For schools outside Germany: Meeting Each Other

An example of an encounter between German and Dutch schoolchildren.

The aim is the two countries' changing relationships and coming to grips with cultural differences in Europe.

The idea of the project can, of course, also be transferred to other nationalities.

?Meeting Each Other? teaches Dutch and German schoolchildren, students and student teachers how the mutual, very variable relationship between the two countries developed from open aggression and enmity to a shining example of inner-European integration.

The project works on two levels, providing food for thought on both a national and a personal scale. Over the course of intensive two-day encounters, clich?s and prejudices emanating from the widespread beliefs of society as a whole can be discarded, balanced out or even confirmed.

Aachen is the perfect place for this project for several reasons. On the one hand, after the war, a historical focus on Charlemagne and the awarding of the Charlemagne Prize made the city a symbol of the process of European integration on a cultural and human level. On the other, thanks to its position in a border area, it offers plenty of opportunities to discover not only intercultural differences but also common ground with Germany?s neighbours, such as the Netherlands.