Inspire staff visit Gutersloh as part of Urban X-Change Network programme

Last week, a party of 10 intrepid Inspire staff, learners and volunteers set off on an epic train ride to Gutersloh in Germany.  Part of the Urban X-Change Network programme, this was the first leg of an exchange between the twinned areas of Broxtowe and Gutersloh that “offers nine German Adult Education Centres (Volkshochschule) and their counterparts in Great Britain, Ukraine and the USA the opportunity to carry out cross-border cultural and educational activities in close cooperation with their respective city administration and local civil society”.  This was funded by the German government, so was a real opportunity for Inspire to benefit from the exchange at no cost.

So, what that translated to was a packed programme of activities over a three day period, covering history, lots of forms of culture, a fair amount of coffee and cake and the odd beer. Kirsty Blyth, Assistant Chief Executive Officer, writes of the experience.

We began by a visit to the Adult Education Centre, where we were introduced our hosts, had a tour and then our learners helped an English class, whilst the staff did speed dating style introductions to various topics.  The Adult Education Centre was a magnificent building that was able to host a whole range of different classes using facilities from a gymnasium to a kitchen (more of that later).

In the afternoon, we experienced a historical guided tour of Gutersloh, which was fascinating and very moving as we heard about the stories of the Jews who had been killed in Gutersloh, and the memorials that the town had put in place to remember them.

In the evening, we ate an evening meal with the German-British Association and Integration Council, finding out the stories of some refugees who have settled in Gutersloh and learning about their approach to integration.

This was followed by a trip to the wonderful (and controversial at the time of its construction) theatre, that was painted entirely white in all its atriums to allow the theatregoers to become the focal point of the visits.  It was stunning, and we appreciated the chance to climb right to the top of the lighting rigs above the stage and experience a rare view of the auditorium from on high.  Marlon also took the opportunity to stand on the stage and begin a speech…

The next day saw us visiting the Library.  Gutersloh has two major employers, Miele and Bertelsmann (publisher), which puts it in the enviable position of being able to benefit from corporate social responsibility funding.  Bertelsmann part funded the construction of the library itself and also the refurbishment of the children’s library, as well as contributing to running costs.  This has resulted in a stunning library with an amazing children’s library that is a real escape with cosy nooks and interesting internal design – a real destination for children and their families.

Whilst at the library, we participated in a technology session where we used a ‘plotter’ machine that prints on vinyl.  We designed our own bags that we proudly have brought home with us.

The afternoon was given over to us to see the sights, and we split our time between shopping, visiting the park and wandering around the town.  Then, in the evening we had dinner with Mayor Nobby Morkes at Weberei Cultural Centre, where we also tried out the local beer.

Our last day was the most surreal – we had a visit to Kiebitzhof, which is an inclusive farm that provides employment through several agricultural and food manufacturing businesses to people with disabilities, and a fully inclusive high ropes course.  The provision of such opportunities is enshrined in law, and we were really impressed by the setting and passion of the workers there.  We met fifteen thousand chickens; Esther and Kirsty took the opportunity to be hoisted up into the trees in a wheelchair (thanks for the hoisting, Marlon) and have a swing (yes really), we planted cress seeds and ate more cake include one called the ‘wind bag’.  

We then took part in an enjoyable workshop on sustainability in the library, where we heard about the library’s work in this area.  As the visit was drawing to a close, we listened to Sarah and Mariella combine to read the Paper Cranes’ poem ‘When two libraries fall in love’, which the poetry collective wrote about our partnership, which was a lovely moment.  Then, we explored sustainability a little further by making a wallet from a milk carton (which Esther has since tested in real life).

Our visit was rounded up with a cooking extravaganza through the culinary delights of the region, which involved the Inspire contingent plus our German hosts cooking a six-course meal in the Adult Education Kitchens, five courses of which were potato based.  Whilst cooking, we were filmed live and featured on the German regional news.  As our most proficient German speaker by far, Esther volunteered to go on camera and answer questions about what we were up to, for which we are all very grateful.

So, a magnificent trip, permeated by a lot of laughter, new friendships, new ideas and new ways of looking at the world.  We look forward to reciprocating when the return leg of the exchange takes place in early July.

Huge thanks from all of us to our wonderful German hosts, and our Inspire team of Nicky, Ian, Sandra, Peter C and Peter G plus Jackie and Lizzie at Beeston, all of whom were involved in some way in facilitating this trip and relationship. 

Esther Maggs (Multiply Project Co-ordinator), Lisa Hopkinson (LCSA), Zoe Knight (LCSA), Marlon Imamshah (Direct Delivery Lead Tutor), and Kirsty Blyth (Asst CEO) with Carol Carty (volunteer), Sarah Dale (Paper Crane Poets), Gill Coker (volunteer), Burcu Ozan (learner) and Iryna Yatsenko (learner). See pictures from the trip in the gallery below, and find out more about the project here.