For many years we have been working with young people who have been shaped very differently by their social environment.
The topic of “body” – dealing with one’s own body as well as looking at the bodies of others – repeatedly emerges as a subtle or overt point of conflict.
The reasons are very different traditional/familial demands on young people’s bodies, the media representation of bodies, the digital self-portrayal of young people, biological challenges that have to do with growing up – and new, influential social movements that encourage people to move away from physical To free ourselves from paternalism and standardization.

Young people have the right to feel comfortable in their own body, to decide about it themselves and to present it to the outside world as they see fit. And their physical identity must, above all, go hand in hand with equal opportunities.
However, in numerous life situations – when accessing education and work/finding a career, at home, at school, playing sports with friends – they experience discrimination based on physical characteristics. Even young people are categorized based on their appearance – their gender, their skin color, their physical disabilities. Body evaluation and devaluation is a common and widespread social discrimination practice – in all age groups, professions and backgrounds.

Teachers and specialists experience these conflicts and social negotiations around the topic of bodies in their work. The inhibition threshold to intervene spontaneously is often high because the topic has become confusing for many people. You also quickly invade your perceived privacy, which means that a sensitive approach is important, as well as knowledge of current social developments and personal security in your own position.

• Enlighten, strengthen and sharpen your perspective
• Question body norms and take your own prejudices into account
• Recognize the causes of the ubiquitous body discrimination and stigmatization
• Observe what influences have an effect on our body image

• Those affected by discrimination and those who deprive others of their right to physical self-determination through their judgment, exclusion and categorization
• Young people in school and training (e.g. also school classes)
• Marginalized groups such as girls with refugee and migration experience, young Roma and homeless young people (via specific project partners)
• Professionals

With the project we want to reach young people throughout Germany.
We welcome interested organizations to collaborate.

• Thematically varying project days in our educational institution
• Empowering measures in a protected space for participants affected by similar discrimination
• Seminars that focus on the exchange with the “other”.
• “Fringe Meetings” for professional exchange and practical transfer for teachers at schools and multipliers in educational work

• Methods that open up access, enable and activate reflection through body perception and emotions
• Experiential education and theater pedagogical methods and their further development

bildung@hochdrei.org