9:00 am - 9:15 am

9:15 am - 9:30 am

Presenters: Ulla Licandro (UOL) & Heloise Sathorar (NMU)

9:30 am - 10:30 am

Presenters: Yasemin Karakaşoğlu (Uni Bremen)

Migration challenges the structures and paradigms of national school systems. Schools are potentially places where migrant, migrantized and racialized people experience exclusion, discrimination, and racism. This makes it all the more important to critically examine the structures inherent in schools, assumptions of normality, and the attitudes and actions of educational staff when dealing with migration-related plurality in schools. The keynote will discuss findings, desiderata, and examples for practices in teacher education from the perspective of transnationality and anti-racism research with special reference to Germany.

10:30 am - 10:45 am

10:45 am - 11:30 am

Presenters: Jessica Adaobi Nnamani & Julia Wurr (UOL)

In English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education, textbooks are among the most widespread media. They are not merely linguistic tools but cultural mediators that shape how learners perceive the English-speaking world. In German lower secondary schools, these materials also largely substitute real and personal experiences with target language cultures.

This presentation explores how EFL textbooks help construct students’ understanding of "race”, history, and cultural identity. Grounded in the theories of Edward W. Said and Gayatri Spivak, this presentation applies a postcolonial lens to reveal how dominant discourses influence depictions of ”race”, power, and history in a particular German EFL text book (Cornelsen’s Highlight 4). Particular attention will be paid to practical reflections from classroom experience and how educators can foster cultural awareness in a learning environment that encourages critical thinking when working with sensitive historical topics in school.

11:30 am - 12:15 pm

Presenters: Dörte Gerkan (Gymnasium Eversten Oldenburg)

"School without racism - School with courage" is a growing network of schools that have set themselves the goal of actively confronting all forms of discrimination and understanding differences and diversity as opportunities. Gymnasium Eversten has been part of this network for three years. We would like to provide an insight into our work by reporting on specific projects. In doing so, we want to encourage people to take this very rewarding path.

12:15 pm - 1:15 pm

1:15 pm - 2:00 pm

Presenters: Marije Michel (RUG)

In the spring of 2025, the German government installed systematic border checks. After 40 years of free movement within the Schengen area, the border between the Netherlands (NL) and Germany (DE), both founding members of the agreement in 1985, faced systematic identity checks. While the Dutch government did not follow suit, angry Dutch citizens self-implemented checks on the border between the Netherlands and Lower Saxony in June 2025 in an attempt to hinder unwanted migration. This act of vigilante justice is yet another indication that today core democratic values in Europe are under pressure (cf. Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, 2012). Yet, in order to meet future challenges, we “need a society that is resilient and solidly united”.

By focusing on the specific relationship between the Netherlands and Germany, Marije Michel will showcase how learning each other's language serves as a bridge to cultural understanding and, as such, fundamentally underlies democratic citizenship.

Article: On Borders and Democracy

2:00 pm - 2:45 pm

Presenters: Heloise Sathorar & Shervani Pillay (NMU)

2:45 pm - 3:00 pm