People's Theater teaches respectful interaction with one another
05.02.2025 – For many years, the Lauterborn School led by principal Andrea Seipel has been using People's Theater workshops to teach pupils important skills for dealing with each other, especially conflict resolution, using an interactive, educational theater approach. On Wednesday, January 29, representatives of the Offenbach Prevention Steering Group, including Head of Social Affairs Martin Wilhelm and members of the Förderverein Sicheres Offenbach e. V., accepted the invitation from the People's Theater and the Lauterborn School to attend a training session.
"Encouragement" was the theme of the shows in the third classes. The actresses from the People's Theater slipped into the roles of Marie, Olga and Kai. Olga is not particularly good at sport and is laughed at and insulted by Marie. Kai, Olga's buddy, also joins in. Olga is very sad and wants to go home - now the bell sounds. Everyone leaves the roles. Together with the pupils, the scene was analyzed, facts were collected and the perspectives, feelings and wishes of the characters portrayed were discussed. Then the question arose: how could it be better?
After consulting with each other, Saadia took on the role of Kai. "You don't have to be good at everything. You're also great at art. I'll help you get better at sport. I'm not laughing at you anymore," said Saadia, alias Kai. Olga now feels much better and joins in again. There was applause from the whole class.
"It's amazing how intensively the children work together, put themselves in different roles, change perspectives and look for solutions together to make Olga feel better. The whole group is very empathetic and everyone contributes ideas," says Martin Wilhelm, Head of Social Affairs. "The visit to the workshop has once again confirmed how important the support provided by the local prevention work and the support association is in order to teach social skills, especially at a time when social challenges such as bullying, violence and social withdrawal are also reaching the classroom." Daniel Krüger, responsible for community prevention work at the Public Order Office, and Achim Knecht from the State Education Authority thanked Andrea Seibel for her commitment to prevention work, which goes far beyond imparting knowledge at school.
"We are very pleased that our funding as part of the municipal prevention work and that of the Förderverein Sicheres Offenbach e. V. has enabled us to continue to provide sustainable impetus for a peaceful school climate in 2024 and to make the People's Theater program possible for 39 classes at 13 Offenbach elementary school," says Frank Weber, Head of the Municipal Public Order Office and board member of the Förderverein Sicheres Offenbach e. V.The prospects for the coming school year are also very good: "The Public Order Office of the City of Offenbach remains a strong partner in order to maintain the proven comprehensive prevention program for our pupils in our city. The city's prevention funding will continue to be secured," added Weber.
Winfried Männche, Deputy Chairman and founding member of Förderverein Sicheres Offenbach e. V.: "With its work, the association impressively demonstrates how innovative prevention projects can contribute to the long-term social development of children and young people. I am therefore delighted to be able to promise the People's Theater the support of the Förderverein 'Sicheres Offenbach' for the coming year too." But he goes one step further: "The acoustics in large rooms are not always so good that even the quieter and more hesitant children can be heard well. The sponsoring association is therefore also covering the costs of a mobile loudspeaker with microphones. The costs are more than well spent."
Erfan Enayati, founder and CEO of Peoples Theater, expresses his thanks for the offer of support, but also for the many years of cooperation: "The City of Offenbach, i.e. the Municipal Prevention Office of the Public Order Office and the GBO have been supporting us and our work with the pupils to promote respectful, non-violent coexistence in Offenbach for over 20 years. We started with five young people and now have 25 volunteers from more than ten countries at People's Theater. We are delighted that the diversity of the city of Offenbach is also reflected in our employees. Since 2007, the public order office and the 'Sicheres Offenbach e.V.' association have been enabling all fourth-grade classes in Offenbach to carry out comprehensive prevention work with children in our city by funding 75 percent of the costs. After the public order office acquired 28 participating classes with around 600 children in 2007, almost all elementary school in Offenbach now regularly book the program for the personal development of the little ones and peaceful coexistence. Regular evaluations, as agreed with the public order office, and adjustments made to meet the needs of the children and teachers guarantee long-term success. In 2010, the state of Hesse awarded the Hessian Prevention Prize to the long-term cooperation project between the city of Offenbach, the Förderverein Sicheres Offenbach and People's Theater, which is aimed at all Offenbach schoolchildren. The city of Offenbach recognized the signs of the times early on and focused on timely and comprehensive prevention work. Their initiative and sustained support, together with the Förderverein Sicheres Offenbach, has made it all possible."
How can community prevention work meet current social challenges?
Following acts of violence against rescue and emergency services personnel, such as the recent one on New Year's Eve, the Managing Director of the Association of German Cities, Helmut Dedy, called for "year-round preventative and socio-political measures" in city districts and schools in addition to a package of measures from the federal and state governments. "This is exactly what we have been doing in Offenbach for many years, rather quietly, but all the more effectively," says Paul-Gerhardt Weiß, Head of the Department of Public Order and Schools. "In addition to the Offenbach method kit for violence prevention at schools and the neighborhood management in many districts, Peoples Theater at primary and special schools is and remains an important and sustainable component of the prevention architecture in our city. I would like to thank Peoples Theater, the Förderverein Sicheres Offenbach e.V., the dedicated teachers at Offenbach's schools and, last but not least, the Public Order Office with its Municipal Prevention Office for their joint commitment to mutual respect and non-violent coexistence in our urban society!"