Inclusion Award 2022 - Inclusion Challenge #OneLessBarrier

Transcript in english

Based on Adorno's call for a social status in which one can "be different without fear," as part of the competition "How inclusive is the UP?"

#EineBarriereWeniger, we are looking for previously unknown or hidden barriers or opportunities for participation for students or employees with disabilities/chronic illnesses. "Persons with disabilities include people who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments that, in interaction with various barriers, may prevent them from participating fully, effectively and equally in society." (UN-BRK). We are not only interested in the concrete barriers that people with disabilities encounter at the University of Potsdam, but above all, looking for suitable solutions. We are not only interested in structural barriers, but also in obstacles that are not visible at first glance (especially for people without disabilities).All university members can participate in the competition. Show or describe to us what you consider to be a glaring obstacle/barrier that students or staff members with disabilities/chronic illness encounter at the university. You can make this visible with the help of a video, photo documentation, interview or similar. Develop a proposal for a solution, which they can also present by means of video, photo montage, etc. You can participate in the competition as an individual or as a group.The entries will be judged by a jury during a presentation. The winner will receive a prize money of 500,00€.

You can submit your contribution here from 01.07.2022.

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Award Winners

2021 Dr. Ljuba Kirjuchina und Prof. Dr. Christoph Schulte

Laudation for the award ceremony: Prof. Dr. Marie-Luise Rathers (Institute for Philosophy and Life Design-Ethics-Religious Studies at the University of Potsdam)

Dear Mrs. Guzmann, dear Mr. Meile, dear Christoph, dear attendees,

Actually, you all want to know now what is in the package. So do I. Actually, I just wanted to say today that I am very happy about the award for Christoph Schulte and Ljuba Kirjuchina. The award is intended to honor members of the university who, and I quote from the announcement, "demonstrate a special attitude towards discrimination in your courses by pointing out mechanisms of exclusion and addressing diversity." end of quote. [...]

We all appreciate diversity as a cornerstone of our democracy, but beyond all creative divergences, I think we can agree on one thing: that we have one of the most beautiful university locations in the world in the Neue Palais. While the Freie Universität is rusting away, everything here is largely well-kept. Actually, the only thing I've always missed is something like a beer garden, where you can talk with colleagues and students about the day's teaching experience, complain about the lax Corona measures of the university administration, or make plans for future projects. There was no such thing, but there was the train from Berlin. It's always crowded and therefore not nearly as cozy as a pub, but you meet colleagues. On Thursdays, I always met Christoph Schulte. In the week after the disgusting attack of 09 October 2019 in Halle, however, he was very agitated. You remember, the right-wing extremist attacker had shot two people, seriously injured two other people and traumatized many Jewish people who wanted to celebrate Yom Kippur in the synagogue of Halle. Only a very sturdy door prevented something even more horrific. Christoph was shocked and wanted to do something against racism and anti-Semitism. "This is especially your LER people's business" he said. "You should train students against the brown muck that still clogs so many minds." Right you are, dear Christoph. But what subject likes to give away credit points? "Go to Ljuba Kirjuchina from Studium Plus," I suggested. "She's a visionary with an effervescent mind, an open heart, and exceptional power of speech. She knows God and the world, and she certainly has an idea. Ms. Kirjuchina is unfortunately ill today, but fortunately at that time, she was on the rampage and she had an idea. She proposed a lecture series for Studium Plus and thus the dream team of the University of Potsdam in the fight against racism and anti-Semitism was born. The two of them got themselves and Professor Botsch from the Emil Julius Gumbel Research Center for Anti-Semitism and Right-Wing Extremism on board as consultants and then they got going and organized an interdisciplinary lecture series on the topic of "Strategies against Racism and Anti-Semitism for School, University, Work and Everyday Life". It was to be about racist and anti-Semitic exclusionary mechanisms, with a particular focus on the everyday mechanism that the excluders may not even be aware of. Underlying this was the belief that, and I quote from the concept, "the classification of people as different and alien could be misused to provide moral absolution for discrimination and acts of violence" end of quote. The disgusting crime of Halle is one example. Unfortunately, countless other examples could be found and also the approval ratings of a certain party speak a clear language. Ljuba Kirjuchina and Christoph Schulte were able to win an impressive variety of well-known scientists from the field of racism and anti-Semitism research and from related fields. Because Corona intervened, the lecture series unfortunately had to be held online, but nevertheless there were almost 90 regular participants in the winter semester 2020/21. This is clear evidence of their quality; the lecture series struck a nerve. The discussions were highly emotional and heated in places, but that is in the nature of things. Precisely because it stirs up, provokes, affects personally, it is so important that there is such a lecture series at our university and that it becomes firmly established. Christoph and Ljuba have also made sure of that. On May 19, the university administration signed a letter of intent to continue. And with the Center for Teacher Education, a working group on "Diversity and Antidiscrimination in Teacher Education" was founded to establish corresponding content in teacher education programs. If that's not sustainability... But I have three more pieces of good news. First, the university administration has now adjusted the lax Corona measures. Second, there is now a beer garden at Sanssouci station after all. And third, and most importantly, the lecture series will continue in the summer semester. I am very much looking forward to it and will definitely be there. Thank you for your great initiative. Dear Christoph and in absence also dear Ljuba, get well soon, and I think you really deserve the award. Congratulations from the bottom of my heart on behalf of everyone here.

Video: 2021 event review

2020 "Night Line Potsdam"

Laudatory speech at the award ceremony: Prof. Dr. Günter Esser (Managing Director of the Academy for Psychotherapy and Intervention Research at the University of Potsdam)

This year’s Inclusion Award of the University Society goes to the student initiative Nightline.

Nightline: This is, as you probably just saw in the video, a listening service that now exists in 16 other cities in German-speaking countries in addition to Potsdam. It was founded in Heidelberg in 1994 and the students work on a voluntary basis and listen to the concerns of their fellow students. Showing them that there is someone who will listen to them. That they are not alone. That there is someone who understands them.

The employees are training for this. They have received training in client-centered interviewing. That means they don't give advice, but they try to get the caller to reflect on himself. This means that by talking about their problems, they should gain new insights and possibly, in the best case scenario, come up with solutions to their problems. Many of these problems have to do with loneliness. This is something that is certainly amplified by the COVID epidemic. Nightline helps to prevent mental illness or at least to lower the barrier for seeking professional help. If someone has a very positive experience by calling such a listening service (and this is predestined when students offer something like this for their peers), then they have a positive experience and are more willing to seek professional help as well.

Mental disorders in young adulthood are the chronic illnesses that are the most common on the one hand and on the other hand also lead to the greatest loss of quality of life. The most common disorder is depression. [It] is never more common (except at older ages) than between 16 and 25. There are also severe anxiety disorders and, in the case of students, these are often related to exam anxiety. All of these conditions result in a large proportion of those affected not completing their studies. The COVID epidemic has certainly made the situation even worse. The rbb survey showed that 33 percent of Brandenburg residents feel more depressed as a result of COVID. This is also true for students. Students who feel more lonely at the university. Who don't know where they belong because contact with fellow students is significantly limited, especially if they are new enrollees.

The volunteers, the students who answer these phones, have to deal with difficult situations. Fellow students [and] colleagues call there who are hopeless. They are also in objectively difficult situations, in which you feel like you can't help, or at least not in the way you would like. And that, of course, also leads to psychological stress for those who work there. That is why they are supervised. They can talk to experienced psychotherapists who show them how they can keep the problems of the others they have to deal with away from themselves and how they can see that what they do can only be effective to a limited extent. On the other hand, the experience of having helped one, two, three or maybe even four fellow students in one evening is a great feeling. It is also a great joy in psychotherapy when you see that you can help other people. In addition, I am firmly convinced that those who work there also gain a lot for themselves from their work with the problems of others.

What I have also experienced is that those who work there greatly appreciate the cohesion in the group and say that we are a great team, we work very well together.

What can I say to summarize? I congratulate Nightline [and] those who stand for Nightline. I congratulate you for receiving this award, the Inclusion Award. And I also congratulate the University Society for their choice, for their selection of the awardee. Thank you very much.

Video: 2020 event review

Video: Nightline Potsdam - An ear for all cases