The “Schools: Partners for the Future” initiative
What is the PASCH initiative?
PASCH stands for the “Schools: Partners for the Future” initiative. It is a global network of some 1,500 schools that place a high value on German.
PASCH is an initiative of the Federal Foreign Office in cooperation with the Central Agency for Schools Abroad (ZfA), the Goethe-Institut (GI), the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Educational Exchange Service of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany (PAD).
In February 2008 the Federal Foreign Office launched the “Schools: Partners for the Future” (PASCH) initiative. The aim of PASCH is to create and strengthen a global network of some 1500 partner schools with special links to Germany. This is designed to arouse and sustain young people’s interest in and enthusiasm for modern-day Germany and the German language – especially in the priority regions of Asia, the Middle East and Central and Eastern Europe.
The Federal Foreign Office is responsible for coordinating the PASCH initiative, which is being implemented in cooperation with the Central Agency for Schools Abroad, the Goethe-Institut, the Educational Exchange Service of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Academic Exchange Service. From the very beginning the Bundestag supported the initiative and underlined its significance for educational work abroad with its resolution on “strengthening and developing German schools abroad”.
PASCH is linked to other cultural relations and education policy initiatives, such as the “kulturweit” (Bridging Cultures) volunteer programme, the Research and Academic Relations initiative, and “German – Language of Ideas”.
As Bilkent Erzurum Laboratory School we are since 2011 in the PASCH worldwide network as a PASCH school, which means that we focus on improving learning conditions for German.
Since 2011, our students attending many projects like theatre, music or art. Our students participate in projects both in domestic and abroad. Again this year our students participating in different projects within the scope of the PASCH projects. These projects are abroad.
This year our students participate in projects as follows:
- RoboSchool
- Theater Performance
- Art
- Music
- Essay Writing
Students, who succeed in those projects, were rewarded with both domestic and abroad workshops. Two of the workshops will be held in Germany.