Dachau - The Ignaz-Taschner-Gymnasium is an ambassador school of the European Parliament. There is also the Junior Ambassador working group and a P-Seminar Europe, which is led by teacher Markus Keck. His colleague Angelika Neumayer, who died in February of this year, aroused the interest of the students. With a lot of heart and commitment, Neumayer contributed to the ITG becoming an ambassador school.
The EU ambassador program teaches the 14 students what rights they have as Union citizens and how they can actively participate in the democratic processes of the EU, but above all on the ground. It is the same in the P-Seminar Europe. Student Theo Böhm is certain that “the EU is the only way to tackle problems big, such as climate change”. All seminar participants agree that the EU's idea of peace is the actual basic idea and carries more weight than the economic aspect.
The 16-year-old Theo Böhm is not only in the P seminar, but also a member of the Dachau Youth Council. Through the lessons and the exchange with his classmates, he has deepened his interest in politics and simply finds the topic “incredibly lively and exciting”. The enthusiasm of 17-year-old Tobias Janson is so great that he even wants to found a youth council in his home town of Karlsfeld.
It should be noted to all P-Seminar participants that a fire has broken out among them. They want to understand political contexts in Europe, understand the effects on their own lives and spread the spirit of European cooperation. Because that is also part of the seminar. To inspire younger classmates to get involved and also to become junior ambassadors or to choose the P-Seminar Europe in the upper school.
Due to the corona, a lot fell into the water this school year - with the exception of online events. Simply going to classes and giving a lecture was just as impossible as inviting speakers to sit in on partner schools such as going to Fondi or even to Brussels. But the high school students did not allow themselves to be dissuaded from that. Teacher Michael Keck is therefore all the more proud of his protégés. “They do a lot more than the seminar would require,” says the teacher, praising his “committed and great students”.
The spirit of cooperation counts not only in Europe, also at the ITG.
Julia Koch also emphasizes this: "Together we are strong", says the 17-year-old, who underpins the common spirit of the European Union.
It reads “United in diversity”, and if you read it carefully, you will understand why the participants in the P-Seminar Europe and the EU junior ambassadors at the ITG set an example against nationalism and so strongly support the exchange with other countries.
And not because of good grades, but out of conviction and enthusiasm.
sim