauen und für mehr Toleranz zu sorgen. Die höheren Klassen erarbeiteten die Hintergründe der britischen Geschichte und diskutierten interkulturelles Lernen und Onlineplattformen im Unterricht. Peter

The 'penpal project' focused on topics such as 'British and German traditions' and 'School vocabulary'. It was based on a monthly email exchange between two classes from Great Britain and Germany and included games and competitions to increase the pupils' knowledge and interest. In addition to that a blog was created to document the developments of the project. Jana and Megan

www.penpal1516.blogspot.co.uk