Distanz – Distanzierungsarbeit, jugendkulturelle Bildung und Beratung – e.V. was founded in 2019 in Weimar and has been the responsible organisation for the Centre for Intervention Programms in a radicalisation processes in Thuringia since 2020. The non-profit association is a state-recognised provider of youth welfare services in accordance with Section 75 of Book VIII of the German Social Code (SGB VIII) and operates nationwide, with a particular focus on right-wing extremism and group-focused enmity. Its aim is to support young people in distancing themselves from far-right and dehumanising attitudes.
Expertise and Methods
The team at Distanz e.V. has extensive experience in outreach Intervention Programm in a radicalisation process. This work incorporates a wide range of educational approaches, including social, political, media education and youth cultural education, as well as systemic, solution-oriented, biographical and gender-reflective methods. This expertise is passed on to multipliers through consultations, coaching sessions and professional training programmes.
Networking and Cooperation
Distanz e.V. cooperates at state, national and European levels with stakeholders from youth welfare and youth work, prevention and exit programmes, as well as with actors in the field of political education. The aim is to establish systematic networking to strengthen resilience against hostility towards groups, distance from democratic values and right-wing extremism.
In its day-to-day counselling work, Distanz e.V. collaborates with educators through regional networks involving a wide range of local statutory structures, such as youth welfare offices, schools and youth welfare institutions, extending to Europe-wide cooperation within the EU Knowledge Hub. In this way, the organisation connects local action with transnational exchange.