IV news:
Love is like the sun; it is always and everywhere there (Benjamin Shield). This was the feeling of the 19 participants who took part in the four-day training course for Bavarian and Hungarian kindergarten teachers, which took place in Passau from 15-18 October 2023 as part of the cooperation between the Lutheran churches of Bavaria and Hungary – now for the 21st time.
This time, the focus was on inclusion – integration – participation – diversity from a pedagogical and theological perspective. Sigrid Schmidts, a speaker from the Evangelischer KITA-Verband Bayern (KITA: day-care centre for children), and Pastor Susanne Menzke, an employee of the Religious Education Centre Heilsbronn, introduced the legal and technical aspects of inclusive education. Judit Hallgatóné Hajnal, the Hungarian organiser of the meeting, explained the past and present of special needs education in Hungary. Frieder Harz, Professor Emeritus of Religious Education, delved deeper into the topic by working on biblical healing stories against conflicts in the early Jerusalem community.
A city tour of the three-river city of Passau and an evening performance by the Hungarian participants with self-made puppets based on Anderson’s fairy tale “The Ugly Duckling” rounded off the specialist programme. As always, there was also a visit to the kindergarten with an exchange of experiences on site: The Ortenburg Protestant kindergarten presented its open concept of educational work in a new kindergarten building. As the local parish was celebrating its 460th anniversary, Pastor Sabine Hofer told the visitors about the church’s history and the preservation of Protestant identity in a Catholic environment during the festive service. The guests expressed their thanks with singing and a small concert.
At the next meeting in Würzburg in September 2024, the Lutheran churches of Bavaria and Hungary will be able to reflect on 30 years of cooperation.