We always strive to create an environment that promotes respect, equality and openness for all. As the latest school climate surveys have shown, there is still room for improvement in this regard. This is an honest insight that has encouraged us to intensify our commitment to inclusivity and diversity. And we took the first step towards this as a school on 22 June 2023.

Together we joined the project "School without Racism - School with Courage". This is a network of more than 2,000 schools across Germany that are committed to addressing the issue of racism and discrimination and to raising sensitivity and awareness within their community. The initiative for this came from College students more than three years ago.

In order to join this network of schools against racism and discrimination, more than 70 per cent of our school members had to vote in a secret ballot to "actively oppose discrimination, especially racism". In doing so, we also declared that we will not simply look the other way when violence or discrimination occurs, but will actively oppose it.

Traditionally, the new school and its patron are presented with the membership plaque by the state coordinator. We used this handover together with our patron, the President of the State Parliament of Baden-Württemberg, Muhterem Aras, for an initial reflection and discussion. Together with Ms Aras, we as school speakers underlined the necessity of this initiative in a diverse community and showed how subtle and sometimes subliminal racism and discrimination are in all our daily lives and why this is an issue that affects all members of our society. It is a process in which mistakes are allowed and we need to engage in a common exchange.

In her speech, State Parliament President Aras emphasised that it is not enough to dislike  discrimination, but that one has to actively fight against it. In the question and answer session that followed, Ms Aras gave very personal insights into her own immigrant background and how integration can succeed. 

At the refreshment break in the foyer afterwards, Ms Aras took a lot of time to exchange views with us. At the end, the president of the state parliament called on us as a school to now fill this project with life. We should take this seriously as a school!