Intercultural week

To mark the 40th anniversary of the opening of the "School of Friendship", Francisca Raposo, a former pupil of the school, is going on a reading tour through Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. On September 27, 2022 from 19:00 -20:30 she will stop at the Ernst Abbe Library in Jena. The event is part of the Intercultural Week and is organized in cooperation with the Office for Migration and Integration, the Protestant Adult Education Saxony-Anhalt and the Jena association Ansole e.V. Admission is free of charge.

Francisca Raposo was one of 900 children and young people from the People's Republic of Mozambique who were educated and trained to become cadres for the development of Mozambique's socialist society in a specially built school with boarding facilities. She will talk about her experiences between the worlds, about her hopes, worries and fears.

The background

900 children and young people from the People's Republic of Mozambique were to be educated and trained as cadres for the development of Mozambique's socialist society in a specially built school with boarding facilities. This unique experiment was based on an intergovernmental agreement concluded between the GDR and the People's Republic of Mozambique in 1979. The party and state leadership of the GDR primarily pursued its own economic interests with the training of skilled workers. Life far away from their families and habits was a great challenge for the children and young people. Individual conflicts, fears and aspirations had to take a back seat to the greater goal of developing the People's Republic of Mozambique. After their training, they were sent straight to the army in Mozambique, usually without seeing their parents, which was in the middle of a civil war.