The DGB-Bildungswerk Thüringen
(DGB Thüringen Education Centre)

The DGB (German Trade Union Federation) Thüringen Education Centre is an organisation with charitable status recognised by the Ministry of Culture of Thüringen as an adult education institution.

The organisation was founded in 1990 with the aim to provide access to education for workers . but also senior citizens and the unemployed. Its activities centre around political education: seminars and events organised by the DGB-Bildungswerk Thüringen (bwt) aim to convey skills and knowledge that will allow participants to reflect on their individual situation and to jointly develop action strategies. The bwt.s objective is to support workers, the unemployed and senior citizens in promoting their own interests in the workplace and in society in general. It is particularly important to the bwt to embrace the differing life circumstances and perspectives of women and men, of Germans and migrants, of people with and without disabilities.

The educational programme of the bwt is very diverse. Some seminars are aimed at works councils, union workplace representatives for the disabled or voluntary labour or social court judges, and qualify participants for the specific tasks within their respective field. Other programme items include open discussion forums and a platform for debates on trade unions and society.

The bwt is involved in several projects in cooperation with a range of different partners. The .Students and Trade Unions. project allows students to get involved in trade union (educational) work. The .Health. project supports workers in becoming active against health threats in the workplace. .Vocational Qualifications for Refugees. provides access to vocational training for asylum seekers. One project group organises guided city walks and tours to explore Erfurt.s history during the Nazi era. A project entitled .Building Block for Non-Racist Educational Work. provides a collection of educational materials which aim to encourage people to avoid perpetuating racism and anti-Semitism and instead explore and combat them.

The organisation advocates an improvement of the general framework that education, and particularly political education, operates in. For instance, the centre campaigns for a law which would grant educational leave to workers in Thüringen.