“Experience gained abroad promotes tolerance - the ability to accept people as they are, without prejudice.”

Peter Bartholomäus, patron of Wiesbaden International and chief executive of the board of management of InfraServ Wiesbaden.

PREVENTING XENOPHOBIA THROUGH EXPERIENCE OF OTHER COUNTRIES

As the patron of Wiesbaden International Peter Bartholomäus wishes to contribute towards giving adolescents the opportunity as early on as possible to experience life abroad.

He himself comes from a working class family and was first able to travel abroad when he was 17. Hearing stories from his friends of their travels abroad filled him with a deep desire to see these countries for himself.

Adolescents don’t usually have the opportunity to meet people from other countries as part of their training. That’s why Herr Bartholomäus wants to organise an exchange during the training programme. Trainees will spend at least 14 days in another country, gathering experiences there. Trainees from other countries will also receive the same opportunities at InfraServ.

Even though Wiesbaden is an open-minded city, whose population includes a large number of different nationalities and cultures, there are still some people who resent ways of living that differ from their own. Experiencing life abroad first hand can change people and reduce these fears.

The more normal it is to meet people from other cultures, the less these foreign cultures inspire fear.

We far too often focus on the differences between cultures. Yet there are far more things that we have in common. To be able to understand this, people need to be regarded independently of their gender, nationality or religion. First and foremost, we are all human. That makes us the same.

“In our global world, it’s even more important than before that adolescents don’t develop any fear as early on as possible - especially fear of the unfamiliar.“