Farewell party Diesterweg Scholarship 2017

The "We-Q" as a special touch Families, the city and the Bohnenkamp Foundation celebrate the end of the Diesterweg Scholarship Osnabrück, June 12, 2017 Viola takes a deep breath. The eleven-year-old seems a bit nervous as she stands on stage. But then she gives a fine little speech about what she has experienced and learned over the past two years as a result of the Diesterweg Fellowship: "It was a lot of great experiences and a wonderful time together," the girl sums up at the farewell party in the Bohnenkamp House in the Botanical Garden. This is where the Friedel & Gisela Bohnenkamp Foundation had invited the twelve young scholarship holders together with their families as well as schools, cooperation partners and Wolfgang Beckermann, Head of Education at the City of Osnabrück. Together, they celebrated what Katharina Liebing describes as: "We have learned a lot from each other. And above all, we have learned a lot from each other," emphasizes the project manager for the Diesterweg Fellowship at the City of Osnabrück.

For two years, the participants dealt with natural science, geography, art, sports and other topics. To this end, they visited museums in the region such as the Museum am Schölerberg and the Klimahaus in Bremerhaven. They were able to try out instruments at the Osnabrück Music and Art School, film stories they had developed themselves at the Media Center - and much more. The focus was not only on promoting individual knowledge, as Michael Prior explains: "We're not about IQ, we're about We-Q," says the managing director of the Friedel & Gisela Bohnenkamp Foundation at the ceremony. Because many people had offered encouragement and support to the scholarship holders: their families, the cooperation partners, the schools and of course the organizers of the scholarship.

Michael Prior brought the Diesterweg scholarship to Osnabrück for the Bohnenkamp Foundation, which was developed by the Stiftung Polytechnische Gesellschaft Frankfurt am Main. It is aimed at children who are unable to fully access their talents for reasons outside of school. Germany's first family education scholarship is now being run at ten locations in the Federal Republic with the support of regional cooperation partners, says Gisela von Auer of the Polytechnische Gesellschaft Foundation. The Diesterweg scholarship started in Frankfurt am Main in 2008, and its success is reflected not only in the successful educational biographies of the sponsored children, but also in the fact that nine other cities are implementing the scholarship, including Hamburg, Hanover, Darmstadt and Duisburg. "The first scholarship recipients are now graduating from high school or have started vocational training," von Auer said. So far, 350 families nationwide have benefited from a Diesterweg scholarship.

The scholarship serves to break down threshold fears and make learning possible. To this end, the young scholarship holders are supported on the threshold to secondary school. But the parents and siblings are also involved in the support. For example, the mothers and fathers received support in finding a suitable secondary school for their children.

At the closing party in the Botanical Garden, the focus was always on the joy about what had been achieved and experienced. This was reflected in the short films that the children had developed and produced themselves, in the words of thanks from the parents, and also in the short scenes performed by the Bielefeld improv theater "Knall auf Fall". Helen Wambui Nintemann spoiled the guests with delicacies from her company "African Dishes".

Now the next run is being planned. To be included in the scholarship, children must be nominated for the scholarship by their teachers. Families are then invited to a selection interview. The seriousness of the sponsorship is sealed with a cooperation agreement between the Bohnenkamp Foundation and the city on the one hand and the families on the other. The sponsorship includes academy days for the families on topics such as natural sciences, music, language, literature, theater and art. The children explore Osnabrück and the surrounding area, they take part in vacation courses and, if they wish, receive support in learning German. Financial assistance is also available for the purchase of educational materials. Captions FarewellGroup: The city, the Bohnenkamp Foundation and the cooperation partners bid farewell to the scholarship holders of the first Osnabrück run of the Diesterweg Scholarship with a celebration.