From the Stone Age diet to the US presidential election

On 4 July 2016, 10:00 a.m., Chemnitz Adult Education Centre will publish the programme for the autumn/winter semester 2016/2017 online at www.vhs-chemnitz.de. The programme focuses on languages and integration, including quick courses for easy communication with refugees, a series of events in the area of political education on the presidential election in the USA and a supporting programme for the special exhibition "ROCK FOSSILS" at the Museum of Natural History Chemnitz.

Integration - living together in Chemnitz
For the first time, the adult education centre is offering quick courses in English, French and Arabic for communicating with refugees. Without much grammar, participants practise practical phrases for typical situations in contact with refugees. The courses are designed to break down inhibitions and get people in Chemnitz talking to each other. They are aimed at employees in municipal and charitable organisations as well as volunteers and committed citizens. "Flüchtlingskinder in der Kita" is a new training programme for nursery school teachers and interested parents and parent representatives. Based on an awareness of one's own culture and the attempt to empathise with another culture, the course highlights ways of integrating children in the daycare centre.

Political, linguistic and intercultural education in the wake of the US election
A series of lectures scrutinises the image the USA has of itself and others and highlights various aspects of the German-American relationship. Professor Crister S. Garrett, Professor of American Foreign Policy and International Studies at the University of Leipzig; Stormy-Annika Mildner, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik Berlin and Jacob Schrot, founder and honorary chairman of the Initiative Junge Transatlantiker discuss the transatlantic free trade agreement. The immigration and integration policy of the United States will be the subject of a lecture by Dr Christoph von Marschall, editor of the "Tagesspiegel" Berlin. How does the USA vote? Ralf Güldenzopf, Head of the Political Communication Department of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e. V., will attempt to answer this question at the adult education centre. Participants can learn about the US election, the American electoral system, the candidates and finally the results in a thematic English conversation course.

"ROCK FOSSILS" - A programme to accompany the special exhibition at the Natural History Museum
Palaeontology and rock music - in the special exhibition "ROCK FOSSILS - Yes, it's love!", the Chemnitz Museum of Natural History shows exactly what connects the two disciplines. Passion and science are united in the exhibition. It is a prime example of multidisciplinary thinking. The adult education centre is taking up the idea and framing the exhibition with selected courses, workshops and events. Inspired by rock, participants in the 2016/2017 autumn/winter semester will learn how the rock guitar sound is created, how to play the rock guitar, edit a music video, design their own record cover or present themselves on YouTube. The Paleo lifestyle and the Stone Age diet are the subject of a healthy eating course. The idea behind this is to utilise food as originally as possible, which is put into practice in the cookery studio. The rock fossils also provide artistic and creative inspiration. In the paleo-drawing course, techniques for drawing animals and plants are explained and practised during excursions to the exhibition and the zoo.

Registration and course start
Chemnitz residents have a total of 825 courses, workshops and events to choose from in the 2016/2017 autumn/winter semester. The VHS will be accepting registrations for the new courses from 4 July 2016, 10:00 am. They can be submitted in person, in writing, by telephone, by email, by fax or directly on the VHS website at www.vhs-chemnitz.de. The semester and courses start on 5 September 2016 and the printed programme will be published on 15 August 2016.

www.vhs-chemnitz.de