From July 15th to the end of September, the people of Munich can take part in around 1,200 events at the summer adult education center under the motto “Common fates – of people and animals”. The new program has been available in city libraries and VHS houses since Tuesday. “The motto runs like a red thread through the program,” says program director Susanne May at the presentation.
The highlight this year is the insect cabinet, says the coordinator Julia Scholz: In four courses, the participants should approach the insects using their own texts, compositions, performances and photographic works and incorporate them creatively into their projects. What will come out of it is uncertain, the results should be presented at the beginning of August in the cultural center HP8. The courses are already almost fully booked.
“Many people in Munich are willing to invest their holidays in education,” reports May. Adults would then have more time and would be willing to plan around the courses. The summer courses have also been well received in recent years. In contrast to the regular courses, the summer program focuses on compact and intensive courses. Participants should be able to dive deep into a topic or language or try out new things.
At the Neuhauser Language Summer, for example, participants learn Spanish, Italian, English or French in small groups for a week, combined with information about the culture, country and people. This should give them a feel for the language very quickly. In total, courses are offered at different language levels for 24 languages.
The preparatory courses for the final classes are experiencing an “enormous influx”, says Scholz. Compared to last year, there are 20 percent more participants. This is probably also due to the Corona years. The VHS had to switch to digital during this time, but was much faster than the schools, says May. The focus is now back on face-to-face courses, after all the VHS is also a meeting place. However, 15 percent of the courses are still offered online and some in hybrid form – this is particularly helpful for disabled participants or parents.