Bericht über unser Zwischenseminar in Mühlhausen

Intermediate seminar, Mühlhausen, 23. - 27.01.2023, Income volunteers

The seminar for international volunteers organized by the Friedenskreis took place in the small town of Mühlhausen, in the federal state of Thuringia. In that house, like a small castle, we had the Reflection seminar, which aimed to encourage us to question our social, political, and emotional experience after a few months of our arrival in Germany.

The workshops were designed to allow wide autonomy and freedom of expression for the participants, but also to establish relationships of trust and understanding in mutual relations. All participants had the opportunity to contribute to the shaping of the seminar process and its elements, i.e. content. The workshop on Consent and boundaries, which was conceived as a mutual exchange of experience, emotions, attitudes and insights, allowed us to think about our limits in relations with other people, but also about our actions and words. Also, this way we were able to shed light on cultural differences and observe them from an angle that would contribute to mutual understanding of the diversity and plurality of individuals and collectivities.

The Creative workshops where we vividly described our experience, roles, expectations and changes in our environment helped us to think creatively about our state of consciousness and experience. Also, walking in pairs encouraged us to form special relationships with people we haven't spent a long time with. Despite this limited time, we had enough space to connect and reflect on our experience of living in Germany on an individual and group level.

In various ways, creative methods of reflection and self-learning, the seminar encouraged the participants to question their past, their own limits, challenges and opportunities, but also to connect and form friendships, despite all the differences.

Having enough free time to spend time walking around the city and the castle yard allowed us to connect not only with people but also with the space itself, which in itself was a source of inspiration and motivation. The group of Friedenskreis volunteers was enriched by the participation of three international volunteers from Kurve Wustrow.