A stable democracy is characterized by self-confident citizens who participate in the community. Everyone's commitment to democracy is encouraged by motivating and positive experiences. Especially in the structurally weak, rural border regions between Saxony and the Czech Republic, which often bear the image of being particularly susceptible to extremist or populist ideas, it is important to strengthen a democratic culture and civil society. By empowering citizens to participate actively and effectively in our society, we can counteract these trends. Many problems in the regions are similar on both sides of the border (disenchantment with politics, xenophobia, social dissatisfaction). It makes sense to tackle and solve them together. This project serves to analyze the challenges and needs of schools, non-profit organizations and municipalities in the Czech-Saxon border region. An interaction of these three areas of activity is necessary, as they have the potential to actively shape the local community. The German and Czech actors are networked with one another and content and concepts for further cooperation are developed. In the project, an overview of the primary schools, high schools and high schools existing in the funding area - non-profit organizations that are socially and politically committed and - representatives from cities and municipalities (municipality) is created. The participating institutions are selected after they have been questioned. In three workshops, the challenges of the individual areas are worked out and the focal points are prioritized. A language animation and the exchange of experiences should serve as the cornerstone of the encounter and the building of trust. After a joint drafting of the concept, the partners undertake to continue working together by officially signing a memorandum. The public will be informed about the project in the regional press / web.

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The project strengthens the actors in dealing with social challenges (migration movements, globalization and populism) in a solution-oriented manner and in constructive cooperation across borders. The ability to participate in society, tolerance of other views and cultures, social skills (e.g. conflict management and empathy) and opinion-forming are important components. Taking into account the regional and individual circumstances, we help counteract the increasing social division, the loss of democratic culture and the rejection of their representatives and political mandate holders. The actors of the various institutions (schools, municipalities, non-profit organizations) are intensively involved in the project so that a chain of effects of accessibility and the multiplication of content can be linked to the people in the various fields of life and tasks. By networking the participants, the content and concepts developed in the small project should be tried out, further developed and consolidated in a follow-up project in the long term. The inclusion and cooperation of the Saxon Switzerland / Eastern Ore Mountains and Ústí district promotes and confirms the special exchange of expertise and enables the actors to experience that an appreciative interaction with one another does not depend on national origin, language or national borders or that the "borders in mind" can be overcome together. This approach is new in its form and unique in our region. Shared experiences and repeated interaction through personal exchange, as well as getting to know the institutional, social and cultural framework conditions sustainably support the building of trust between the actors. The project report makes it possible to make the content and experiences available to other actors and to transfer them to their fields of work. The bilingual presentation of the concepts and results (electronic) shows our work clearly and facilitates access for German and Czech interested parties.

(This is an automatic translation by Google Translator.)