A whole (school) day for human rights:
Signing of the official cooperation agreement between Palm School and Palm Foundation.
SCHORNDORF. The Johann Philipp Palm School is celebrating Human Rights Day this year on December 8th - 2 days before the actual date of the international UN Day of Remembrance. But this year it falls on a Sunday. Not a good day for a school-wide campaign. But Friday at the Palm School is once again all about human rights. Almost 40 workshops by teachers from the school as well as by external experts and speakers will take place all morning long for students of all ages and types of school. The offer includes training in journalistic writing or conflict resolution, discussion rounds with a dropout from the right-wing scene or a member of the Israelite community, music during breaks, in-house catering and much more.
And there is a very special item on the program this year: The Palm School and the Palm Foundation are signing an official cooperation agreement on this day. In doing so, they are taking their collaboration, which has existed since the school was renamed in 2009, to a new level. The common goal is to educate the students to be democratic, responsible citizens, to motivate them to help shape their future and to take on responsibility in society. The school's two newly appointed democracy officers, Tatjana Zenker and Ina Schulz, call this "learning through and with commitment." "The school's democracy officers have done an impressive job in implementing this goal," praises Marieluise Beckhoff, who is responsible for the "Education and Opportunities" funding area at the Palm Foundation. The Palm Foundation has so far spent almost €50,000 on educational support in Schorndorf in 2023. Over €10,000 of this went to the Palm School alone, not only but also to finance Human Rights Day. "The young people should learn something for life that is not in the curriculum but is urgently needed in our society. We want to enable development and at the same time encourage people to think and get involved," adds Dr. Matthias Römer. As chairman of the Palm Foundation, he will sign the cooperation agreement together with headmistress Angelika Herzel.
The bookseller Johann Philipp Palm (1766 - 1806), who gave both institutions their name and ideas, came from Schorndorf. He was shot by Napoleon because he had a critical pamphlet printed and sold against the French military dictatorship. In his commitment to the rule of law and in exercising the human right to freedom of opinion and freedom of the press, he is a great role model. The Palm School is committed to this in its mission statement and integrates the topic into everyday school life. In December 2024, the Palm Foundation will once again award the international Johann Philipp Palm Prize for freedom of expression and freedom of the press to persecuted journalists and media professionals.