Adult education centre events in May
Saturday, 4 May, 10 am to 4 pm
Spoken Word Workshop
Open programme of the Chemnitz Youth Art School
Location: Chemnitz Adult Education Centre at TIETZ, Moritzstraße 20, course room 4.62
Participation: 24.10 euros, registration link: www.vhs-chemnitz.de/kurs/J2321010
Here you will not only learn the magic of the "spoken word", but also the power of your own voice. In just a few hours, you will create stage texts and performances from all the topics that are important to YOU, which you can present on stage with a lot of self-confidence and the best thing is; you don't need a slam and there are no assessments.
Jessy James LaFleur is a nomad by conviction, spoken word activist, entrepreneur and rapper. Born in East Belgium, she performs her socially critical and stirring poetry in three different languages and has conquered stages in more than 30 countries. She is the founder of the "Spoken Word Academy", which is unique in Europe, and was honoured for her work as a "Cultural and Creative Pilot Germany" in 2020. Since 2022, the academy has been part of the "Neulandgewinner" funding programme. She created the collective "(L)Ost Poets" for young East German voices from rural areas, runs workshops in prisons and schools and published the spoken word album "DOMA" and the feminist anthology "Aufbruch ist weiblich". She lives in Berlin and Prague.
Monday, 6 May, 6 to 7.30 pm
The Carnation Revolution in Portugal - between history and memory
Location: Chemnitz Adult Education Centre at TIETZ, Moritzstraße 20, course room 4.07
Participation: free of charge, registration link: www.vhs-chemnitz.de/kurs/S2410112
On 25 April 1974, a group of left-wing captains put an end to a 13-year colonial war, a 48-year dictatorship and a colonial system in Portugal that had become anachronistic. The population ignored the insurgents' calls not to leave their homes and poured out onto the streets, mounted the military's tanks in a victory pose, and marched to their deaths.They stood shoulder to shoulder with the armed military and watched the surrender of dictator António de Oliveira Salazar with excitement, placing carnations in the soldiers' rifle barrels. It was the birth of Portugal as a democratic country and the beginning of the long-awaited independence of the African territories.
In her lecture, Prof. Dr. Teresa Pinheiro explores the changes heralded by that historic 25 April and formulated as a threefold goal in the insurgents' programme: Democratisation, decolonisation and development. How can we look back on these goals after 50 years? What role does the memory of the Carnation Revolution play in the social consensus in Portugal? What myths surrounding the most romantic of revolutions are being questioned today?
We invite you to join us for a discussion with the speaker after the lecture.
Monday, 13 May, 6 to 8.15 pm
Viva Portugal. Film evening and discussion
Location: Chemnitz Adult Education Centre at TIETZ, Moritzstraße 20, course room 4.07
Participation: free of charge, registration link: www.vhs-chemnitz.de/kurs/S2410113
Shortly after the Carnation Revolution in April 1974, a group of Franco-German filmmakers travelled to Portugal to feel the pulse of the revolution on the ground. The result is the documentary film "Viva Portugal", which has lost none of its poignancy since its premiere in October 1975. The film documents the political changes in the first year after 25 April 1974, witnesses the failure of a right-wing conservative coup and, above all, allows the population to have their say. The images of land occupations and the expropriation of industrial companies by workers' committees show a country in the throes of freedom and on a self-determined quest for democracy.
We invite you to a film and discussion with the director Malte Rauch. He is a German filmmaker. In 1975 he made the documentary film "Viva Portugal", the chronicle of a year of revolution. Further film projects - such as "Frankfurt-Conakry" (1986) - have taken him to Africa time and again.
Wednesday, 15 May, 6.30 to 8 pm
Anti-feminism and digital misogyny
Location: online, registration by 15 May, 12 noon, the access link will be sent by email at least three hours before the start of the event
Participation: free of charge, registration link: www.vhs-chemnitz.de/kurs/S2410185
Insults, defamation, harassment, threats, doxxing, revenge porn - the list of expressions of misogyny in online forums and social networks is long and could go on and on. It seems that the mood against (feminist) statements by women has become much more heated in recent years and forms of digital misogyny have become acceptable. But is that true? Are the mostly young men with their hostility a small but loud minority? Are new forms of digital misogyny being cultivated on online portals such as YouTube, TikTok, X, Reddit or 4chan, which will ultimately also become a threat to women in the real world? And where do the (young) men who take part in it get their role models from? What ideologies play a role in this form of online hatred?
The evening's speaker, Veronika Kracher, would like to explore these and other questions with the audience. The talk will begin with an overview of the relevant online subcultures. The focus will be on so-called "incels" and the misogynistic podcast and coaching community. The speaker will also look at current forms of anti-feminist online activism. Afterwards, Veronika Kracher invites the audience to an open discussion.
Veronika Kracher is an author and journalist who writes for "neue deutschland", "Belltower News" and the "Antifaschistische Infoblatt", among others. Her research focuses on feminism and criticism of patriarchy, anti-Semitism, literary theory and pop culture. She has published the book "Incels. History, Language and Ideology of an Online Cult". The event is a cooperation between the Bildungswerk Weiterdenken of the Heinrich Böll Foundation Saxony and the Chemnitz Adult Education Centre.
Friday, 17 May, 7 to 8.30 pm
Red Metal. The heavy metal subculture of the GDR. Reading and discussion
Location: Kaßberg Prison Learning and Memorial Centre, Kaßbergstraße 16c
Participation: free of charge, registration link: www.vhs-chemnitz.de/kurs/S2412051
There were a lot of heavy metal fans in the GDR, a lot. They were welcome guests in pubs and inns. And they were well-adjusted in the workplace and kept their distance from politics. However, their love of Western music and orgiastic concerts was enough to make them suspicious in the eyes of the party and state security. That is why, says Nikolai Okunew, the evening's speaker, who has researched the history of this subculture in the GDR, they reveal so much about society in the late GDR and the decaying state. In his reading, he will present research findings, images and sounds.
Nikolai Okunew, born in 1987, studied history and social sciences at the Humboldt University in Berlin. As an associated doctoral candidate at the Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History (ZZF) Potsdam, he completed his doctorate at the University of Potsdam in 2020. The contemporary historian is a research associate at the ZZF in the BMBF project "The Media Legacy of the GDR".
His book "Red Metal - Die Heavy-Metal-Subkultur der DDR" was published by Ch. Links Verlag in 2021.
The event is a cooperation between the Lern- und Gedenkort Kaßberg-Gefängnis e. V., the Institute of Political Science at Chemnitz University of Technology and the Chemnitz Adult Education Centre. The event is part of a three-part series entitled "Youth opposition and deviance in the late GDR". The series is co-financed with the kind support of the Saxon State Commissioner for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship.
Saturday, 25 May, 10 am to 4 pm
Workshop - Finding ideas and developing material for films and books
Location: Chemnitz Adult Education Centre at TIETZ, Moritzstraße 20, course room 4.08
Participation: 24.10 euros, registration link: www.vhs-chemnitz.de/kurs/J2321001
Films and novels or short stories cannot be created without a story or a screenplay. You need a story and it is never finished in your head, but is only gradually formed from various snippets of thought. But how do I find the right idea for a story and how do I develop it further? What creative possibilities are there for finding ideas and what about the characters in my story? What dramaturgical concepts are there to make them multi-layered and lively? What parameters can I consider in order to build a story? All of these questions will be explored in this workshop with Olaf Held, so that we can start with the story that lies dormant within us at the end.
Olaf Held has been working as a freelance director, dramaturge and screenwriter since 2011. Annual screenwriting courses on the subject of script development, guest lecturer at the Central German TP2 Talentpool and at the ANIMA International Animation Film Workshop in Dresden. Freelance writer and director for the MDR short film magazine UNICATO since 2020.
Monday, 27 May, 7 to 8.30 pm
Lucky country Finland
Location: online, registration by 27 May, 12 noon, the access link will be sent by email at least three hours before the start of the event
Participation: free of charge, registration link: www.vhs-chemnitz.de/kurs/S2442004
In March, Finland was voted the happiest country in the world for the seventh time in a row. In her online lecture, journalist, author and photographer Tarja Prüss explains why this is the case and what we can learn from the Finns.
An event of our country focus Finland. Further information can be found atwww.vhs-chemnitz.de.
Tuesday, 28 May, 7 to 8.30 pm
Insight into the Finnish education system
Location: Chemnitz Adult Education Centre at TIETZ, Moritzstraße 20, event hall, 3rd floor
Participation: free of charge, registration link: www.vhs-chemnitz.de/kurs/S2410169
Finland enjoys a good international reputation for its successful education system. The historical development of the Finnish education system was and is characterised by groundbreaking reforms, which are reflected in the current early childhood education, the community school and the upper secondary and vocational school.
The lecture will provide an insight into Finnish educational culture, focusing on learning and school culture, multi-professional networks, teacher training and other factors that support learning. Discussing, exchanging and reflecting on German and Finnish education together is an enriching experience for both sides.
The speaker, Dr Petra Linderoos, has been intensively involved with Finnish education since PISA 2000 against the background of her German qualification as a secondary school teacher of German and social studies and has also trained as a teacher in Finland. She has worked as a lecturer at the University of Jyväskyla and Oulu (Finland). Her doctoral thesis focussed on the multilingualism of learners with a migration background.
Tuesday 28 and Thursday 30 May, 5 to 7.15 pm
Finnish for the curious
Location: Chemnitz Adult Education Centre at TIETZ, Moritzstraße 20, course room 4.59
Participation: 30.20 euros, registration link: www.vhs-chemnitz.de/kurs/S244F001
In this course you will learn some basics and peculiarities of the Finnish language and grammar together with the course instructor Nina Dannert from Tampere. The course is intended for learners with little or no previous knowledge of Finnish.
An event of our country focus Finland. Further information can be foundatwww.vhs-chemnitz.de
Wednesday, 29 May, 6 to 8 pm
Tervetuloa! Welcome to the Finnish evening
Opening evening for the exhibitions of the Finnish theme weeks
Venue: TIETZ, Moritzstraße 20, vhs gallery on the 4th floor
Participation: free of charge, registration is possible but not required
Info and registration link: www.vhs-chemnitz.de/kurs/S242AU02
As part of the vhs series "FOCUS: EUROPE", everything revolves around Finland from 27 May to 7 June 2024. On the Wednesday after the start of the Finnish theme weeks, the Chemnitz Adult Education Centre invites you to an entertaining and sociable welcome evening in the vhs gallery on the 4th floor of the TIETZ. Enjoy Finnish culture in its many facets - musical, artistic, linguistic and culinary. You can listen to the sounds of Finnish tango and marvel at two exhibitions. Firstly, a photo exhibition by four artists shows Finnish impressions - including of Chemnitz's twin city Tampere. The second exhibition, entitled "My favourite Finnish word", is dedicated to the extraordinary Finnish language using selected terms as examples.
There will be plenty of opportunity for dialogue over a small snack with typical Finnish snacks. In keeping with the Finnish greeting "Tervetuloa!", all interested parties are very welcome.
An event organised by our country focus Finland. Further information can be found at www.vhs-chemnitz.de
Wednesday, 29 May, 7 to 8.30 pm
Why democracy is sometimes so difficult. An evening about pluralism, Stone Age brains and the digital age
Venue: TIETZ, Moritzstraße 20, Stefan-Heym-Forum
Participation: free of charge, registration link: www.vhs-chemnitz.de/kurs/S2410170
Democracy thrives on the fair and peaceful competition of ideas. An important basis for this is a common set of rules that everyone agrees on. This agreement seems to be crumbling at the moment. Many suspect digital media to be the cause. After all, we can use social media to click together our very own world views. And so it now sometimes seems as if we are living in different realities. However, it is not only technology that is fuelling this dynamic, but also our difficulties in dealing with the complexity of today's technical, social and political conditions, as well as with conflicting opinions. Sometimes it is difficult to argue sensibly and decently with one another.
With this event, we invite you to a discussion: How can a fair and peaceful competition of ideas still succeed in the long term? What common rules do we need for this? And what can we do ourselves to make ourselves fit for pluralistic democracy?
Social scientist Dr Christoph Meißelbach would like to discuss these questions with you. He studied and completed his doctorate at the Institute of Political Science at the Technical University of Dresden. Since 2020, he has been Scientific Coordinator at the Saxon Institute for Police and Security Research (SIPS). In his doctoral thesis entitled "The Evolution of Cooperation", the speaker examined the evolutionary and psychological foundations of human cohesion and political order.
This event is a cooperation between the Saxon State Centre for Political Education and the Chemnitz Adult Education Centre as part of the "Controversial on Site" project.
Thursday, 30 May, 7.30 to 9 p.m.
Finnish-Swedish: The sister of the Swedish language in Finland
Location: Chemnitz Adult Education Centre at TIETZ, Moritzstraße 20, course room 5.42
Participation: 7.20 euros, registration link: www.vhs-chemnitz.de/kurs/S2442003
With almost 300,000 speakers, Swedish is the second official language of Finland. However, "Finlandssvenska" has several differences to "Rikssvenska", which is spoken in Sweden.
Join speaker Patrick Schmidt for a look at the differences, the influence Finnish has had on its development and the role played by Tove Jansson's Moomins.
An event from our country focus on Finland. Further information can be foundatwww.vhs-chemnitz.de
Friday, 31 May, 4 to 7 pm and
Saturday, 1 June 10 am to 3 pm
Workshop - Cyanotype - the art of blue images
Open programme of the Chemnitz Youth Art School
Location: Chemnitz Adult Education Centre at TIETZ, Moritzstraße 20, course room 4.11
Participation: 31 euros, registration link: www.vhs-chemnitz.de/kurs/J2321008
Cyanotype is a photographic printing process and one of the oldest photographic techniques of all, which is used to produce prints with a characteristic Prussian blue colour. This results in beautiful, creative and artistic unique images that can be used as gifts, postcards, wall decorations and much more. The process was developed in 1842 by the scientist and astronomer Sir John Herschel. The first person to use this technique in photography was the botanist and photographer Anna Atkins. She published a volume of algae cyanotypes, which is considered to be the first ever book with photographic images.
Cyanotype is one of the oldest photographic techniques. The technique was and is particularly popular because of its ease of use and the inexpensive materials and tools used to produce it, as well as the fact that you don't even need a darkroom to make the prints. Cyanotype can also be combined with digital image photography. Here in this course you will learn the basic techniques.
Nina Dannert, who grew up in Wuppertal and has a German-Finnish background, has lived and worked in Finland since 1996. She teaches German and Finnish and is a freelance photographer and photo artist. She is currently studying photography in the Master's programme at Turku Art Academy.
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 e-mail to info(at)vhs-chemnitz.de or online 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.