One hundred years of Chemnitz Adult Education Centre

Chemnitz Adult Education Centre will have been in existence for one hundred years on 9 February 2019. The adult education centre is celebrating this anniversary with an anniversary semester: in addition to the new course programme, a four-part series with special lectures and discussion rounds is planned for the period from March to September 2019. The series is called "Visions" and focuses on the question: "What kind of society do we want to live in?" Cultural Mayor Ralph Burghart: "The Chemnitz Adult Education Centre has been doing outstanding educational work for a hundred years. Many Chemnitz residents have been loyal to us for decades. With the Visions series, we want to thank our customers and give them something back."

Festive event to kick off the series on 1 March 2019
The series will kick off with a festive event on 1 March 2019 in the event hall at the TIETZ, to which renowned guests from regional politics, associations, course instructors and cooperation partners of the adult education centre have been invited.

Similar to the Chemnitz Adult Education Centre, other adult education centres in Saxony are also celebrating their anniversaries. Prof. Dr Klemm, Managing Director of the Saxon Adult Education Association, will speak about the development of further education institutions throughout Saxony.

On this evening, the adult education centre will also present its latest publication "Auftrag Bildung - Hundert Jahre Volkshochschule Chemnitz". Afterwards, the exhibition "One Hundred Years of Chemnitz Adult Education Centre" will be opened on the premises of the institution. It shows historical documents of the adult education centre from its founding to the present day. On display are original prints from the city archives ranging from old VHS curricula from the 1920s to former visitor cards and photographs of the course rooms at the time. The front pages of the programme booklets from 2004 to 2019 are also on display, as are historical advertising posters, such as the 1949 "General advertising poster of the adult education centres in the newly founded GDR". This exhibition will be on display from 2 March until the end of July 2019 during the opening hours of the adult education centre for all interested Chemnitz residents and visitors to the city.

VISION SERIES "What kind of society do we want to live in?"
Peter Sloterdijk on 08.03.2019, 19:00 hrs

Peter Sloterdijk is expected for the next highlight on 8 March 2019. The renowned philosopher was Professor of Philosophy and Aesthetics at the Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design from 1992 to 2016 and Rector there from 2001 to 2015. He has been honoured with numerous awards, including the Ludwig Börne Prize (2013) and the Helmuth Plessner Prize (2017). Together with Rüdiger Safranski, he hosted the programme "Das Philosophische Quartett" from 2002 to 2012. Peter Sloterdijk will open the 2019 summer semester of the adult education centre as a guest speaker. This semester kick-off event is also the start of the new four-part vision series on the topic of "What kind of society do we want to live in?". As part of this series of special lectures followed by discussion rounds, the well-known philosopher will speak on the topic and read from his latest book "Neue Zeiten und Tage: Notes on the Present".

Raúl Krauthausen on 06.05.19, 19:00 hrs
The second stop in the four-part vision series on 6 May 2019 at 19:00 is entitled "Passion instead of compassion". In his lecture, Raúl Krauthausen will talk about how people with disabilities are treated in our society. Himself severely disabled with multiple disabilities, he is one of the best-known spokespersons for people with disabilities, founder of the Sozialhelden organisation and known throughout Germany as an activist for inclusion. Raúl Krauthausen's name is inextricably linked with Wheelmap.org, a worldwide digital map of accessible places created by users, which he invented, as well as with his commitment to a good participation law.

Petra Gerster on 21.06.19, 19:00 hrs
The well-known ZDF presenter of the news programme "heute" Petra Gerster is particularly committed to education and upbringing. She will be the third speaker on this topic for the Chemnitz Adult Education Centre on 21 June 2019.

Jörg Armbruster on 13.09.19, 19:00 hrs
The journalist and former ARD correspondent Jörg Armbruster is an expert on current topics in the fields of politics and media. Jörg Armbruster worked as an editor and travelling correspondent during the Gulf War and the elections in South Africa. From 1999 to 2005 and from 2010, Jörg Armbruster was studio manager of the ARD studio in Cairo, where he witnessed the upheavals of the Arab Spring. The television correspondent and winner of the Hanns Joachim Friedrich Prize, who retired in December 2012, will take up his topics for this last lecture.

The events are free of charge and take place in the foyer of the TIETZ. They are open to all interested parties. Registrations for these events can be made approximately one month in advance by telephone or in person during the opening hours of the adult education centre. Registrations are by name only. A maximum of two tickets are available per applicant, subject to availability. All information will also be published on www.vhs-chemnitz.de. Representatives from politics, associations and cooperation organisations will also be invited to this event.

SUMMER PROGRAMME of the adult education centre
The new courses for the 2019 summer semester start on 4 March. Registration is already open at www.vhs-chemnitz.de or at the service counter. Due to high demand, foreign languages are one of the focal points of the programme. A total of 19 different foreign languages can be learnt in a total of 164 courses in the summer semester. New additions include Icelandic as well as holiday preparation Finnish for Travellers and Thai for Travellers. Many English conversation courses, which are offered at levels from A2 to C1, are already in demand.

The educational trips are almost all fully booked. If you still want to get a place, you should hurry. If you arrive too late, you can be put on a waiting list - this is often worthwhile.

New to the programme are the taster courses for quilting, tailoring, carving and lace-making. In the individual events, visitors can get a personal impression and find out for themselves whether such a course could be something for them in more depth.

2019 also marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Bauhaus. To mark the occasion, the VHS is offering three special courses. For example, a guided tour of Kaßberg invites you to visit the former home of Bauhaus icon Marianne Brandt.

Of course, tried and tested courses will also be back in the summer. These include creative courses such as watercolour painting and ikebana as well as the old craft techniques of weaving, blacksmithing and woodcarving. If you would like to take part in the special course on painting in the border area "Where does colour or colourfulness begin and where does achromaticity end" by artist Ines Hildur, you should register quickly. Participants from all over Germany are expected.

The movement courses are also in great demand. Whether systematic whole-body training with Pilates or yoga, whether problem zone training with abdominal-leg-buttocks courses and back training or with activating music for Zumba fitness and belly dancing, everyone can find their favourite courses at the adult education centre. The summer semester ends on 8 September 2019. More information is also available at www.vhs-chemnitz.de.

BACKGROUND
The history of the adult education centre
One hundred years ago, a completely new place of learning was to be created in Chemnitz. A place of learning that catered to the growing educational needs of workers and employees, open to anyone who wanted to learn, regardless of their social background. From the very beginning, the aim was "an in-depth study of the cultural assets of mankind", according to the guiding principles of 1919, and of the natural sciences and humanities. The first lectures offered insights into civil accounting, art history and civil law, among other things. Practical exercises in indoor gymnastics were also offered. In its first year, the adult education centre immediately counted 7,099 listeners, as the participants were called at the time.

The founding of the Weimar Republic in 1918/19 and the introduction of the right to vote for women coincided with the founding of the adult education centre. Party-political and ideological neutrality were enshrined in the first guiding principles of the adult education centre as early as 1919. Social developments repeatedly presented the adult education centre with new and additional tasks:

• 1920s: Focus on women's education and training for the unemployed in the years of the economic crisis
• After the Second World War: "Education of the population in the spirit of democracy, anti-fascism and anti-militarism" according to Annex to Order No. 22 SMAD (Soviet Military Administration in Germany)
• GDR: vocational training to secure skilled labour
• Until the beginning of the 1990s: catching up on school-leaving qualifications
• Currently: immigrants need integration and German courses

From the very beginning, the adult education centre has seen itself as a place of democracy and has been guided by humanism and the idea of holistic education for 100 years.

The Chemnitz Adult Education Centre today
Chemnitz Adult Education Centre has been in existence since 1919 and is celebrating its centenary in 2019. The adult education centre is located in the heart of the city of Chemnitz, right next to the central bus stop at Moritzstraße 20. As the largest municipal education provider, the adult education centre occupies the fourth and fifth floors of the TIETZ with a total of 33 ultra-modern and mostly multifunctional course rooms. The adult education centre employs 16 members of staff and around 400 teachers from over 30 countries. More than 14,000 learners from almost 70 countries have taken part in around 32,000 lessons. (Survey from 2018)