From volunteer to fair change maker

Felix Popescu was one of the first weltwärts volunteers abroad in 2008. In Kerala, India, he volunteered with the Franciscan Sisters of Salzkotten. A decade later, he and his team at BUNDjugend NRW received the ‘’Fairwandler Prize for their project Multi-Schulung Flucht’’ (Facilitator-Training on Refugees). Are there any connections?

Outside the Bubble
“The work and everyday life in Kerala woke me up, shook me, and shaped me in many ways,” Felix recalls. “I experienced real global issues and realized how privileged and protected my life in Germany had been.”

During his voluntary service, Felix spent most of his time living and working in a facility for young men with physical disabilities. “I learned an incredible amount during my year - about the seriousness of global problems, about injustice, about people and, above all, about myself. The voluntary service was a huge privilege for me to gain important experiences for life and to grow.”

The afterlife: The desire to contribute to greater global justice

Many returnees who come back to Germany from countries in the Global South report new perspectives and changes in outlook. Felix also had experiences that had a decisive impact on him: “My life after my voluntary service was completely different: my consumer behavior became vegan, ecological, fair and as regional as possible. I became politically active, questioned everything, worked in a world store, organized consumption-critical city tours and got involved in anti-racist initiatives when I gradually noticed the problems and inequality that also exist in Germany.” He made the decision to continue his involvement in Germany during his voluntary service, after long conversations with his Indian friends and working in an Indian NGO. Felix explains: “I was convinced that something had to change in the structures and ways of thinking in Germany in order to reduce the problems in the world.”

From the idea to the project

Initially, Felix gave talks in schools about migration and flight. But he realized: “As someone At some point, Felix started organizing project days at schools on topics such as consumption, displacement and climate. However, he soon found it inadequate to talk about displacement and migration in schools as a person with no experience of displacement. He therefore organized project days in Rüthen, where refugee friends spent an hour talking to the students. During an internet research, Felix noticed that there were hardly any qualified speakers with a history of displacement. The idea for the facilitator-training course on refugees was born.

What is the aim of the course? “For refugees to become active and recognized leaders of educational events instead of being passive objects in the events,” explains Felix. “There are over 65 million refugees worldwide - more than ever before. Despite all the suffering and the associated questions about global justice, the causes of flight and conflicts around the world are not a major issue for many people in Germany. We want to change that!” This is where Felix and BUNDjugend NRW are now starting their facilitator-training course. After 2016 and 2017, they are now organizing two six-month training courses for the first time this year - to train more facilitators and thus sensitize even more people to the major issues of forced displacement and migration. An approach that also impressed the jury of the 2018 Fairwandler Prize: On the evening of February 20, Felix received the prize awarded by the Karl Kübel Foundation on behalf of the BUNDJugend NRW team. Certainly a motivation to continue his commitment.