As part of its continuing work on behalf of refugees since the 2016-17 school year, Klett has been supporting a theatre project that aims to aid the integration of refugee children at Stuttgart's Lerchenrainschule in 2017-18. A video has now been produced about the project, which has received financial support from the Klett Group.
The theatre project is geared towards levels five and six at Lerchenrainschule, as well as levels seven and eight of its preparatory classes. Over the course of a semester, these young people get the opportunity to see what they can do on stage and develop new skills and modes of expression through the medium of theatre. The project, which is being carried out in cooperation with Theaterhaus Stuttgart, mainly seeks to help children from the adjacent refugee shelters in Stuttgart-Süd (who attend the aforementioned preparatory classes) integrate into the school and its other classes. A recently produced film offers a glimpse behind the scenes.
The theatre project focuses on language and the formation of the young participants’ related skills. It makes a specific effort to overcome language barriers through both movement-based acting and discussion and training of the learning process itself. Here, the project works to present the variety of languages within the group not as an obstacle, but a benefit that can be incorporated in creative ways.
The Klett Group is supporting the school's theatre project as part of the refugee assistance it provides under the motto “Integration Through Education”. As an organisation committed to education, the Klett Group considers it important to further related opportunities. Through various initiatives, its own expertise in helping refugees learn a new language, and its sponsorship of a refugee shelter in Stuttgart-Süd, Klett wants to do its part to aid Germany's new arrivals in adapting to their new surroundings.