Early evening reception in Statthaus Böcklerpark and award ceremony in the Meistersaal
The video shows impressions of the award ceremony for the eighth round of the School Competition on Development Policy and also of the previous early evening reception in Stadthaus Böcklerpark in Berlin.
At the start, images of Berlin as well as impressions from the arrival and the entertainment at the early evening reception are shown.
Petra Lüssem, a teacher, states, “Well, I think it’s really amazing. Really nicely done for the children, nicely organised.”
Tyler, a pupil, says, “I really like it.”
Elias, a pupil, adds, “It’s really good.”
Evelyn Tretter says, “Yes, wonderful. We were really, really nicely received, had a really, really good journey and we are already looking forward to what is going to happen now.”
Presenter Ralph Caspers gives a signal, upon which all the children call out together “Sei weltbewegend!” (Change the world!).
Presenter Ralph Caspers in an interview with Nicola Fürst-Schumacher, “Was there a topic in the competition that ran through all the competition entries like a common thread?”
Nicola Fürst-Schumacher, department head for school education, answers, “I would say Agenda 2030, the SDGs, were a topic that was found almost everywhere. And that made us very happy.”
Sequences from the stalls run by the competition partners – Kindernothilfe e.V., action medeor e.V., Care Deutschland-Luxemburg e.V. and Plan International Deutschland e.V. – and also the participation activities for children and young adults on site are shown.
A pupil states, “We are making small balls from bike wheels – cool, it’s fun.”
Imke Häusler from Kindernothilfe e.V. says, “Thanks to the great number of partners involved in the competition, we have the opportunity to approach so many schools, which we would never have had as individual organisation. That’s fantastic.”
Norbert Vloet, action medeor e.V., states, “Today, we are presenting a wheel of fortune with questions about health, malaria and other diseases. We have tried to make it suitable for children so that all pupils can answer questions on it. In this way, we want to playfully convey the matter at the heart of action medeor, namely health.”
Eliana Böse from Care Deutschland-Luxemburg e.V. describes the project that they brought with them, “We have brought the climate heroes exhibition from CARE with us. It shows twelve climate heroes around the world and they effectively show us how they want to stop climate change. With the exhibition, we just want to show that a person themselves can also take action in order to achieve something.”
Lena Stelling from Plan International Deutschland e.V. states, “We support the school competition because we all have a global responsibility and we believe that it is precisely the children and young adults who will shape the future and we should support them with it.”
Some sequences from inside Stadthaus Böcklerpark are shown, where t-shirts are handed out and a photo box is positioned.
Khadar, a pupil, says, “Really good. I’m so, so happy that I have come here because there are so many people, who have come from different places.”
Images of the Graphic Recording, a visualisation of all winning entries, are shown.
Presenter Ralph Caspers states, “So, in general I think the super thing about this competition is that so many young people are involved and present their projects, and that their projects are then also awarded prizes. That is really great. To see it, all together, is totally motivating.”
Pedro, a pupil, describes, “I also thought that hanging up the posters was cool because then you really got an overview of how many people have actually participated. Today, I see it really as a community.”
Justin, a pupil, states, “And the commitment that you have. It is like you are burning for it. For it is only when you burn for something that you can really fully devote yourself to it.”
Jana, a pupil, thinks, “It was just great to sit here, have something to eat and then also listen to the music.”
Ralf Heinrich, a headmaster, states, “Music can be used to break down an awful lot of barriers and some topics, which are serious, can be given a very different impetus. You can take it more easily.”
Andre Fischer, winner of the first round of the song contest, says, “I think it depends on the small things. That you maybe say, O.K. as an individual I can achieve something. Just get started, just get going – we are the future – and ensure that the world is a better place for our children and maybe their children.”
Impressions of the stage show are shown. The two main winners of the first round of the Song Contest “Dein Song für EINE WELT!” (Your song for ONE WORLD), Andre Fischer and Ezekiel Nikiema, delight the crowd.
Ezè Wendtoin, winner of the Special Africa Prize of the first round of the song contest, adds, “A great atmosphere, mainly because it really touches me very much to simply see the young people there calling, ‘open to the world, change the world’.”
Further impressions of the stage show follow. They eventually merge into enthusiastic applause and cheering.
Further images from Berlin and from the arrival of the winner delegations at the award ceremony and in the Meistersaal follow.
A teacher states, “Of course, we are really thrilled.”
Another teacher says, “It’s very good. We are fit.”
A pupil states, “We can hardly wait.”
Another adds, “I have a good feeling.”
A teacher asks her pupils, “Are you excited?” – Many voices answer “Yes”.
Heidi Weidenbach-Mattar, chairwoman of the jury and permanent representative of the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs, states, “I think that the competition is special because it invites all pupils and also their teachers to address the topic of sustainable development. For me, it all means that it is really a broad range both in terms of the topic and in the ways that you can become involved.”
Hauke Nagel, a teacher, says, “So, to really see how so many young people come together here and are fulfilled by their ideas and are inspired by the ideas of others. That is actually an essential merit of this prize.”
Presenter Ralph Caspers starts the award ceremony show and entertains the guests, “The motto was, give me a hand here, what was the motto again? We will do it like we did yesterday. One, two, three...”
The attendees shout, “Sei weltbewegend!” (Change the world!).
The Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Dr. Gerd Müller, enters the room and shakes hands with some pupils.
Dr. Gerd Müller, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, gives a welcome speech, “A full hall, beaming faces, youth. This is my nicest engagement this week. This competition has been going for 15 years and almost 200,000 pupils have participated. We look at it with great interest. What ideas do young adults and children have for the world of tomorrow? The question is, what do we leave behind? And that is why we have the responsibility regarding how we leave the nature, climate, soil, waters, oceans and plastics to the coming generation. And so I say, sustainability begins with you. Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who fills this competition with life and content, and also who give us thoughts and ideas for policy.”
Presenter Ralph Caspers announces the award ceremony, “22 from the over 500 projects will receive a prize, and now we will take a look at the nominations for category 1.”
Presenter Ralph Caspers declares the winners of category 1.
Third place goes to primary school Grundschule Atter from Osnabrück.
Anja Hirschmann, a teacher, states, “I think it is always important to enthuse the children simply for this work and for these children in another world, who are not so fortunate. It creates so much joy and you get so much back.”
The second place goes to school Schule am Wingster Wald from Wingst.
Wendy Morel, ESD Expert Net Mexiko, states, “El trabajo con los niños es fantastico. (…..) que es impresionante la motivacion que tienen los niños en todas las partes del mundo.”
The first place goes to classes 1 to 4 at primary school Gemeinschaftsgrundschule Am Nützenberg from Wuppertal.
The awarding of the prizes in category 2 follows.
The third place goes to primary school Grundschule am Arkonaplatz from Berlin.
Juana, a pupil, is thrilled, “You do something and then you also get something for it. Somehow that is the meaning of life. You give something and you get something back. And that is really nice. We really liked this project; it was unbelievable. And it is great that we could be here again.”
The second place goes to the pupils of secondary school Kaplan-Kellerman-Realschule and the pupils of vocational school Thomas-Eßer-Berufskolleg from Euskirchen.
Petra Lüssem, a teacher, states, “This whole community, which has developed among the children, among the pupils, young and old, but also among the teachers. That was also an experience for us.”
The first place goes to class 5 at primary and middle school Grund- und Mittelschule Salzweg in Salzweg.
The announcement of the prize winners in category 3 follows.
The third place goes to classes 7 to 9 at the school Erich-Kästner-Schule in Ladenburg.
Susanne Lein, a teacher, is delighted, “It’s wonderful that we have won this prize because there is no bigger appreciation for the pupils. I think it is simply a huge encouragement to continue with such commitment.”
The second place goes to class 8 at school Peter-Vischer-Schule from Nuremberg.
Natalie Löhnert, a teacher, states, “They have worked on it for half a year and that is a great success. It was truly magnificent.”
The project group from grammar school Gymnasium Markt Indersdorf from Markt Indersdorf took first place.
The announcement of the prize winners in category 4 follows.
The third place goes to the project group of vocational school Staatliches Berufliches Schulzentrum Alfons Goppel from Schweinfurt.
Muzayan, a pupil, says, “To be here in Berlin because of this prize and to have come here from Bavaria and to experience it with all these people is something special for me.”
The second place goes to the project group of boarding school Louisenlund from Güby.
Lia, a pupil, states, “Yes, all the other projects are really amazing, and before you wouldn’t have thought that other people would have such great ideas. That is really cool.”
The first place goes to class 12 at technical and vocational school Staatliche Fachoberschule und Berufsoberschule Hof.
Presenter Ralph Caspers announces, “Category number 5. That is the school prizes. They go to schools where the whole school community has been involved in ONE WORLD topics and projects. That means that global learning is part of the school profile. And another school will receive the ENSA prize. That is the prize for the development policy school exchange.
Primary school Wingster Wald from Wingst.
Vocational school Staatliches Berufliches Schulzentrum Alfons Goppel from Schweinfurt.
Girls secondary school Erzbischöfliche Maria-Ward-Mädchenrealschule from Traunstein-Sparz.
The Sophie-Scholl-Schule from Oberjoch.
The Berufliche Schule Holz, Farbe, Textil from Hamburg.
The ENSA prize goes to grammar school Thomas-Strittmatter-Gymnasium from St. Georgen in the Black Forest.”
Anneliese Lindner, a teacher, is delighted, “We are very proud. And the whole school of nearly 600 girls, they all support it in full.”
Renate Käser, a teacher, gives motivation, “Keep on at it. It’s great what you are doing. And make sure that you continue being committed to the future of our world. These sustainability goals, there is a lot of work that can still be done and there is a now great motivation to continue, which arises from this award ceremony.”
Dr. Jens Kreuter, Managing Director of Engagement Global, states, “For me, the most important message is to show the great commitment. That something is changing. The people in Germany, the youth, the pupils and their teachers are motivated to make changes.”
Impressions from the musical intermezzo with Luise Skupch, a winner of the second round of the song contest, follow. The following text from her song can be heard, “Ja, wir träumen ein Gedankenspiel, in dem es keinen Krieg mehr gibt, während irgendwo südöstlich ein halbes Land in Trümmern liegt.” (Yes, we dream a mind game, in which there is no more war, while somewhere in the south-east half a land lies in ruins.)
Dirk Schwenzfeier, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, states, “We are just one world. That means that we can only make it together, as equals, by coming together, informing ourselves and taking action with each other, just as has been evidenced by the many projects and films that we have seen today.”
Presenter Ralph Caspers announces the special prize of the non-governmental organisations, “The special prize is awarded by the civil society partners of the school competition; they are Kindernothilfe, CARE Deutschland-Luxemburg, Plan International Deutschland and Deutsches Medikamenten-Hilfswerk action medeor.”
Dirk Schwenzfeier, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, states, “They have already announced under which heading this prize goes, namely bearers of hope. And that goes well with this hall, in which we are celebrating today, for that is namely the Meistersaal or the masters’ hall. Bearers of hope become masters, and when I take a look around, when I see the films and the many entries, I can only say that I see a hall full of bearers of hope who will become masters. At this sight, I honestly hold no fear for the world.”
Stefan Ewers from Care Deutschland-Luxemburg e.V. says, “We as a civil society pay particular attention to the competition entries which are distinguished by a high level of own initiative and furthermore understand people who live in conditions of poverty not as aid receivers but as active people with a great potential to help themselves. And that has succeeded to a very high level in the suggested projects and I would like to give my heartfelt thanks for that.”
Presenter Ralph Caspers announces the prize winners, “Primary school Katholische Grundschule Fürstenberg in Bad Wünnenberg.
Grammar school Gymnasium Netphen.
Erich-Klausener-Schule from Herten.
Grammar school Stromberg-Gymnasium in Vaihingen.”
Justin, a pupil, draws a conclusion, “When you just think of how many people have looked into it and how many have become involved, in general it was a really great event.”
Helena, a pupil, says, “Impressive. I don’t know. Words fail me.”
In conclusion, all the guests of the prize giving ceremony call out together, “Sei weltbewegend! Alle für EINE WELT für alle!” (Change the world! All for ONE WORLD for all!)