S2E2 - Peter Wahl and Nesrin Tyurksyoz on Elternseminar and Rucksack program, Germany

For Elternseminar, getting help for families with migrant backgrounds is the right way to go in integrating the migrant population into mainstream society. Elternseminar is the Family Education Service of the Youth Welfare Office of Stuttgart, located at the capital of the region Baden-Wurttemberg in Germany. For years, it has been organised into a cross-cultural family education service to respond to the growing migrant population of the city. Elternseminar has placed more efforts in helping migrant families by providing services for the education of children but also to the development of women and mothers. For Peter Wahl, Headquarter Director of Elternseminar, his office’s integration task is to create opportunities for all inhabitants in all towns through education. By creating opportunities for everyone, Wahl believes that this creates an equal chance. The first thing that has to be done is to support good education for the inhabitants and to learn to live in diversity. One of the programs that work exclusively with mothers under the family education service of Elternseminar is called Rucksack, backpack in German. The education program for mothers who have children in kindergarten and is run by Nesrin Tyurksyoz who is the program coordinator. About European Initiatives For An Inclusive Society: The Oslo Desk was invited to contribute to a third study visit of the Family+ project in Oslo under a three-day conference between 11th and 13th March. The project aims to overcome the social exclusion of families through family education and empowerment activities, adapted to the needs of the disadvantaged and migrant families. Therefore the conference is part of exchanging knowledge and practices between Germany, Sweden and Norway. However, the conference was cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak and lockdown measures. In collaboration with Oslo VO Rosenhof, an adult learning centre, and funded by Erasmus plus programme of the European Union, are we able to produce a podcast season and series of articles.  Podcast cover by Ka Man Mak and Kriti Thepade. Podcast production by Ka Man Mak and Alex Whateley. Text and Articles by Maria Cecelia Ingles Read articles: www.oslodesk.com