Tolerance starts at school

Conveying the contents of religions is an important part of the festival Musica Sacra International. The key aim of the project is to provide children and young people with age-appropriate knowledge about the five world religions as well as to teach sensitivity and respect towards other cultures.

The programme was developed for children and young people of various age groups. It is available to schools, pre-schools and nurseries as well as to clubs that are looking after children and young people. Most of the events are free of charge. They can be booked through MODfestivals e.V. at any time.

What do you believe in?
Reading series for pre-schoolers and children from grades 1 & 2

Books will be read and looked at with the children, similarities and differences within religions and cultures will be discovered and they will discuss their own experiences and what has been read. This will then be worked through creatively in form of drawings and craft activities. There will be readings on Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism, each of which be looked at in relation to Christianity.

As there wasn’t an opportunity for the reading series to take place yet, reading out videos of various children’s books were produced in cooperation with the public library Marktoberdorf.  The videos show the book’s images while the story is being read out. The videos are available on the MODfestivals e.V. YouTube channel and on the website of the online festival.

World religions – World peace – World ethos
Exhibition

The exhibition from the World Ethos Foundation consists of fifteen boards, eight of which display fundamental knowledge about the world religions and their ethical messages. The other boards illustrate the world ethos principles of humanity, non-violence, justice, truthfulness and relationships as well as their relevance today. This way the religions will be looked at in relation to their differences and similarities.

As part of the exhibition’s showing in Marktoberdorf and Kaufbeuren at the beginning of 2021, MODfestivals e.V. conducted a survey: in line with the motto ‘what you always wanted to know about world religions’, visitors were encouraged to put their questions about religious subject matters, ways of thinking and rituals on a postcard and drop it into a postbox. Scientific experts as well as practitioners of the religions answered the questions afterwards. Some of the answers can be found on the website of Musica Sacra International, others have been recorded as videos and have been published on the MODfestivals e.V. YouTube channel.

What animates you?
Animated cartoon workshop about belief, respect & tolerance

During the workshop the children will be working on an animated cartoon about a religion. The children themselves will thereby be painting, crafting, talking and filming. The films will be illustrating a particular aspect or an issue of one or several religions. In doing so, the focus may lie on the emergence of an Indian deity or on a theme that can be found in different religions. The aim is for the children to concern themselves with religion in regards to content and for them to process this creatively.

Due to the pandemic only one film has been produced so far. It has been developed in cooperation with the public library Marktoberdorf. It can be watched on the MODvestivals e.V. YouTube channel and on the website of the online festival.

Where does God live?
Mosque visit for children and young people (visits of other places of worship available on request)

In most cases people only know the places of worship of their own religion. There is a certain shyness when it comes to other religions’ houses of worship. That is albeit many places having a mosque. At the mosque visit children and young people will spend time at the place of worship. They will get to know the rituals and prayers and learn about the significance of the particular areas within a mosque.

Meet a Jew –Nice to meet Jew!
Talk with young Jews about their life in Germany

»Meet a Jew«, a project by the Central Council of Jews in Germany, provides an opportunity to speak with young people and adults from the Jewish community about Jewish life in Germany today. Two people from “Meet a Jew” will be visiting the institution/school, which booked the visit. The pupils will gain insight into the personal everyday life, an overview of the diversity of Jewish identity and can raise questions about everything they always wanted to know. The questions can be about any areas of life. From everyday life to the religion itself.

Besides the main sponsors of Musica Sacra International, tolerance starts at school is sponsored and supported by:
Lions Marktoberdorf
Viermetz Foundation
Dr. Buhmann Foundation
Swabia Region