Two years after the launch of our international volunteer programme “kulturweit” (Bridging Cultures), it is now time to take stock. That is the intention of the panel discussion taking place tomorrow (23 February) at the Federal Foreign Office.

Walter Hirche, the President of the German Commission for UNESCO, and Cornelia Pieper, Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office, will tomorrow discuss with three young “kulturweit” volunteers their experiences on the programme as well as how they see its future and its role in the European Year of Voluntary Activities Promoting Active Citizenship.

The three young people, all members of the first group of “kulturweit” volunteers, returned in 2010 from postings in a variety of fields and regions: the Goethe-Institut in Istanbul, Rwanda’s National Commission for UNESCO in Kigali and a school in Pernik, Bulgaria.

Tomorrow will also see the send-off of the next group of 173 “kulturweit” volunteers, who leave for their new postings at the end of February.

“kulturweit” is the Federal Foreign Office’s cultural volunteer programme. Launched in February 2009, it offers young people the chance to work abroad for 6 or 12 months in the field of culture or education. Through these young volunteers, “kulturweit” supports cultural and educational establishments with German links in over 50 countries around the world.

The programme is implemented in cooperation with the German Commission for UNESCO.