Our project "Monuments"
Monuments
Together with its twin towns, GeFIS has developed a project for young people. It explores the meaning and function of monuments and the emotions they evoke in us. Two options are available: describing and analyzing a monument or creating one. You can participate as a group, either as a class or in another group format. Groups are also participating in Gladsaxe, Berlin-Wilmersdorf, and Tangermünde. If you're curious about the other groups, we can put you in touch through GeFIS.
Which monuments are suitable for description?
Very important: You have to like the monument – or not. You can also dedicate yourself to a monument that you consider superfluous or outdated by history. However, this must be explained in detail. The only important thing is that it must be located in Minden or the immediate vicinity. Basically, all monuments that were created specifically for a person or an occasion are suitable. For example, the monument to the Great Elector or the memorial to the fallen of the First World War. The city of Minden's list of monuments contains many landscape and architectural monuments that are essentially only there for preservation reasons. These are not what we are referring to.
Who wants to design one themselves?
What do you find important in your life? Is there a person or group of people who have impressed you or serve as a role model? (For example, Friederike Nadig from Herford or Josef Lemke from Obernbeck) Or is there an event that you consider so significant, that has so inspired or shocked you, that you want to pass on the memory to future generations? In the past, people used to say, "The world held its breath." However, since the world's breaths are becoming shorter by the month, it is all the more important to know whether, in your opinion, something is and will remain important.
Conditions
The form and content of both the analysis and the presentation remain entirely up to you (subject to the fundamental assumption of adherence to the constitution). Whether as a PowerPoint presentation, blog, podcast, or film – you are asked to present and document the results of your work and perhaps key steps of the process in such a way that we can understand them.
Timeframe
The starting date for the project is flexible. You can begin when you're ready. The project deadline is November 20, 2026, and can be submitted here on the website or to GeFIS-Minden@gmx.de.
Completion ceremony
The final meeting for delegates from the participating groups will take place in Minden on the weekend of December 11-13, 2026. Together you will see and hear the presentations and get to know each other better. The group(s) from Minden will have the opportunity to send delegates to a participating partner city in spring 2027. Congratulations!
