Erdmute Schimpf

The organic farming project course at the time, with its diverse forms of learning and performance, had a lasting impact on my learning and my attitude in work meetings. Looking back, I see the project course as a wonderful preparation for working life, to be jointly responsible for the results of a project group and to deal directly with the respective issue. The same applies to the not always smooth discussions about module designs or the tough struggle to formulate feedback on content that is rarely presented in an unkind manner. The fact that even reserved people can present results in front of a large audience and eager speakers can sometimes write minutes in silence were the easier learning experiences.

I still use many of the moderation and learning methods from my time in Witzenhausen in my day-to-day work in Brussels for a European environmental umbrella organization. Friends of the Earth Europe had a multi-year project on schools of sustainability, which was primarily concerned with learning from environmental activists. As in the 1990s in Witzenhausen, we strive for a participatory methodology for our workshops and conferences.

In 2020, with its endless video conferences, it takes a little creativity, for example, to design a strategy meeting with 40 participants in such a way that results and analyses are developed as participatively as possible. How can a round of introductions be designed so that people actually get talking to each other? Instead of long presentations, we use digital post-its to group and record answers. To facilitate direct exchange, there are digital coffee breaks in small groups.

And in the best Witzenhausen tradition, a bit of hand and heart is also a must during the evaluation, when volunteers are asked to take part in a digital fruit basket harvest and then write an answer on a piece of paper after all the digital stuff. A co-organizer commented during the preparatory phase that Friends of the Earth Europe had very high expectations of the methods used for the entire meeting.

The conviction that everyone can and should contribute something to the outcome is something I learned during my studies. I also enjoyed critically examining new trends and had the self-confidence that a good process could emerge from a variety of perspectives and arguments. However, I acquired key qualifications and tools for the agricultural policy debates in Brussels outside and after my studies.

When current students from Witzenhausen go on an agricultural policy excursion to Brussels, I am always happy to hear about their impressions and to share a tiny insight into my experiences in the capital of the EU.