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Foreign Minister Maas presents awards for school projects on the culture of remembrance
At an online award ceremony on Thursday, 25 February 2021, Foreign Minister Maas will honour the winners of the “Remembering for the present” competition for schools. The competition was launched in 2019 for the 160 or so German Schools abroad and German profile schools (DPS), as a means to strengthen the culture of remembrance, tolerance and understanding of democracy. Pupils from 58 schools around the world took part. Prizes are being awarded to four schools in Athens, Santiago de Chile, São Paulo and Istanbul. Each will receive €15,000 to continue their project. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said today (24 February):
If we join in remembering for the present, we prevent people from looking away. We remind people to remain alert. We play an active role. For those who can no longer do so – or perhaps do not want to do so. For democracy, for freedom, for the rule of law. The pupils who have entered the competition have made an important contribution to our culture of remembrance and to a peaceful future. They have come up with impressive projects that will stand the test of time. Thank you all very much for taking part!
Background information:
Pupils from the German Schools abroad and German profile schools taking part in the competition worked independently to develop projects centring round the history of their own schools, either during the Nazi era, under a dictatorship in their own country, in the colonial context or with reference to other forms of discrimination. The competition was initiated by Foreign Minister Maas and is supported and run by the Federal Office of Administration - Central Agency for Schools Abroad in cooperation with the Federal Agency for Civic Education and the Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future”. Four of the projects are now receiving awards. Foreign Minister Maas will also be the project’s patron.
The digital award ceremony is taking place at 2 pm on 25 February 2021. You can watch it on livestream at www.erinnern-gegenwart.de.
The website also gives you further information about the projects, the competition and the prizewinners.