Shaping socio-ecological transformation through education

Bonn, 5 December 2023: This year, the "Prize for Innovation in Adult Education" is honouring learning opportunities and projects that show how continuing education can support equitable and sustainable progress. Yesterday evening, four projects that have successfully responded to new educational challenges and learning opportunities with innovative solutions were honoured with the award at a ceremony as part of the "DIE Forum for Continuing Education 2023" in Bonn.

In times of transformation, the participation of adults in learning and educational processes is a key factor in overcoming the major challenges facing society. Patron Maja Göpel emphasises: "Social learning is the prerequisite for a socio-ecological transformation - critical and curious, geared towards cooperation and the future. This is the only way for societies to maintain their transformability, their ability to make new beginnings and to develop further. We humans can learn to shape and take responsibility for a desirable future."

An independent jury of experts from academia and practice has honoured learning opportunities and projects from all areas of adult and continuing education. They show that Continuing education reacts more sensitively, quickly and sustainably to social changes than other areas of education. With the "Prize for Innovation in Adult Education 2023", the DIE would like to recognise and highlight where this has been particularly impressive. This year, four projects and learning programmes were honoured in equal measure:

The "Continuing Education in Business Ethics" programme of the Thales Academy for Applied Philosophy - non-profit organisation and the University of Freiburg. The idea: established thought patterns and normative convictions that still determine behavioural routines and institutions today and are not sustainable must be questioned and renewed in order to create a transformation that is "fit for grandchildren". This is why the "Continuing Education in Business Ethics" programme enables people who bear responsibility in business, government and civil society to delve deeper into the ethical and psychological background of our economic activity and work and to become familiar with innovative concepts and practical examples. The course concludes with an internationally recognised Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Business Ethics.

The project "kaffeepause - ecological and cultural adult education for people with disabilities" is a project to promote the self-determined participation of people with disabilities and fair and sustainable progress in dealing with the natural foundations of life. Every year, 160 people with disabilities undergo further training on ecological topics at various locations in Saxony. Through an artistic exploration of ecological topics, they acquire knowledge about ecological relationships and learn to understand the effects of their own actions on the world. This results in literary texts and images that are published in the magazine "kaffeepause". The aim is to motivate participants to act sustainably and to empower them to do so through ecological education. "kaffeepause" is a project of the Evangelische Erwachsenenbildung Sachsen and Diakonie St. Martin.

In the "OUR VOICES - OUR PLANET - Global Dialogue and Global Learning for Democracy and Sustainability" project, the partners are developing analogue and digital educational formats that highlight the links between democracy and sustainability and highlight opportunities for action. With quizzes, video interviews, a game, a self-learning module, workshops, specialist days and online talks, the project opens up participatory discussion and learning spaces. The target groups are young people, adults and teachers. Experts from the Global South are involved in all educational activities; the global dialogue and learning from and with each other are inspiring. Encouraging practical examples from all over the world motivate people to become active themselves in transformation processes for democracy, sustainability and global justice. A project of the Association of Lower Saxony Educational Initiatives (VNB) and "Learn2Change - Global Network of Educational Activists".

The people who have come together in the "Academy of Change" want to make a contribution to a far-reaching socio-ecological transformation. That is why the Academy has set itself the goal of empowering and inspiring people and organisations from civil society, politics and administration to tackle the future in a warm and constructive way - on the ground. The Academy trains determined shapers of change and supports them with innovative methods to create meeting spaces and establish a culture of cooperation as a breeding ground for successful joint action. The academy aims to be a place of inspiration, a knowledge broker and a space of experience for enthusiastic, inspiring, appreciative and unifying action. For 10 years, people in the village community of Flegessen, Hasperde and Klein Süntel in the Weserbergland have been tackling change. This commitment gave rise to the Academy of Change in 2020.

A photo of all prize winners and further information can be found on the DIE Innovation Award website.

Since 1997, the DIE has been awarding the "Prize for Innovation in Adult Education", which is presented every two years. The award publicises new and promising approaches in continuing education and presents them to a wider public for discussion. One of the key criteria for honouring the projects is that they are innovative, tried and tested in practice and provide new impetus for adult education. The Innovation Award is supported by the "Dr Norbert F.B. Greger Foundation for Innovative and Sustainable Adult Education" based in Mülheim an der Ruhr. The financial support goes directly to the institutions of the award winners.