History

Emerging from scholar projects at Schiller Highschool Münster pupils, teachers and former students founded the association Solar Net International to support sustainable intercultural youth exchange projects. To give young people from different cultures, countries and social backgrounds a common platform to get to know and exchange each other, we founded the internet project www.solarnet.tv in summer 2005.

Today Solar Net is a registered organisation in Germany and Poland with members from more than 100 countries worldwide.


Watch the statute of Solar Net International

2004

  • Visit of the Solar-Media Group of the Schillergymnasium in Baumgartsbrunn, Namibia, supporting renovation and reconstruction works in the school village, production of films, posters and presentations; reverse visit of the Namibian teacher Bertus Böck.
  • Fundraiser in cooperation with the leading local newspaper WN (“Westfälische Nachrichten”) for the school village Baumgartsbrunn: 45,000€ were donated.
  • 2005 gobabeb.jpg

  • Second visit of the Solar-Net-Media Group in Baumgartsbrunn. Various educational activities + renovation activities, among them the installation of solar-thermic warm water systems.
  • Foundation of the association Solar Net International r.a. with teachers, pupils and former pupils of the Schiller high school, and further interested people. Its aim is a global network of young people on the subjects of renewable energies and media education - Read the statute
  • Launching the website http://www.solarnet-international.org
  • Participation in the competition “Climate–Alliance School” (Climate-Alliance r.a. and German Post World Net) 2005, winning a donation of 4800€ for renovation jatropha1.jpgworks of solar thermics in Baumgartsbrunn and the extension of communication devices.
  • Establishment of contacts with the Ghanese Environmental Organisation RENERG. Visit of association members and pupils from Münster to study the project “Jatropha-oil as an alternative fuel (compared to rapeseed-oil)” in Ghana, July 2005, production of the film “Journey to Jatropha”, a 20-minute documentary on renewable energies in Ghana
  • Personal support of an employee of RENERG for environmental work at schools in Ghana on the subject of renewable energies.
  • Production of films for the project “Münster - a global city”. The film “John Keise – a short portray” was awarded the first prize and an additional special award by the Bishop of Münster at the Youth Film Festival in Marl
  • October 2005: first meeting of the Polish solar net group in Katowice/ Poland

2006

  • February: Third meeting of German and Namibian pupils in Baumgartsbrunn: solar-powered boiler project by German and Namibian pupils, film productions with pupils form Baumgartsbrunn, further renovation works, interview of German and Namibian girls   nordsuedklein.jpg
  • The special award “Girls’ Worlds of World Hunger Relief” is received by the German-Namibian girls’ team, which produced a book of interviews during the exchange in February. The award was presented by the Federal President of the Republic of GermanyHorst Köhler in May 2006
  • Winner in the competition “Wenn das Schule macht” (“If this sets a precedent”) for the concept of media cooperation between Münster and Katowice, presentation of the award by the Department for Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Polish Ministry of Education
  • May: Winner of the prize “Political North-South Advancement and Development”, awarded by the city of Münster
  • Polish-german Solar Net Youth Media seminar in Katowice/Poland with students from Poland and Germany ausstellung.jpg
  • November 2006: first price for the film "good coffe" from Daniel Filipek and Andrzej Krawczyk at the cellphone-films festval in Łódź
  • 9th - 23rd november: premiere of the travelling exhibition "We are the children from Baumgartsbrunn" in the LBS-West bank in Münster
  • 14th - 25th november: visit of five students and two teachers from the Institute for Home Science and Agriculture Baumgartsbrunn in Münster
  • 28 november - 11th december: visit of the two teachers Thusnelda Dhausas and Gabriel Khoeseb from the Primary School Baumgartsbrunn in Münster: media training, workshops together with students from the Schillergymnasium to prepare the common filmproject "About those two"
  • 19th december: the german association "Verein Deutscher Ingenieure (VDI)" (Association of German Engineers) gives a prize to those students who took part in the projects "Jatropha oil as a renewable energy in Ghana" and "Solar cooking in Baumgartsbrunn/Namibia 2006"

2007 

  •  22. january: 4th Schoolexchange of the Schillergymnasium Münster and Baumgartsbrunn: 17 students and teachers from Münster visit the Vocational and Primary School in Baumgartsbrunn to work on common projects with the namibian students. Part of the projects was amongst others a Solar Experients workshop, a dance workshop and the renovation januszmarth.jpg of hostel interior
  • 2nd -17th april: Realisation of the Film-Project "About those two" together with german, polish and namibian students in Baumgartsbrunn; Cooperation with the college of the arts in Windhoek
  • Begin of april: The major german aid organisation BILD hilft e.V. berlin.jpg"Ein Herz für Kinder" announced to support our project "Hostel Renovation" in Baumgartsbrunn.
  • 20-05-2007: The Solar Net Youth Group is announced as UNICEF Junior Embassador in the Paulskirche in Frankfurt 
  • June: Solar Net  and the Schillergymnasium are priced with the the national quality seal for their project “Global Learning”. The price was given by Etwinning, an e-learning initiative of the European Union. '
  • 13th of august: the renovation work of the hostels in Baumgartsbrunn starts, Solar Net Manager Mubasen Khoeseb reports regularly on our website.
  • 17th september 2007: more than 20 Solar Net members from 6 different nations come together in Münster for the first Solar Net Youth Seminar. For two weeks they work together on issues such as Renewable Energies and Media and explore together Germany
  • 28th of september: Alternative Nobel Prize Award Winner Bianca Jagger visits the Schillergymnasium Münster and discusses with students and participants of the Solar Net Youth Seminar about Renewable Energies and Human Rights. 
  • bianca Jagger25th of september: the International Youth Group from Solar Net receives the 3rd prize of the scholar competition from the  FOCUS magazine/ Germany. The award is appreciating  our  international youth  network that started from the Schillergymnasium three years ago  and the recent project, the filmproject "About those two..." 
  • 29th of october: launch of the exhibition "Solar energy in Baumgartsbrunn, Namibia" in Münster (Germany)
  • 27th of september: world premiere of "About those two" in the CINEMA, Münster (Germany) with project partners from Namibia, Poland and Germany
  • 16th of december: polish premiere of "About those two" in the Cogitatur Club in Katowice (Poland)
  • 26th of december: namibian premiere of "About those two", broadcasted nationwide on NBC
  • December 2007: Solar Net Polska becomes a registered association in Poland: first official meeting of Solar Net Polska; beginning of the official cooperation with gimnazjum nr 2 in Katowice

2008

  • 4th - 18th of february: 5th Schoolexchange between Schiller Highschool (Germany) and PS Baumgartsbrunn (Namibia): opening of the newly renovated hostel (by Bild hilft e.V. "Ein Herz für Kinder") through education planner Mr. Hinanifa"; start of the project "virtual accessible village Baumgartsbrunn"
  • April: first Solar Net radio show hosted at Studenckie Studio Radiowe EGIDA
  • April: In cooperation with the organisation "InWent" Solar Net opens a forum for the participant of the NRW-governmental programme "Konkreter Friedensdienst"  grouppicture_big2_300.jpg
  • July: 33 people from 9 nations meet together in Münster/ Germany and Aleksandrów/ Poland for the official Solar Net Youth Seminar 2008
  • 13th september: Solar Net manager Namibia Mubasen Gabriel Khoeseb dies in a tragic accident. Solar Net members and friends from all over the world are mourning. With him we lost one of the most active and most passionate members. His good character will forever shape Solar Net and be commermorated in the forum we opened for him after his death.
  • October: A first Solar Net Junior Board short meeting takes place in Münster Germany with pupils from Poland and Germany.
  • October: Solar Net members from 6 nations created an exhibition with the title "Learning in ONE World" which was first opened in Schillergymnasium Münster on 16th october.
  • October: Solar Net starts with a one year educative program for intercultural learning and multimedia education that will include 30 workshops in North Rhine- 09182119_4.jpgWestphalia/ Germany. 
  • 6.-13. November: Solar Net International members Christoph Lammen, Friedemann Bieber and Meryem Simsek take part at the UNESCO-conference
    "Euro-Arab School Partnerships and Learning for Sustainability" in Barka, Oman.
  • 22. November: Solar Net International receives the  Dieter Baacke Award, 2.prize, in Rostock for media pedagogical work and intercultural learning.
  • December: Solar Net from 7 nations come together for a christmas meeting in Münster/ Germany.
  • Dezember 10th: The Exhibition "Gemeinsam Zukunft gestalten-Weltweites Engagement aus NRW" is opened in the Handwerkskammer Düsseldorf. Solar Net is one of the best practice examples of the exhibition.
     

 2009
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  • february 2009:  students of Schillergymnasium Münster visit their partners at the primary school Baumgartsbrunn for the 6th time. Common theme of the 2009 student exchange program is the production of video language courses to promote the local language Khoekhoegowab. See one of the products: self portrait of the student Hendry Adrianus.
  • March/April 2009:Solar Net International takes part at the international NGO-Conference "Global learning weltwärts and beyond" from march 27th to 29th 2009 in Bonn with Solar Net members from Germany, Mexico Namibia, Oman, Poland and Vietnam

    31th March-2th April 2009: bonn_conference300.jpgSolar Net International takes part at the UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development in Bonn and presents its projects to an international auditory.

    August: 3rd international Solar Net Youth Seminar takes place in Münster/ Germany and Bystra/ Poland with 40 students from 15 nations.

    September: Solar Net International is awarded as a project of the UN Decade "Education for Sustainable Development" for Germany 2009/ 2010

    September/ October: Solar Net organizes it's first trilateral Junior Board Seminar with students from Namibia, Poland and Germany in Münster. A.o. they produce the video message "Let war be history".

    December: Solar Net is honord with the Citizensaward of Münster in silver.

     

    2010


    • February: Solar Net organizes the 7th exchange program with the Primary School Baumgartsbrunn and the Institute for Home Science and Agriculture in Namibia. 20 students from Schillergymnasium Münster and the Robert-Wetzlar Berufskolleg in Bonn participate in the 3 weeks program.
    • April: A group from Schillergymnasium Münster and Solar Net International is invited by the Sultanate of Oman for a first mutual exchange program. The two weeks visit included workshops in the Sa'ada Secondary School in Salalah and Dohat Al Adab School in Muscat. 
    • May: Solar Net International is invited to present it's project "Global Learning" as a practical expert on the 2nd oecumenic church congress in Munich.