Intercultural Garden

International gardens, also intercultural gardens are garden projects in which concepts of intercultural learning, understanding and integration in focus. The idea of ​​the International Gardens in the early 90s of the 20th century developed in parallel in several large cities in the world, such as Buenos Aires, New York City and Toronto.

Idea and objectives

Gardening and leisure activities in intercultural gardens provide social contact between refugees, migrants and locals forth with each other and thus promote the understanding between people from different cultures, the integration of refugees, migrants and immigrants as well as the conservation and use of crop diversity.

Objectives of intercultural gardens are that one of Germans especially with war and political refugees theoretically expressed solidarity strengthens inter alia, through contacts with these and other migrants in everyday life and migrants and refugees also trigger on its own integration processes, participate in such and will be encouraged.

The gardens are ideal places to meet, because there the common to us all Nature is experienced first hand and many migrants and refugees come from smallholder conditions so that they apply their knowledge here good and can bring.

Intercultural Gardens consist of individual parcels on which vegetables and herbs ( including little-known species and varieties from countries of origin in Germany ) are grown environmentally friendly and for their own use. There are also communal areas for children's play, events and meetings.

The gardens are often focal points for going beyond activities and learning opportunities for professional integration as by visits and internships with companies in the field of horticulture and the environment, promotion of vocational orientation in the horticultural and environmental as well as social integration through mutual aid arrangements and family support, learning the German language, accompanied with authorities, prospecting and contact with educational institutions, documentation and public relations.

Development for movement

Germany

The pilot project of the Intercultural Gardens was created in 1996 on the initiative of immigrant non-German families in Göttingen. The association " International Gardens" was founded in 1998. It began with the installation of three gardens. Today, there are five in which to work together families from nearly 20 countries and diverse religions.

Meanwhile, more gardens have been created in Germany by the Göttingen model, so that one could almost speak of a new social movement. About 80 intercultural garden projects throughout the Federal Republic there are currently ( early 2009 ), a further 60 are under construction. The Intercultural Foundation in Munich, was founded by the Foundation anstiftung & ertomis, has built the "Network Intercultural Gardens ". It coordinates the over 100 garden projects nationwide, advises on project development, public relations and fundraising, in individual cases are financial start and moderated the " research network Intercultural Gardens ".

Switzerland

In Switzerland, there are four intercultural gardens near the large cities of Zurich, Bern and Basel. The establishment of further intercultural gardens is planned.

Awards

The intercultural gardens have been awarded many times. A few examples:

• 2001: Award Active citizenship ( national winner )
• 2002: Integration Prize of the Federal President
• 2005: 1st Prize of Lower Saxony Environment Foundation
• 2006: Göttingen Peace Prize of the Foundation Dr. Roland Röhl (along with the Intercultural Foundation )
• 2010: Quality Label Workshop N- project ( Sustainability )
• 2010: Utopia Award

Evacuation

The intercultural garden Pink rose in 10247 Berlin ( Friedrichshain- Kreuzberg) has been vacated on March 14, 2008.

Background and significance

The development of international gardens must - like the development of working-class or poor Gardens end of the 19th century - to be seen against the background of increasing urbanization in the 20th century. It was long thought of urban sociologists, that the process of urbanization and the operation of agriculture are mutually exclusive. But how to prove Christa Miller and other researchers are developing towards the end of the 20th century in several major cities in the world, such as Buenos Aires, New York City and Toronto, community or neighborhood gardens as a new form of urban subsistence farming. Responsible for this are on the one hand, social processes such as the increasing need of impoverished city dwellers to resort to this type of production in order to survive in the city can, and on the other side of a crisis of big cities even if some development land is not used for years or decades or when, is caused by industrial change, the current use of certain areas is eliminated and a new use has not yet implemented or financed.