Since June 2020, the Dagesh cultural education program has been deliberately oriented towards youth. Funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the project aims to raise awareness of contemporary Jewish life and enable young participants to talk directly with young Jewish artists.
Dagesh on Tour is an interdisciplinary cultural education program that fights antisemitism. Students work with young Jewish artists and creatively implement their own ideas. In workshops over one to five days, they create theater pieces, videos, radio plays or textile art that tackle selected societal problems and current challenges.
Dagesh on Tour contributes to democratic educational culture and helps debunk stereotypes. Teens are empowered and encouraged to take a stand for a pluralistic society.
Diversity, solidarity, civil courage, contemporary Judaism, migration, language, religion, family, gender roles, exclusion (using the examples of antisemitism, racism, sexism, etc.)
Youth (between 8 and 18) and educational establishments across Germany.
We tailor our programs to each group. Working closely with educators, we take special themes, concerns and wishes into consideration; every workshop is led by a Jewish artist and a Dagesh education consultant; we take a flexible and process-oriented approach, using methods of artistic mediation and emancipatory educational work; we are committed to creativity and devote significant time to practical group work; we use art to strengthen individual self-confidence (empowerment); and we draw from a great variety of art forms: theater, literature, video, painting, radio plays, dance, textile art, and music.
We aim to fight prejudice and stereotypes; strengthen empathy and civil courage; raise awareness about exclusion and support the fight against discrimination; make visible new facets of Jewish life in Germany and Jewish diversity; probe questions about social participation; and challenge anti-democratic, antisemitic and racist orientations.
We look forward to hearing from you and will get back to you as soon as possible. If you have questions about our educational project Dagesh on Tour, you can reach out to us at any time by e-mail: info [at] dagesh.de
Dagesh on Tour uses the power of the arts to question and shake up habitual patterns of thought and action. Its aim is to spark new ways of seeing and to challenge clichéd notions of Judaism and Jews, in order to trigger communicative processes that support our pluralistic society.
Through exposure to the different perspectives and biographies of the artists as well as through the communication of a wide array of artistic modes of expression and genres, Dagesh on Tour sheds light on an “uncomfortable” and often invisible Jewish diversity.
The cultural education program Dagesh on Tour promotes a democratic school culture and is committed to supporting the cohesion of our pluralistic society. Dageshon Tour is designed for schools and youth organizations across Germany. We invite young people between the ages of 8 and 18 to meet and work together with young Jewish artists. Through multi-day workshops, we help combat antisemitism and other forms of discrimination and exclusion. Dageshon Tour also aims to introduce youth to contemporary Jewish life and to the power of art as a means for social change. We focus on mutual recognition and on shaping our coexistence.
Inspired by the Hebrew word “Machloket,” or Jewish legal disputation, we have designed “Spaces for Dissent” within workshops for youth in art and cultural institutions. Incorporating methods of artistic mediation and emancipatory educational work, we create the safest and most protected spaces possible, where participants can talk about and question their own prejudices. Commonly held and stubborn notions can thus be carefully deconstructed, and replaced with new perspectives and greater understanding.
In the safety of these playful, participatory spaces, students test, negotiate and explore action strategies and options for self-reflection and self-empowerment as well as questions of how they can shape society. Our goal is to achieve mutual recognition and find answers to the question of how we want to live together.
