The Youth Education Centre of Lower Franconia (Jugendbildungsstätte Unterfranken) is one of currently 12 youth education centres in Bavaria. Our sponsoring organization is the District Youth Council of Lower Franconia (Bezirksjugendring Unterfranken), a public-law corporation.
What Does This Mean and Who Are Our Target Groups?
We are part of a Bavarian network for youth work. We come from youth work and continuously rethink and develop youth work. Our target groups primarily include everyone who works with young people—so-called multipliers—as well as teachers, educators, social workers, and other professionals. We also work directly with young people themselves, whether in school classes or as volunteers participating in programs such as the FSJ (Voluntary Social Year), the ESC (European Solidarity Corps), and similar initiatives.
How It All Began
When the Youth Education Centre was founded in 2004, its main focus was on intercultural education. At the time, it was unclear whether and how this topic would resonate with our target groups.
It quickly became apparent that intercultural education was not only well received—it was already an essential component of general educational practice for many people in our society. Over the years, this understanding led us to evolve into a specialized institution for migration education.
At the same time, various groups and organizations discovered our centre as a venue for conferences, seminars, and educational events. In the years that followed, we grew beyond our original scope. After nearly ten years, we experienced a major leap forward, both structurally and conceptually.
Our facilities were expanded by 16 rooms, increasing our capacity from 48 to 98 beds, and several new seminar and recreational rooms were added. Since then, our centre has been able to accommodate up to 100 guests in single, double, and multi-bed rooms while providing modern seminar spaces for conferences and training events. Our hospitality team ensures that everyone who stays and works here enjoys a positive and welcoming experience.
In terms of content, we gradually moved away from a focus on intercultural work and shifted our attention toward the social phenomena we examine from an educational perspective: issues related to migration, immigration and emigration, as well as forms of discrimination connected to migration. We are interested in these phenomena because of their significance for everyone living in this country. Today, no fewer than 52 thematic areas have found their home within our educational approach of critical migration pedagogy informed by anti-racist perspectives.
Where We Stand Today
Our educational team not only offers programs for the groups staying at our centre but also continuously develops and expands its content. Workshops and seminar series can also be booked off-site. Our full-time staff are supported by numerous cooperation partners, experts, and the MiPäd team. Through a wide variety of educational formats, we share our expertise with diverse target groups.
Our goal is simple: to create the most suitable and impactful educational opportunities possible for the people we work with.
Today, our institution employs nearly 30 people, including interns and volunteers. Together, they represent a Youth Education Centre committed to thinking about society in an inclusive way. We do not claim to have all the answers or to know the perfect path forward. Instead, we understand that every day offers a new opportunity to negotiate and shape what it means to work toward a positive and respectful coexistence. Most importantly, we believe that engaging in this dialogue together is both worthwhile and necessary.