The IBB "Johannes Rau" in Minsk:Educational institute and intersection in a vivid network
The IBB "Johannes Rau" Minsk: An educational- and conference centre with artful architecture. It reaps a beneficial significance in the work of the Association for International Education and Exchange: The IBB “Johannes Rau” in Minsk. It is a German-Belarussian joint project – build together, carried and filled with life by Germans and Belarussians. Its architecture has a special artistic background. It took up its work after a three year construction period in 1994. - a conference and education centre for people from the East and the West, To learn from history – to create a future togetherWith the Geschichtswerkstatt ("Geschichtswerkstätten" are groups or associations, which commit themselves to researching and depicting regional history from beneath") and the support programme Belarus the IBB pursues two ambitious projects conserving remembrance and developing partnerships between Belarussians and Germans. The projects of the Geschichtswerkstatt follow the goal to create a good future by the remembrance of the past. The support programme Belarus concretely supports German- Belarussian joint projects. The new name is an honour and a responsibility at the same time In 2006 the IBB Minsk was named after its famous patron the former Federal President Johannes Rau (photo) in a celebratory event – by the way, the renaming was a proposal by the representative Foreign Minister of Belarus, Alexander Michnewitsch. educational institute with benevolent greetings. It is “a lighthouse in Belarus, which also radiates light to its people”. The christian and political heritage of Johannes Rau
Already at his time as Prime Minister Johannes Rau intensively supported the institute last but not least under the aspect of reconciliation. In the sense of its christian and political heritage of Johannes Rau the educational work of the IBB will stay true to its founding ideas in the future. Furthermore, several events are to take place in the year 2008, which will make the life and the political messages of Johannes Rau more known in Belarus. This picture with Christina Rau (first row, 2nd from left), the widow of the in 2005 deceased Prime Minister, was taken at the festive renaming in 2006. The assignments change – about the philosophy of the IBBWhen the IBB Minsk took up its work twelve years ago, its philosophy was primarily coined by the historical refurbishment of the war of extermination from 1941-1944 and the assignment of reconciliation. We should not leave it at a critical glance at history. Because soon it showed that Belarus has to overcome pestering problems of the present: A difficult economical transformative process, not least against the background of globalisation, and the long term consequences of the reactor catastrophe of Chernobyl as well. Thereby a new special concern of the educational work of the IBB crystallised: The development and furtherance of the civil society, especially in the field of (adult) education, social work, ecological renewal and the support of smaller and medium sized businesses. Developing political perspectives for this country in the sense of a collective house of Europe is of critical importance today. Today the IBB “Johannes Rau” Minsk developed into a window to the neighbours in Europe. Among its most important target groups are: Contemporary witnesses, adolescents, politicians, journalists, experts and committed citizens of partnership projects. |
