#Next Middle East conflict

A full house at the “200 Percent Middle East” town hall on [date]: the school students, trainees and university students followed the event with rapt attention and took an active part in the discussion.

The event focused on the Middle East conflict, a highly topical and equally complex subject. With the support of the State Centre for Civic Education (Landeszentrale für politische Bildung), we were able to bring on board HAUS RISSEN – Gesellschaft für Politik und Wirtschaft e.V., which, together with us, adapted its seminar “200 Percent Middle East” into a large town hall format for the first time. The event drew on a range of approaches: acted sequences, a compact journey through history, military analysis, and the question of possible prospects for peace.

For centuries, different powers, religions and political and economic interests have converged in the Middle East. For centuries, developments there have also been intertwined with those in Northern Europe. Images of wars and conflicts are everywhere. The current conflict is also present among the school students, trainees and university students at St. Pauli Vocational School, and many are deeply affected by it. It is all the more important that young people are introduced to the different perspectives. Only in this way can understanding, balance and peace grow. The aim is not to reduce complexity until simple answers emerge, but to present it in a way that makes orientation possible.

Background:
HAUS RISSEN has offered a very successful Middle East seminar for many years, and several colleagues from our school recently took part. Against this background, together with HAUS RISSEN and funded by the State Centre for Civic Education, we developed the idea of transferring the seminar’s concept into a #Next! hall format, an absolute premiere. How important the topic is, we can hear in the news almost every day, unfortunately including its direct effects on our society. External guests attended as observers.