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Potsdam-Mittelmark District Adult Education Center receives Rita Süssmuth Prize 2025!
District Adult Education Center Potsdam-Mittelmark receives the Rita Süssmuth Prize 2025 in Leipzig for innovative educational projects and international cooperation.
Potsdam-Mittelmark District Adult Education Center receives Rita Süssmuth Prize 2025!
On June 3, 2025, the Potsdam-Mittelmark District Adult Education Center (kvhs PM) in Leipzig was awarded the renowned Rita Süssmuth Prize for the International Adult Education Center. The award ceremony took place as part of the general meeting of the European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA) in the Alte Börse Leipzig. This award is not only a personal triumph for the kvhs PM, but also a sign of the importance of international educational projects.
The Urban X-Change project, which was carried out in collaboration with the Reutlingen Adult Education Center and the Frankfurt am Main Adult Education Center, received the honor. This interdisciplinary initiative is supported by the Federal Foreign Office and is endowed with a total of 6,000 euros, as both the Frankfurt and Reutlingen adult education centers were also awarded 2,000 euros.
A strong sign for democracy
The motto of the Rita Süssmuth Prize 2025 was “International partnerships to strengthen democracy and participation”. The jury praised the project as a courageous and forward-looking model for international educational work. Anja Schmalfuß, head of kvhs PM, was pleased about the award: “The personal exchange is a significant enrichment for everyone involved.”
In addition, the kvhs PM was recognized for the “Namibia Forum Kleinmachnow” project, which was developed in close cooperation with the Kleinmachnow-Keetmanshoop partnership initiative. Since 2022, the initiative has launched a public program on the topic of Namibia, which addresses both the shared history and colonial legacies as well as future cooperation.
Key players and future perspectives
Heiner Naumann from the Namibia Forum Kleinmachnow highlighted the creation of a dialogue between the citizens of Kleinmachnow and Keetmanshoop. Renate Maschwitz announced that the prize money will be used specifically to expand exchange projects with Namibian and German-Namibian organizations. “We want to further deepen knowledge and cultural connections,” she emphasized.
For the future, the kvhs PM is planning new programs that will be started in the fall. A review of past forum events can be found on the kvhs PM website to find.
At the same event in Leipzig, projects from the Frankfurt am Main adult education center, such as the “Democracy Ambassadors”, as well as the long-term partnership between the Reutlingen adult education center and the city of Bouaké in Côte d’Ivoire were also honored. This shows how important international educational opportunities are for understanding and intercultural dialogue, as Prof. Dr. Rita Süssmuth and Dr. Ernst Dieter Rossmann emphasized in her speeches.
The Rita Süssmuth Prize has been awarded since 2019 and is a striking example of the active efforts to integrate international and intercultural references into the adult education center programs. As the Press release reports, this year's prize has the motto “International partnerships to strengthen democracy and participation,” which underlines the importance of such initiatives.
The next award ceremony will take place as part of the EAEA General Assembly and Annual Conference in June 2025 in Leipzig. The focus will then again be on how to offer flexible educational paths to learners in Europe and beyond.