Intercultural Gardens is a project of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Association of International Gardens (''Internationale Gärten e.V.''), resident in

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...

. The project has the goal to further

intercultural competence Cultural competence, also known as intercultural competence, is a range of cognitive, affective, and behavioural skills that lead to effective and appropriate communication with people of other cultures.Deardorff, D. K. (2009). ''The Sage handbook ...

and

racial integration Racial integration, or simply integration, includes desegregation (the process of ending systematic racial segregation). In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity ...

Ideas and goals

Gardening Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants as part of horticulture. In gardens, ornamental plants are often grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants, such as root vegetables, leaf vegetables, fruits ...

and leisure activities in the specially created Intercultural Gardens are meant to promote social contacts between

refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

s and natives. The Intercultural Gardens aim to achieve that the proclaimed solidarity with war and political refugees can be strengthened through day-to-day contacts with refugees and immigrants. Another goal is to motivate refugees and immigrants to become active and to participate.

Garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate both ...

s are seen as an ideal location because immigrants and refugees often come from small

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

communities and were unable to apply their farming knowledge in Germany. The Intercultural Gardens consist of parcels of land on which vegetables and herbs, including herbs of the immigrants' countries of origin, can be grown and of jointly used space for children, community events and meetings. Activities in the gardens are also seen as a foundation for further activities. For example,

vocational A vocation () is an occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. People can be given information about a new occupation through student orientation. Though now often used in non-religious co ...

orientation and integration in the areas of

garden design Garden design is the art and process of designing and creating plans for layout and planting of gardens and landscapes. Garden design may be done by the garden owner themselves, or by professionals of varying levels of experience and expertise. ...

and

environmental protection Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where possible, to repair dam ...

through visits and internships in businesses in these areas. Social integration is promoted through neighborly help and family care, teaching of the

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...

and help in contacting educational institutions as well as documentation and public relations.

Development to a movement

The projects was founded in 1996, partially on the initiative of in-migrated families. The association was founded in 1998. Initially the project had three gardens in

. In the beginning of 2006 the initial project in Göttingen had about 300 members from about twenty countries and the movement consisted of thirty independent garden projects and more were being created. The foundation ''Stiftung Interkultur'' in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

coordinates and supports garden projects all over Germany.

Literature

*Christa Müller: ''Wurzeln schlagen in der Fremde. Die Internationalen Gärten und ihre Bedeutung für Integrationsprozesse'' (mit Praxisteil); 2002, München: ökom, {{ISBN, 3-928244-82-5

External links

Association of International Gardens, GöttingenFoundation ''Stiftung Interkultur''
Human migration Gardening by country Types of garden Urban agriculture

Ideas and goals

Development to a movement

See also

Literature

External links