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In the last newsletter, Heid Leganger-Krogstad told us about her six-year-old granddaughter, whose first school year was dominated by the pandemic and, in the second half of the school year, also by the news and images of the Ukraine war. She wondered to herself (and to us) how these experiences affected her granddaughter's and other children's worldview and vision of the future. Since then, while Corona restrictions have eased in many countries, the war in Ukraine continues unabated. And there is no end in sight as both sides continue to rely on military strength rather than negotiations. Politicians seem powerless and have no grip on the climate crisis either. So who can we trust anymore? Gerdien Bertram-Troost of the Free University of Amsterdam talks about the difficulties of growing up in a "low-trust" society.
A recent study in Germany - the so-called Shell Youth Study - has just shown that a tremendous sense of insecurity also grips young people. More than two-thirds of the group surveyed between the ages of 14 and 29 are worried about inflation, war in Europe, climate change, the economic and energy crisis and the threat of poverty in old age. The study authors write, "These crises contribute to young people feeling like they can't get out of the tunnel at all. The crises overlap and do not stop."
This makes it all the more important to set signs of hope and confidence in upbringing and educational processes. Adults must reflect self-critically on their actions and prove themselves to be reliable counterparts in educational relationships to grow trust. And they must tell "counter-stories" that give courage and keep alive the "longing for a better life" (J. Korczak). The Judeo-Christian tradition is full of such stories. May we rediscover some of them during Advent and hear and experience Christmas as a "counter-story" of God becoming human in a child.
We wish you a Merry Christmas and God's peace for the world in 2023!
Michael Jacobs on behalf of
Dr. Tania ap Siôn and Heid Leganger-Krogstad (ICCS) and Michael Jacobs and Piet Jansen (IV)
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