29 July 2026
“WE CAN’T CHANGE ANYTHING HERE ANYWAY” – AND THEN AGAIN, WE CAN
“I always thought we couldn’t change anything here anyway.” Many young people recognise this feeling. In the ImpACT project, pupils experience the opposite: they discuss, vote and plan together what they want to change. Here, democracy becomes a tangible experience.
“WE CAN’T CHANGE ANYTHING HERE ANYWAY.”
The pupils in a class from the Tübingen district are sitting at their desks. Some look tired, others wary. One pupil later voices what many are thinking that morning: “I always thought we couldn’t change anything here anyway.” The workshop day organised by the Weltethos Foundation’s ImpACT project begins nonetheless – or perhaps precisely because of that.
The first exercises are deliberately low-threshold. The class guesses the facilitators’ favourite foods and positions themselves on different sides of the room in response to questions such as ‘Do you have any siblings?’. For the first time, many hear what the others really think. One pupil learns that the girl sitting next to her speaks four languages. During the speed interview, the participants talk about what superpowers they’d like to have, what respect means to them and what they’re proud of. There’s laughter and lively discussion.
WHAT GRUMBLING HAS TO DO WITH DEMOCRACY EDUCATION
Then comes the grumbling session. Here, people are allowed to speak out loud about what’s bothering them, what’s missing, and what’s getting on their nerves. At first hesitantly, then more and more openly, until they’re grumbling to their heart’s content and the room fills with voices.
But the grumbling doesn’t stop there. The next step is to turn criticism into ideas: what do we want to change? What’s realistic, and who stands to benefit? It gets a bit chaotic for a moment – lots of people want to speak at once – but then everyone gets a chance to have their say. At the end, a vote is taken.
The result: an empty classroom is to be turned into a relaxation room. A place for everyone to unwind, chat and spend time together.
SUDDENLY, THERE’S A BURST OF ENERGY IN THE ROOM
Now it’s time to plan. The class splits into groups. One group focuses on the room design, whilst another considers what play options there might be for the younger pupils. The atmosphere has changed.
“I feel that the whole class is listening to me,” says Angelos. The teacher observes a similar change: “They were really enthusiastic about the ideas they’d come up with themselves. Every single one of them mattered and was able to contribute.”
“I’ve learnt to speak my mind. And that you can actually make something of it.”
This is precisely the moment ImpACT aims to achieve. A key objective of the project is to strengthen self-efficacy: the inner conviction that you are capable of tackling something yourself, that you have the skills to take action. Not the hope that something will happen, but the confidence in oneself that precedes action.
JUST THE BEGINNING
At the end of the workshop day, the relaxation room exists only on paper. But the class now has a shared goal, and the pupils have seen that their voices have made a difference.
A few weeks later, the ImpACT team returns. They plan the next steps, reflect on their experiences and explore in more depth the question of what all this actually has to do with democracy.
ImpACT project management team
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS?
Susanne Jahn
jahn@weltethos.org
Mathias Oppermann
oppermann@weltethos.org