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Niehler high school students discover Poland: adventures and friendships!
15 students from the Niehler Erich-Kästner-Gymnasium visited Poland for a week to promote intercultural relationships.
Niehler high school students discover Poland: adventures and friendships!
The students from the Erich-Kästner-Gymnasium packed their bags and set off on an exciting trip to Poland. A total of 15 young women traveled by train to Wrocław, where they started their week full of adventures. This trip was not just a trip, but a living experience that arose from a German-Polish teacher exchange, and the tour group agreed: Poland has much more to offer than you think at first glance. “It is a beautiful, contrasting and underrated travel destination,” was the unanimous opinion of the participants. Cologne City Gazette reports on the lively atmosphere and the friendship that was fostered by the international encounter.
After exploring Wroclaw, we continued to the youth meeting place in Kreisau (Krzyżowa). Here the 15 high school students met with 15 young people from a school near Danzig (Gdańsk). The historical significance of this place as a meeting point for the “Kreisau Circle” during the Second World War gave the encounter a special touch. A varied program was on the agenda: workshops in English, game evenings, campfires and sporting activities ensured a good atmosphere. The volleyball match against the Polish partner school will certainly be particularly remembered, which the Cologne girls lost but won with a smile as a lesson in fair play and team spirit.
The importance of exchange
The German-Polish Youth Office (DPJW) plays a key role in promoting such encounters. For over 30 years, the DPJW has been committed to cooperation and exchange between young people from Germany and Poland. The aim is to develop empathy and friendships, reduce prejudices and create better mutual understanding. Exchange sets a precedent emphasizes that the programs involve not only students, but also teachers and institutions in the collaboration.
The students also took the opportunity to try their hand at the Polish language and learn some new words, which only furthered mutual understanding. When looking back on the trip, teacher Michael Walessa-Walter was impressed by the digital class books and the class teacher principle in Poland, which illustrated the very different educational approaches of the two countries.
On the way to the future
The planned return visits are also an important part of the exchange. The Polish friends would like to come to Cologne in the summer and certainly bring exciting news and experiences with them. This could be the start of a long-lasting friendship that connects not only the students, but also their schools and communities.
Another DPJW project, “Together we move forward,” focuses on career orientation for young people and offers opportunities for international experiences and internships in neighboring countries. To this end, numerous German and Polish educational institutions are already involved in active partnerships. Together in exchange provides information about the various initiatives that aim to further promote intercultural exchange.
The experiences of the high school students from Cologne have once again shown how important the exchange between Germany and Poland is. With every flight, every train journey and every shared experience, the bridges of communication and understanding between the young people of both countries grow.