What is the meaning behind certain symbols on clothing, stickers or graffiti in public spaces? The symbols often appear inconspicuous - and yet they stand for explicit socio-political messages. This is exactly where the workshop comes in: It raises awareness of the existence and function of racist codes and symbols in everyday life and shows how subtly discriminatory ideologies are conveyed.

The event provides background knowledge on historical developments in right-wing symbolism and at the same time builds a bridge to the present day. Illustrative examples are used to explain how codes change, the strategies behind their use and the effect they can have on those affected and on the social climate. The aim is to gain confidence in recognising such signs and to develop a reflected understanding of their meaning.

In addition, the workshop will develop possible courses of action for the following questions: How can you react when you notice racist and right-wing symbols? What professional strategies are there in an educational, social or public context? The workshop invites you to deepen your knowledge, sharpen your own perception and strengthen your ability to act when dealing with discriminatory symbols.

Advisor:
Julia Gede is head of the Lüneburg office of Arbeit und Leben Niedersachsen.

Participation in the event is free of charge and will take place at the University of Oldenburg (V03 0-D001). Please register by 28 April 2026 using the online registration form on the homepage of the Office for University and Trade Union Co-operation.

The event is organised by Students at Work | Campus Office of the Office for University and Trade Union Co-operation in cooperation with ver.di jugend Bezirk Weser-Ems and GEW Bezirksverband Weser-Ems. The workshop is part of the event series "Right-wing networks: manifestations, explanatory approaches and counter-strategies". The event is being organised in cooperation with Arbeit und Leben Niedersachsen, the DGB Weser-Ems region and the Office for University and Trade Union Co-operation in Osnabrück.

The organisers reserve the right to exercise their domiciliary rights and to refuse entry to or exclude from the event persons who belong to right-wing extremist parties or organisations, are associated with the right-wing extremist scene or have already made racist, nationalist, anti-Semitic or other inhumane statements in the past.

Desertion - a courageous act of resistance or a betrayal of the community? What drives people to refuse to serve in the armed forces, to renounce their loyalty to the state and the army and to flee? What religious convictions and political or humanist ideals are decisive for this, and what role does spontaneous self-empowerment play in simply no longer taking part?

The consequences that deserters have to expect for their decision are usually drastic: social ostracism, but also prison sentences and death sentences are on the cards. In his book, author Rolf Cantzen examines the decisions behind desertion and the reactions of the authorities, covering a broad historical arc from the Roman Empire to the Nazi era and the Ukraine war.

Speaker:
Rolf Cantzen studied political science, philosophy, German studies and sociology in Hanover and Berlin. He has published several non-fiction books, novels and short stories and has written numerous radio features. In 2024, he received the Alternative Media Award in the history category for the "Long Night of the Deserters".

Participation in the event is free of charge and will take place at the University of Oldenburg (library hall).

The event is organised by the Antimilitarist Alliance Oldenburg, the Education and Science Trade Union, the Office for University and Trade Union Co-operation, the Ecumenical Centre and Pax Christi.

with: Katja Diehl (mobility expert and bestselling author), Thorsten Donnermeier (long-time VW worker and member of IG Metall), Tobi Rosswog (activist and co-initiator of various social movements)
Moderation: Kikan Nelle

The dependence on cars in Germany is threefold: In rural areas, because there are no alternatives for everyday journeys. In local authorities, because public budgets depend on trade tax revenue. And in car industry locations, because jobs mean long-term financial security for workers and their families.
But at the same time, a move away from cars seems unavoidable if we are to sufficiently mitigate the climate crisis.

So how do we get out of the automotive impasse? On this evening, Thorsten Donnermeier, Tobi Rosswog and Katja Diehl will be discussing solutions based on their very different positions. This is a meeting of worlds that are often played off against each other: Factory hall vs. climate camp. Blue overalls vs. cycle helmets. Shift plan vs. system change. But what if something common could emerge from precisely these differences?

And it turns out that it's not about hating cars or celebrating jobs. It's about asking ourselves honestly: What do we really need? And who actually decides that? A dialogue that gives hope - because it is not smooth, but angular, genuine and full of contradictions. Just like reality. And just like change.

The dialogue is an invitation to question capitalist constraints and to fight together for socio-ecological transformation. There will be room for discussion, but concrete impulses will also provide orientation and hope. Out of the automotive impasse and towards a world in which we think about the ecological and social issues together.

The event is based on a book that was published in December 2025, more information: https: //nwdlwsidh.de/

Participation in the event is free of charge. Please register by 10 May 2026 using the online registration formform.

The event is organised by the network of Office for University and Trade Union Co-operation in Lower Saxony and Bremen.

From 1942, the Nazis recruited criminals and political opponents into punitive units in order to use them as cannon fodder in various theatres of war. They experienced an increasingly strong resistance movement in Greece. Many of the forced recruits defected to the Greek Liberation Army. The best-known example is the "partisan professor" Wolfgang Abendroth, who worked with the Greek resistance and eventually switched sides completely.

From a Greek perspective, the film recalls the anti-fascists among the German soldiers who risked their lives in occupied Greece during the Second World War and deserted to fight on the side of the Greek resistance.

The film screening will be followed by a discussion with historian Dr Gregor Kritidis (Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung).

Participation in the event is free of charge and will take place at the University of Oldenburg (library hall).

The event is organised by Antimilitarist Alliance Oldenburg and the Office for University and Trade Union Co-operation in cooperation with Bildung und Solidarität - Stiftung der GEW Oldenburg-Stadt and the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung Niedersachsen.

Experience the city as a learning space and make history tangible at various locations. This is possible with the help of a city tour. With the city tour on National Socialism in Oldenburg, we would like to offer the opportunity to explore an important part of regional history.

The tour of National Socialism in Oldenburg covers almost four kilometres and ten stops from the Pferdemarkt through the city centre to the old Oldenburg State Parliament, ending at the memorial wall for the Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Aspects such as possible reasons for the early success of the NSDAP in Oldenburg, the war experiences of the city's inhabitants and the increasing anti-Semitism that ultimately led to the Holocaust are addressed at the memorial sites.

Information can be acquired independently at each station. The stations are designed to appeal to people with and without prior knowledge.

Participation in the event is free of charge. The exact meeting point will be announced by email a few days before the start of the event. Please register by 07 June 2026 using the online registration form on the homepage of the Office for University and Trade Union Co-operation. The number of participants is limited to 20 people.

Speaker
Kevin Mennenga, Education Coordinator at Arbeit und Leben Niedersachsen

The city tour is part of the event series "Right-wing networks: manifestations, explanatory approaches and counter-strategies". The event is being organised in cooperation with Arbeit und Leben Niedersachsen, the DGB Weser-Ems region and the Cooperation Centre for Universities and Trade Unions in Osnabrück.

In recent years, extreme right-wing actors have been increasingly networking worldwide. In media reports, conference announcements and transnational partnerships, they spread the same themes in a sometimes confusing variety: Anti-immigration, anti-feminism, climate change denial and the fight against a supposed "global left". But who exactly are these right-wing actors? How are they organised and what international goals are they pursuing? And what can be done to counter them?

These and other questions are at the centre of Ulli Jentsch's lecture. As a member of the "Research against Global Authoritarianism" (ReGA) initiative, his aim is to understand the alliances and demands of the global far right so that local resistance can be effective. After all, it is the same authoritarian forces, both locally and globally, that want to make it more difficult to protect and defend human rights and criminalise efforts to achieve humanitarian goals. A resistant practice against the right should have these two levels in mind.

Speaker:
Ulli Jentsch is a freelance journalist from Berlin and has been active for decades in various anti-fascist initiatives and international networks, including "Research against Global Authoritarianism". He has been researching the extreme right in Germany for over twenty years. His work focusses on investigating the structures and ideologies of right-wing terrorism, Christian fundamentalism and the "protection of life" movement.

The lecture is part of the event series "Right-wing networks: manifestations, explanatory approaches and counter-strategies". The event is being organised in cooperation with Arbeit und Leben Niedersachsen, the DGB Weser-Ems region and the Cooperation Centre for Universities and Trade Unions in Osnabrück.

Participation in the event is free of charge and takes place online via BigBlueButton. Please register by 20 September 2026 using the online registration form on the homepage of the Office for University and Trade Union Co-operation.

The organisers reserve the right to exercise their domiciliary rights and to deny access to or exclude from the event persons who belong to right-wing extremist parties or organisations, are associated with the right-wing extremist scene or have already made racist, nationalist, anti-Semitic or other inhuman statements in the past.

Experience the city as a learning space and make history tangible at various locations. This is possible with the help of a city tour. With the city tour on National Socialism in Oldenburg, we would like to offer the opportunity to explore an important part of regional history.

The tour of National Socialism in Oldenburg covers almost four kilometres and ten stops from the Pferdemarkt through the city centre to the old Oldenburg State Parliament, ending at the memorial wall for the Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Aspects such as possible reasons for the early success of the NSDAP in Oldenburg, the war experiences of the city's inhabitants and the increasing anti-Semitism that ultimately led to the Holocaust are addressed at the memorial sites.

Information can be acquired independently at each station. The stations are designed to appeal to people with and without prior knowledge.

Participation in the event is free of charge. The exact meeting point will be announced by email a few days before the start of the event. Please register by 02 October 2026 using the online registration form on the homepage of the Office for University and Trade Union Co-operation. The number of participants is limited to 20 people.

Speaker
Kevin Mennenga, Education Coordinator at Arbeit und Leben Niedersachsen

The city tour is part of the event series "Right-wing networks: manifestations, explanatory approaches and counter-strategies". The event is being organised in cooperation with Arbeit und Leben Niedersachsen, the DGB Weser-Ems region and the Cooperation Centre for Universities and Trade Unions in Osnabrück.

Generative AI systems such as ChatGPT are currently fundamentally changing how knowledge is produced and utilised. Texts, arguments and summaries can be generated in just a few seconds - with noticeable consequences for schools and universities. Traditional examination formats are coming under pressure, teachers are facing new challenges in performance assessment and, at the same time, fundamental practices of learning and writing are shifting.

Kira Baresel and Benjamin Möbus look at these developments from a critical educational policy perspective. The focus is less on the question of specific didactic applications of AI and more on what these technologies fundamentally mean for knowledge transfer and education. If machine systems are increasingly involved in the production of knowledge, the question arises anew as to what role independent thinking, judgement and critical reflection will play in educational processes in the future.

The lecture thus sees AI as a challenge for the self-image of schools and universities and invites discussion on the consequences of this for teachers, universities and education policy.

Speakers:
Kira Baresel is a research assistant at the Media Competence Centre at the University of Vechta. She works on artificial intelligence in higher education and its influence on teaching, learning and examinations.

Benjamin Möbus is a research assistant in the Department of Inclusive Education at the University of Vechta. He conducts research on artificial intelligence in the educational context and its impact on learning, knowledge production and performance assessment.

Participation in the event is free of charge. Please register by 25 October 2026 using the online registration form on the homepage of the Office for University and Trade Union Co-operation.

The FRITZSCHE FORUM is a joint event format of the Bildungsungsvereinigung Arbeit und Leben Niedersachsen, the DGB Region Weser-Ems, the GEW Bezirksverband Weser-Ems and the Office for University and Trade Union Co-operation. The event is organised in co-operation with the Centre for Teacher Training - Didactic Centre (DiZ) at the University of Oldenburg.

They are family members, friends, acquaintances, club members, double header players, tennis partners or members of the volunteer fire brigade. They have made up their minds: This Federal Republic is no longer their republic. We know them, they don't just sit in parliaments or talk shows, they also sit at kitchen tables or regulars' tables. They come from the so-called centre of society. Their revolt tends towards the authoritarian. The various spectrums of authoritarians from the Reich to alternative movements have a deep-seated longing for a pre-modern harmony in common. They are concerned about freedom and yet are afraid of it. This ambivalence exacerbates current crises and has a long tradition - in the Enlightenment and in fairy tales. In his lecture, Andreas Speit shows why anti-modern ideas dominate in broad sections of society and the consequences of their accompanying radicalisation: Doubting reality, rejecting the rule of law, delegitimising democracy.

Speaker:
Andreas Speit is a freelance journalist, author and editor of numerous books on right-wing extremism and neo-Nazism in Europe. He has been the author of the taz-nord column "Der Rechte Rand" since 2005 and regularly contributes to zeit-online, Deutschlandfunk Kultur and WDR. He has received several awards for his work, including from the German Journalism Association.

The lecture is part of the event series "Rechte Netzwerke: Erscheinungsformen, Erklärungsansätze und Gegenstrategien". The event is being organised in cooperation with Arbeit und Leben Niedersachsen, the DGB Weser-Ems region and the Cooperation Centre for Universities and Trade Unions in Osnabrück.

Participation in the event is free of charge and takes place online via BigBlueButton. Please register by 13 November 2026 using the online registration form on the homepage of the Office for University and Trade Union Co-operation.

The organisers reserve the right to exercise their domiciliary rights and to deny access to or exclude from the event persons who belong to right-wing extremist parties or organisations, are associated with the right-wing extremist scene or have already made racist, nationalist, anti-Semitic or other inhuman statements in the past.