Arbeit und Leben: Working toward a democratic culture of citizen participation

With its regional organisations in each of the federal states and approximately 150 local and regional institutions organised together under the umbrella of the national committee, Arbeit und Leben (WORK AND LIFE) is present nationwide and reaches approximately 300,000 youth and adults each year.

The national committee looks after the political interests of advancing further education for Arbeit und Leben at the national level, is active in politically promoting the interests of its members, and offers its expertise in generating a fresh impetus to political education through innovative projects nationwide.

We want

to contribute to organising WORK and LIFE according to the premises of social justice, equal opportunity, and solidarity with the aim of creating a democratic culture of participation.

Through our educational offers, we want to create opportunities to impart knowledge to people, to promote critical thinking in forming opinions and in decision-making, and to foster social participation.

Didactically and methodologically our work focuses on people’s interests as well as on their everyday life and living conditions. Our educational offers are directed toward the following groups:

• employees
• trainees
• unemployed persons
• migrants
• senior citizens
• youth and young adults
• works councils and workplace representatives

We also address youth and adults who are considered to be educationally disadvantaged because of their specific living and working conditions. Our courses and activities are open to all interested persons.

We organise and accompany

learning processes through workshops, seminars, international meetings, local initiatives and projects that focus on the following topics:

• work and education
• economy and social development
• migration and integration
• communication and the media
• civil society and politics
• co-determination and participation
• European development processes
• globalisation and sustainability

We also develop and offer additional formats and topics in collaboration with groups and cooperation partners.

We improve

our work through a continual process of revision, adaptation, and quality development through activities designed to assure quality management in education.

Gender-mainstreaming is implemented in the planning and realisation and in structuring the work, organisation and personnel development activities.

We are dedicated

to maintaining and expanding political education at the national, federal state and local levels and to ensuring that all people have access to further education. To do so, all employees must have the right to an educational work leave.