Conference April 2024 (Niederaltaich / Passau, Germany)

Final face-to-face meeting as result of a process

In the project application the final meeting was originally planned as an online meeting. It’s intention was to allow the executive board to reflect on the developments that had taken place during the two years of the project, on the goals had been achieved and what new perspectives had emerged from the project.

However, an online meeting just of the executive board would not have respected the results and new perspectives that have emerged from the project. In particular the inspiring meeting at the Orthodox Academy of Crete in September 2023 showed that this would be the wrong way to end our project! The conclusion of the running project should also be a signal of new beginnings. That would be the only way to capture the atmosphere that has emerged from the intercultural encounters and discussions within the framework of »SuPr«.

Niederaltaich Abbey as a conference venue

Niederaltaich Abbey is located 40 kilometres above Passau on the Danube. The Danube as a European river that unites peoples and the Niederaltaich Abbey, founded in the 8th century, are in themselves symbols of encounters across time and across borders. Church services are held in parallel in the Byzantine and Roman rites. This tradition is only maintained in two European monasteries and impressively visualises and brings to life the connections between Eastern and Western Christian churches. Precisely these intercultural encounters characterise advanced adult education within the »sustainable preaching« project.

Targets of the conference

  • The final reflection and evaluation of the project by the executive board as a »closing meeting« should take place as planned.
  • The final wish and the perspective »to stay in contact« explicitly formulated at the end of the Crete Conference should be taken into account.
  • The living network approach as a special feature of adult education, which addresses the challenges of climate change and environmental protection in the European context from a Christian-spiritual background, should be deepened – »face to face«. New adult education tools for the church environment should be developed and tested in practice.
  • The personal experiences of the participants could give the evaluation a broader and well-founded basis.

Contents and schedule of the final conference

The »story board« of the final conference from 15 to 17 April 2024 at Niederaltaich Abbey is described in the report by Dr Michael Rydryck, who already took part an the conference on Crete in September 2023. Dr Rydryck is a lecturer in New Testament and Religious Studies at Goethe University Frankfurt.

» Personal Report on the Niederaltaich conference (English / German / Greek / Hungarian)

Erasmus+ – project