Shaping the future: Memmingen discusses innovative educational strategies!

Shaping the future: Memmingen discusses innovative educational strategies!

The educational landscape in the Allgäu is growing and thriving - and that is not just a nice saying, but will also come to life at the 21st network meeting in Memmingen. The event, which took place today, brought together committed actors from the educational regions, representatives of the Bavarian State Ministry for Education and Culture and the government of Swabia to discuss future challenges and opportunities in school and non-school education. Mayor Jan Rothenbacher opened the meeting and emphasized the importance of such meetings for the region. Among those present were well-known personalities such as Denise Rätscher from the State Ministry and Stefan Roth, network coordinator for the educational regions in Swabia, who stimulated the dialogue and provided impulses.

One of the central concerns of the “Educational Regions in Bavaria” initiative, which has existed for over a decade, is to secure the future of young people through tailor-made educational offers. Education does not only take place in schools, but extends across numerous areas, including the home, training companies and cultural institutions. The Memmingen-Unterallgäu educational region also emphasizes that there are a variety of options available to continually improve the quality of education in the region. This is not just about offering schools and training places, but also about innovative leisure activities and the organization of educational offerings in order to avoid duplicate structures and use synergies.

Networking for the future

The aim of the educational regions is to specifically link local education in order to promote the permeability and connectivity of the school system. A key point here is that schools and extracurricular organizations work closely together. To make this possible, transitions should be organized and supported and educational offerings should be networked. These aspects are particularly important, especially in times when the educational landscape is constantly changing due to demographic change.

Over 75 percent of all districts and independent cities in Bavaria are now taking part in this initiative, which underlines the importance and reach of the project. Similar efforts have been evident in Memmingen and the Unterallgäu district since autumn 2016. The aim is to continually develop the educational sector and align it with local needs.

As part of the network meeting, a tour of the Bavarian exhibition “Project Freedom – Memmingen 1525” also took place. This exhibition is a fitting cultural element on the occasion of the 500th commemoration of the “Twelve Articles” and the Peasants’ Wars and shows how history and education can be linked.

In summary, education in the Memmingen-Unterallgäu region takes place in many places and in many forms. Together, the participants of the network meeting look optimistically into the future!

The opportunity to raise questions and suggestions about the educational landscape strengthens civil society and promotes intergenerational dialogue. In this sense, the “Educational Regions in Bavaria” initiative has the potential to become a model for other regions and shows how the region can act for the region. Further information can be found at the Memmingen-Unterallgäu education region and the Bavarian Ministry of Culture: Memmingen.de, Education MM-UA, and Demography Guide Bavaria.