For this reason, the Liz Mohn Foundation launched “Generation Global – We Shape the World.” Following a multi-stage application and selection process, a group of young people aged 15 to 18 from the region around the foundation’s headquarters in Gütersloh who are interested in foreign policy have started the two-year program. It includes a variety of workshops and events every six to eight weeks. With the help of professional coaches and experts, the young people will work on their hard and soft skills so that they can shape public debates in the future.
At an initial meeting in the WorkCafé of the Bertelsmann Foundation building in mid-January, the participants got to know each other and discussed their motivations. Whether from Gütersloh, Bielefeld, Detmold, or Paderborn, these young people are united by their desire to shape politics. They spoke positively about the stimulating exchange and the newly formed network.
The second meeting on Saturday, February 21, focused on team building and personal development. The group also agreed on a code of conduct for respectful interaction with one another over the next two years. As with all “Generation Global“ workshops, the young people not only worked on their skills, but also on content provided by the Liz Mohn Foundation. At this meeting, they contributed their ideas to the development of a questionnaire for the survey project “Germany’s Role in the World,” in which the Liz Mohn Foundation surveys a representative sample of 12- to 18-year-olds in Germany each year about their views on foreign policy.
Participants in “Generation Global” are also the focus of other projects and events organized by the Liz Mohn Foundation: for example, young people will be actively involved in this year’s youth conference in the summer, both on the panel and in the audience. The conference, which in previous years was held in Gütersloh in cooperation with the Munich Security Conference as “Zeitenwende on tour”, will take place for the first time in June as “Generation Global LIVE” in the town hall.
“Generation Global – We Shape the World” is intended to serve as a model project for other regions in Germany: How can young people be supported to prepare them for future positions of responsibility in public life? What is important for keeping the group together over a period of 24 months?
“We are delighted to have the opportunity to accompany these interesting young people over a long period of time and to make a difference together with them,” says Matthias Meis, Deputy Chairman of the Liz Mohn Foundation. At the next meeting in a few weeks, the young people will take a closer look at the changing political world order. Voice and presentation training is also on the agenda for this spring.
