The IKMW develops creativity formats and projects at the intersection of cultural and media education, German as a foreign language (DaF), youth exchange and integration. We are realizing target group-specific, customized projects in the area of hybrid and digital learning in addition to (analog) formats already realized in domestic and international projects like the “DaF documentary theatre and the DaF dance theatre.
A widespread, multidisciplinary network of arts managers, arts and media professionals and academic teachers develops didactical materials and workshops for teachers, students and school children. They are implemented in cooperation with partner organizations (e. g. Goethe Institutes, Foundation Mercator, DTJB, PASCH), with schools and with academic institutions in Germany and abroad.
Scientific evaluations are optional modules of our projects.
I – You – We
Pilot project for German-Turkish youth exchange in Freiburg
A very special pilot project for intercultural student exchange was realized in May 2025 in collaboration with long-standing project partner Matthias Baumann (Freiburg University of Education) and the newly established partner cultural project workshop („Kulturprojektwerkstatt“) of the city of Freiburg im Breisgau.
The central theme of the exchange was “Me – You – We” – an artistic and educational endeavor to bring young people from Turkey and Germany into a genuine exchange that went far beyond mere tourism.
From May 25 to June 1, 2025, a group of 26 students and accompanying teachers from Istanbul (Cekmeköy and Cağaloğlu) embarked on an intensive and creative language trip to Freiburg im Breisgau, in the border region of France, Switzerland, and Germany. The foundation for the creative project was laid on the very day of arrival with a creative activity at the Place de la Réunion in Mulhouse. This was followed by the first meeting with the German partner students from the Marie-Curie-Gymnasium Kirchzarten – initially tentative, but a joint city rally through Freiburg and a spontaneous game of UNO in front of the cathedral broke the ice. Through shared creative work, a palpable sense of community developed from initial unfamiliarity within just a few days.
The Black Forest provided the backdrop for further exciting experiences: The Schauinsland cable car took the group to the summit, where a picnic with panoramic views and an exploration of the mine not only created lasting impressions but also fostered trust. Another highlight was the artistically guided city excursion to Basel, where street art, movement, and language merged into a powerful and immersive experience.
The emotional climax was the final artistic presentation, developed through workshops with a Freiburg artist, Matthias Baumann (media), and Stephan Reischl (theater): larger-than-life silhouettes of the students, projections, a blacklight tunnel reminiscent of a mine – and finally, a performance that deeply moved both visitors and parents. „So impressive and profound, what you all created together in such a short time,“ one father remarked, deeply touched.
And there was plenty of time for strolling around, exchanging ideas, and having fun, such as at a party organized by the parents and teachers of the partner school in Kirchzarten featuring German specialties and Turkish sweets, as well as spending time with newly made friends. Saying goodbye was therefore difficult – and many of the young people want to stay in touch.
„I – You – We“ will continue in 2026 – with new participants, but with the same idea: cultural rapprochement and creative language impulses through theatre, art and impressive local experiences.
Not for teachers only
Didactic materials and selected original texts of the resistance group ‚Die Weiße Rose’ to the project ‘Sophie Scholl – (Hi)Stories of Courage’
Using a side exit of the Sophie Scholl VR museum brings you to the VR learning environment ‚A View to Freedom‘: Here you find excerpts from teaching materials an the topic of civil courage, developed and put together by the project leaders for the kick off-events, workshops and virtual summer camps in South America and Southeast Europe. They also were the basis for impulses and tasks on the project’s naming patron and on the topic of ‚civil courage‘ given to the youths for the contributions they developed in the different project stages and exhibited in the virtual museum.
Commissioned by the Goethe Institut Athen, the learning platform was conceived by Matthias Baumann, the media responsible in the ‚Sophie Scholl‘-project. Of course visitors can return from the platform to the museum and continue their tour their.
German as second Language-Dance Teatre – Pilot Project 2022
Innovative Format for Language Development with creative Methods
In an on-hour dance theatre performance conceived in just four days, 40 youths from partner schools of the Goethe-Institut in Lima presented their perspectives on their home countries to an enthusiastic audience. From August 1 to 4, 2022 the on-site stage of the pilot project „Tell me, Peru“ („Erzähle mir, Peru“) took place at the Goethe-Institut Lima. One week before students of the German language, aged 12 to 18 years, had been introduced to the subject in two one-hour online meetings. Afterwards, they collected their ideas, films and music on a padlet, establishing the the working basis for the team of trainers.
The choreographies were developed by the Munich-based community dance expert Josef Eder, together with two dancers from the ‘Ballet San Marcos Lima‘ and the youths. They were by theatre scenes staged by Stephan Reischl. They focused the particularities, beauties, but also the present-day challenges of the country: corruptuon, crime, violence against women, opression of minorities – very personal and moving insights brought to stage by the youths themselves.
For 2023 it is planned to continue projects in the format of „Tell me, …“ in other countries and regions. A customised VR online platform is currently developed to document and present the projects‘ results.
„Back to the Present“ – Kosovo Project 2021
German-as-a-Foreign-Language (‚DaF‘) documentary theatre performance and new contributions to VR exhibition
With different creative tasks school chilren from the PASCH school Millenium i Treti (MIT) in Pristina, Kosovo, have been sent on a „fantastic“ time travel from year 2220. On their journey they collected impressions and materials that might seem peculiar to someone 200 years from now – the same way the sight of a handcar would seem today. A 360° VR exhibition that presents the contributions in different theme and country rooms marked the end of the first project stage.
From the very start all participants – the Goethe Institut, lecturers, teachers, school children – were keen on enlarging the project with an analog stage as soon as the COVID pandemia would end or when numbers of infections in Kosovo would diminish. Building on a precursor project in 2020, the present continuation picked up the youths‘ ideas from the previous year, deepened them and enlarged them with new topics. In numerous contributions presented in the VR exhibition the youths in 2020 had approached the challenges of the present time together with possibilities for change. Starting from these materials the on-site workshops with Stephan Reischl and Matthias Baumann took on developing a theatre performance and bringing it to stage.
Having been implemented successfully in several international projects (among them with school children from MIT in Kosovo) the format of German-as-a-Foreign-Language (‚DaF‘) documentary theatre provided a host of linguistic and motivating impulses, an ideal basis for integrating the school childrens‘ contributions in different media formats.
Responsible: Stephan Reischl (projekt lead/theatre), Matthias Baumann (multimedia)
„Sophie Scholl – (Hi)Stories of Courage“
A language project with the means of cultural and media empowerment in digital space
Cultural and media education in times of the pandemic provides challenges as well as opportunities. This is especially true for cultural and media education projects in interational contexts. The project „Sophie Scholl – (Hi)Stories of Courage“ paradigmatically shows the specific „profit-and-loss-account“: Commissioned by the Goethe Institute Athens and supported by the „Foundation White Rose e.V.“, the project was implemented by Stephan Reischl together with Dagmar Boeck-Siebenhaar, the community dance-choreographer Josef Eder and the media pedagogue Matthias Baumann. Planned as a physical/analogue language camp with youths from ten countries in Southeast Europe, it had to be transformed into a hybrid format because of Covid-19. Yet this at the same time offered the opportunity to step on new paths and to develop a unique multi-months digital pilot project that most probably will be the model for future international projects and workshops.
The IKMW-teamdeveloped extensive material on the project partner and on the topic „social engagement“ as well as on online workshop formats for teachers and school children.
Specifically the two central creative formats DaF(German as Foreign Language)-documentary theater and DaF-dance theater had to be realized in the digital space. From now on the challenge consisted in merging online teaching in digital space with the youths‘ real living and experience space into a hybrid community space.
The project started with a kick-off, with workshops with teachers from PASCH-schools in the region and with a small idea fair where the topic was discussed and the project materials were explained. After this it was up to the school children for the first time: Framed by three questions they were to present in a creative way relevant places, role models and challenges – formulated as a „message to the world – in their corresponding contexts, their cities or countries. All contributions of the „young Southeast European artists“ became the first element of a PASCH-VR-360-degrees-exhibition. Around 300 youths participated in this initial stage.
Subsequently the participants for the digital camp were chosen through a competion. In the camp the youths first worked on Sophie Scholl and then proceeded to discuss contemporary societal challenges and to highlight perspectives for the future. Original documents – letters, diary entries and quotes – provided the basis for first linguistic artistic teamworks across country borders. It was fascinating to experience how the PASCH-school children, prepared through a daily „online dance warm-up“, introduced their various talents into the development of works for the exhibition spaces: As „dancers“, „musicians“, „actors“, „film producers“ or „audio drama producers“ they worked together in teams, using Zomm as well as multiple othe online tools for their creative exchange.
A „world premiere“ is waiting at the end of the project: the first VR-exhibition in the history of PASCH. The „Southeast Europe“ department of the newly established VR-360-Degree-Musem presents its visitors a host of „language-artworks“ in different formats. The „South America“ department shall be online starting End of November 2021.
With their potentials with respect to sustainability and costs this kind of hybrid cultural and media education formats will be part of the future also in post-pandemic times. IKMW will proceed on this path and will further develop and expand technological, didactical, artistical, aesthetic and content-related aspects of these formats.
From May 25 to June 1, 2025, a group of 26 students and accompanying teachers from Istanbul (Cekmeköy and Cağaloğlu) embarked on an intensive and creative language trip to Freiburg im Breisgau, in the border region of France, Switzerland, and Germany. The foundation for the creative project was laid on the very day of arrival with a creative activity at the Place de la Réunion in Mulhouse. This was followed by the first meeting with the German partner students from the Marie-Curie-Gymnasium Kirchzarten – initially tentative, but a joint city rally through Freiburg and a spontaneous game of UNO in front of the cathedral broke the ice. Through shared creative work, a palpable sense of community developed from initial unfamiliarity within just a few days.
And there was plenty of time for strolling around, exchanging ideas, and having fun, such as at a party organized by the parents and teachers of the partner school in Kirchzarten featuring German specialties and Turkish sweets, as well as spending time with newly made friends. Saying goodbye was therefore difficult – and many of the young people want to stay in touch.
