MOTHERSCHOOLS ASCHAFFENBURG

WHAT EXACTLY ARE THE MOTHERSCHOOLS?

With the "MotherSchools" model, Women without Borders has developed a unique concept that empowers mothers with appropriate training to respond to their children in a competent manner, to listen to them and to offer alternatives to counter violent extremism - a security concept that starts at home.

The "MotherSchools" model offers mothers a platform to break down individual and social barriers, address the taboo subject of extremism and improve their knowledge of early warning signs of radicalisation. The MotherSchools enable the development of common strategies to counteract radical influences on children, families and entire communities.

Groups of 15-20 mothers meet once a week over a period of ten weeks. These ten meetings comprise three phases, which guide the participants step by step through a process of consciousness development. First the own self, then family, community and finally the own role in peacekeeping in the immediate environment are dealt with. The mothers learn about the psychological dynamics of childhood and adolescence, which gives them the ability to improve communication within their family and identify early warning signs of deviant behavior, from drugs to gangs to radicalization.

They learn to offer alternatives and thus promote positive development and resilience in their children. This innovative approach gives mothers the competence to intervene where they have skills and knowledge: in their families and communities.   

The "MotherSchools" model opens the door for mothers to take leadership roles in their families and communities and to promote tolerance and cohesion. Through the project, mothers' competencies are strengthened and secured in the long term, so that they can deal with and respond to emotionally fluctuating and abandoned young people. Children and adolescents should feel heard and understood by their social environment.

Mothers are the first teachers in the lives of children. They are the backbone of the family, the central switchboard in private life, but not only. Mothers can have power and influence, but only if they are determined to accept and implement it. They are the central contact persons to build up the self-confidence and social skills of their children. But for this they also need the techniques and know-how. The "MotherSchools" are a place of encounter where the participants systematically go through a process of self-discovery and self-strengthening with a curriculum that has been tried and tested over the years.

The best prevention strategy is successful coexistence, where values of tolerance and respect are naturally also practised in conflict and crisis situations in everyday life. Trained mothers play a central role here in securing peace and regional security.

MotherSchools: Parenting for Peace Germany: Creating hard facts with soft power!

From 2017 to 2019, Women without Borders / Frauen ohne Borders has the MotherSchools prevention project together with the four partners from Lower Franconia Çiğdem Deniz - Verein Migranten für Migranten e.V., Aschaffenburg; Nilüfer Ulusoy - Verein Frauen für Frauen Erlenbach am Main; Ingeborg Dümpert and Sorya Lippert - Verein Interkult, Schweinfurt; Heike Mix - City of Würzburg: Parenting for Peace project.

A total of 200 mothers at the four locations were trained and sensitized to become important allies against extremism and radicalization.

Within the MotherSchools project, 18 mothers were trained in Aschaffenburg in 2017 and 45 mothers in 2018. Thus we were able to reach a total of 63 mothers. Our efforts to sensitize mothers about the radicalization tendencies of their children, their own communication and self-perception and the developmental psychology in adolescence and how to deal with them in communication and reflection was strengthened by our success. The exercises and contents were well received and internalized. This sensitization can be perceived by the mothers and is carried into the families and communities.

Through our mobilizers from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iraq, Romania, Russia, Turkey, Pakistan, Togo and Syria, we were able to reach many mothers from the most diverse countries. Besides a Turkish speaking group we also accompanied a mixed group whose language of instruction was German.

In our second run we celebrated a Graduation Ceremony on 21.01.2019 in the Stadthalle Aschaffenburg. Present were all four locations, the State Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs, Women without Borders from Vienna, representatives of the city of Aschaffenburg and politicians.