Annual Report 2008 - Jacobs Foundation

Project Lifeworld School
Partner Organization
German Children and
Youth Foundation
Dr. Heike Kahl
Executive Director GCYF
Peter Bleckmann
GCYF, Programme Manager
Lifeworld School
Claudia Hasse
Press
Lifeworld School – a networking of local stakeholders and
resources for the indivual support of children
Lifeworld School is a joint programme by the German Children and Youth
Foundation (GCYF) and the Jacobs Foundation. Its overall objective is to provide
the best possible individualized support to children and young people aged between
3 and 15 years. To achieve this goal, the programme supports selected model communities
in building local networks of institutions willing to share educational
responsibility.
The programme philosophy is characterized by its core idea of changing perspectives:
from dividing educational responsibility between separate institutions to sharing
responsibility and acting together. The layout of educational landscapes should
not be determined by institutional needs, but rather by what will enable the best
possible support for each individual learner. This approach requires close cooperation
between schools (as educational institutions for all children and young people)
and a broad array of partners ranging from day-care institutions to youth welfare,
civil society, and industry. Need-based planning and a bottom-up developmental
process involving children, young people, families and professionals are further features
of the programme.
Lifeworld School is currently being implemented in four model communities which
include, from North to South, Bramstedt (Schleswig-Holstein), Bernburg/Salzlandkreis
(Saxony-Anhalt), Weiterstadt (Hesse), and Weinheim (Baden-Württemberg).
These model communities receive support in terms of professional facilitation services,
programme funding, professional development, external evaluation as well as
nationwide networking opportunities and public relations.
An Advisory Board composed of prominent individuals has been set up to advise the
two foundations. It includes renowned scientists as well as representatives from the
four federal states, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the German
Association of Cities, municipal administrative authorities, and civil society. The
Kommunalpädagogisches Institut (Community Education Institute, KPI) is in charge
of the external evaluation. Operative implementation and national-level coordination
are in the hands of the GCYF programme team. The strategic objective is to firmly
embed the changes initiated in the four model communities so that private funding
currently provided by the foundations may gradually be replaced by funds from
a variety of departments and administrative levels.
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