Young people should experience democracy

How do young people experience democracy in everyday life? This question was the focus of a discussion group to which the Palm Foundation invited young women from the 13th grade of the Johann-Philipp-Palm-Schule (JPP) business school. The participants included students Anna Melnychenko, Clarissa Stadelmann and Lisa Schmid, their teacher Ina Schulz, headmistress Angelika Herzel and Sylvia Kammerer from the Palm Foundation.

The Palm Foundation supports the Johann-Philipp-Palm School with the goal of not only teaching democratic values but making them tangible and experienceable for young people.

“We trust in the competence of schools, which develop impressive programs,” says Sylvia Kammerer of the Palm Foundation.

From Disinterest to Engagement

The students’ experiences clearly demonstrate that civic education works.

“At the beginning of eleventh grade, I wasn’t interested in politics at all,” recalls Clarissa Stadelmann. That changed when her class participated in the FAZ project ““Youth Writes”. Together, they created a photo graphic novel about the Jewish merchant family Anspach from Schorndorf – and won the main prize.

“When you stand in the places where people were persecuted, you experience history in a completely different way,” says Clarissa. Her classmate Lisa Schmid adds: “While researching in the city archives, we realized how words turned into actions. That stays with you.”

Info Box: Student Guides - Passing on History

As part of their project, the students developed the concept of student guides: young people lead visitors through Schorndorf and tell the stories of victims of Nazi persecution whose lives they researched. In this way, remembrance culture becomes vivid – and democracy becomes tangible.

Embracing Diversity, Strengthening Respect

The Palm School offers far more than history projects. In more than 40 workshops and lectures, students engage with topics such as bullying prevention, media literacy, representations of women in rap music, tolerance, and civil courage. This wide range of democracy-focused projects is no coincidence. The driving force behind them is teacher Ina Schulz, who has been committed to civic education for years. “Young people should experience democracy – not just talk about it,” she emphasizes.

Info Box: The Palm Foundation

The Palm Foundation provides approximately €10,000 annually to support democracy projects at the Johann-Philipp-Palm School. In addition, it supports seven other schools in Schorndorf – always with the aim of encouraging young people to actively shape our society.

Lasting Impact

The commitment is making a difference:

• Clarissa Stadelmann plans to advocate for fellow trainees during her vocational training after graduation.
• Lisa Schmid has strengthened her decision to study law.
• Anna Melnychenko, who came to Germany from Ukraine at the age of 16, plans to study political science.

Their experiences show: democracy thrives when young people actively participate in shaping it.

Conclusion:

The projects run by the Palm Foundation and the Johann Philipp Palm School are encouraging. They show that democracy education is particularly effective when pupils themselves take action – with heart, attitude and curiosity.