GERMANY PRESENTS A GOOD EXAMPLE:
While programs of political education are available to everybody in society a special attention is given to children and youth. In this context “Knowledge – Judgement – Action” has become the so called triad of political education that is prominently placed in the Children and Youth Plan of the German Government (BMFSFJ, 2012). In fact the main goals of political education are to impart knowledge, to enable judgement and to encourage participation:
“Political education shall impart people’s knowledge about society, state, European and international politics and socially important developments in the fields of economy, culture, technology and science. It shall enable forming judgement on social and political events, enable one to claim one`s rights as well to discharge one’s tasks, assume responsibility towards fellow citizens, society and nature and encourage participation in the creation of free and democratic social and state order”.
Besides this official statement political education in Germany is founded on the conviction that Democracy cannot be taken for granted no matter how strong the democratic system seems to be. A strong democracy needs responsible, autonomous, politically mature and active citizens who are not generated automatically by a democratic constitution. Or as Friedrich Ebert famously said: “Democracy needs Democrats.”
Furthermore political education in Germany aims to motivate people for political or civic engagement and to support them in taking an active part in society, no matter their political orientation, age, education-level or socio-economic background. As political education must be available to all members of society, various programs of political education and a wide variety of educational programs are provided by different governmental and non- governmental organizations.
Young children receive a benefit from political education at school because it is part of the official curriculum. Besides the curricular activities of political education school is also a practical learning space for democratic participation in decision making. Students elect their own representatives who sit on various committees and provide opinions or take part in decision making about student and school affairs.
1. Arne Cremer
However, political education programs are not only taking place at school. Political education in Germany is defined as lifelong learning because there are always political, economic and social changes in a society that call for public debates in which solution for the relevant challenges need to be identified. All organizations of political education in Germany provide a facilitating environment for such debates without taking sides or pushing for a specific policy option. This imperative rule of impartiality is also the main outcome of the German discussion about official guideline for political education.”
2. Edit out “political godfather” and substitute with “Political Mentors and Counselors”.
3. On Changing Mindset of church leaders and congregation toward politics and politicians, can we consider instituting a “Public Leadership Ministry” within the Church at Parish and other levels? It will bring models of value-based public Leadership into the top agenda of the Church and with the GO making it his priority, pastors and congregation will have an incentive to align.
4. Education for Skills : RCCG can leverage the Innovation Enterprise Institutions and Vocational Enterprise Institutions accreditation by NBTE ( This is one of the ideas added to our Education system through my Reforms in 2006/2007) . The structure around building hundreds of thousands of diverse skills that are certified by NBTE can easily be scaled up by the church.
5. There is no other Economic System that best reflects the dictates of our Lord and His words. However, the practice of Capitalism has suffered much breach and now manifests its own serious downsides which must be fixed to make it work better for all. So globally, Capitalism is going through a Remake in the wake of the deep inequality that stands side-by-side the massive prosperity it has created. This period of intellectual debate offers the Church the opportunity of helping frame a new kind of Capitalism that reflects “the lasting Values “ of the scripture . They do not have to be mutually exclusive.
