Glass art, jewelry, quiz and a sustainability camp

Creative student projects from Herrnhut:

The Moravian settlement of Herrnhut in Saxony is on its way to becoming a World Heritage Site. Together with the Moravian settlement Bethlehem (USA) and Gracehill (Northern Ireland), they have submitted an application to UNESCO to complement and transnationally expand the existing World Heritage Site "Christiansfeld" in Denmark in the future.

Involving young people in the care and sustainable protection of the Herrnhut is essential for its sustainable preservation for future generations and is one of the core tasks of a World Heritage Site. Students from the Evangelische Zinzendorfschulen Herrnhut as well as the UNESCO project schools Richard-von-Schlieben-Oberschule Zittau and the Secondary School for Glazing in Kamenický Šenov (Czech Republic) explored the extraordinary significance of Herrnhut and the challenges posed by climate change. In an on-site workshop, they jointly discovered the settlement and its significant buildings, experienced sustainable building craftsmanship, and the ecological and cultural significance of meadow orchards. The students were particularly enthusiastic about the intercultural collaboration, the beauty of Herrnhut and the feeling of working together in a sustainable and climate-friendly way.

"The project helps young people understand the connections between the past and the present. The deep insights you make on site makes you want to protect it" (quote from a student).

Motivated by their experiences on site and the feeling of being able to take responsibility for climate and heritage protection together, the students implemented their own project ideas. The entire school community of Evangelische Zinzendorfschulen Herrnhut is concerned with Herrnhut, its history and significance today, and also the application for World Heritage status. A podcast and a quiz were created and the students presented their commitment at expert meetings about the World Heritage nomination. The Czech students made engravings of the Herrnhut buildings on glass tiles, jewellery with Herrnhut symbols, and a website with information: https://projectherrnhut.webnode.cz/. Inspired by the workshops, the Zittau team looked at their own ecological footprint. At a "Ready for Sustainability" camp for students, they learned what it means to act sustainably and worked together with Polish students from another project group.