Adult education centre events in February
Sunday, 25 February, 7.30 to 9 pm
Africa! A look back at the future of a continent
Location: online
Fee: free of charge, registration link: www.vhs-chemnitz.de/kurs/S2410000
Registration is possible until Friday, 23 February, 12 noon. You will receive the access data by e-mail at least three hours before the start of the event.
Where does Africa stand today, what will the future bring to this continent? Despite poverty and rampant corruption, Africa harbours enormous potential: it is the most resource-rich continent in the world with a large reservoir of unused agricultural land. And it has a young, rapidly growing population. The digital revolution is also opening up new horizons. Although China has its "fingers in the pie" everywhere, there can only be African solutions to African problems. For example, by returning to environmentally friendly forms of production and economic alternatives to the Western belief in growth. The question is: Can a "civilisational turnaround" to save our planet come from Africa?
Bartholomäus Grill has worked as an Africa correspondent for decades, including for DIE ZEIT and SPIEGEL. From 2005 to 2009, Grill was a member of the Africa advisory group to the then German President Horst Köhler.
This event is part of the series "vhs.wissen live - the digital science programme" as a cooperation between the adult education centres in Chemnitz, Esslingen district and SüdOst in Munich district.
Wednesday, 28 February, 7 to 8.30 pm
"Understanding Ukraine" - book reading and discussion
Location: Chemnitz Adult Education Centre at TIETZ, Moritzstraße 20, event hall, 3rd floor
Fee: free of charge, registration link: www.vhs-chemnitz.de/kurs/S2410110
The Russian war of aggression on 24 February 2022 marked the beginning of a period of suffering for Ukraine that is still ongoing and barely comprehensible for us in relatively close-by Germany. Despite all the reporting, there is still a great need for information about Ukraine's chequered history and its long-running struggle for democracy and freedom.
In his new book "Understanding Ukraine", journalist and author Steffen Dobbert succinctly and competently explores many questions that are asked time and again: Why are the people of Ukraine fighting so vehemently for self-determination and freedom? What are the roots of the Ukrainian people's national consciousness? And why is the European post-war order at stake just 1,500 kilometres from us as the crow flies?
Steffen Dobbert visited Odesa and Kyiv as a fellow of the International Journalism Programme (IJP) and has since travelled to Ukraine on more than 50 research trips. He studied in Vaasa, Finland, in Lübeck and in Berlin and has worked as an author and editor for ZEIT ONLINE and DIE ZEIT since 2007. He was awarded the German Reporter Prize in 2017.
On this evening, passages from the book will be presented by the author and there will be an opportunity to talk to him, accompanied by music from Ukraine.
This event is a co-operation between the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and the Chemnitz Adult Education Centre.
Information from the adult education centre:
Prior registration is important for all courses and events. This can be done by telephone on 0371 488 4343, by email to or online at info(at)vhs-chemnitz.de via the registration link provided in the course information. If an event is already fully booked, it is possible to be placed on the waiting list without obligation. Current information can be found at www.vhs-chemnitz.de.