Discover DUST 15: Humaju

We have a new partner in our German case study regions. DUST has recently been joined by The Humanistisches Jugendwerk association (Humaju).

Humaju has been a contact point for young people in Cottbus, the second-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg, since 1995. They offer a wide range of services and support options for children and young people to enable them to develop their personalities, participate in development activities, and to realize their ideas and form social bonds. Tolerance and acceptance are the core values of the work that Humaju does as they encourage discovery and the development of the skills and interests of Cottbus’ youth. They serve as educators, providing active support to individuals, leading group learning activities, and fostering a sense of community. 

The work of Humaju combines youth participation and extracurricular youth education in the belief that both can benefit from each other. Through youth education, young people learn about democratic values, their rights and opportunities for them to participate. Through participation projects, young people explore their own wishes and interests and get involved in defining the future of their environments. Both fields of work aim to promote self-efficacy, empowerment and personal responsibility.  

In DUST, Humaju’s main tasks are to arrange the Regional Future Literacy Labs (RFLLs) in Lusatia and work with project partners to develop insights from these activities. They are perfectly positioned to work with the youth in Lusatia, as a locally anchored and familiar association. They bring their wealth of skills, experience and connections to the project to encourage proactive participation in the RFLLs and contribute to ongoing discussions of regional transformation. Humaju will also play a crucial role in the development of digital participatory tools that enable the involvement of citizens in policy decision making at scale. 

Humaju will help the project to develop strong and productive relationships with communities in our German case study regions and to connect people and policy in creating institutional and structural change that promotes futures that benefit the planet and local communities. They believe that transformation is a demanding process that requires intermediaries, trust, hopes & visions and intergenerational communication. We look forward to working with them on all of these fronts.