The #VSOistbunt – Living Diversity project at Von-Sanden Secondary School in Lemförde (Diepholz district) has been nominated for the German Engagement Award since 4 November 2026. The NDR reported on the same day that the school project was listed on the competition’s official nominations list. The initiative had previously received awards at regional and national level.
Launched in 2022, the project focuses on involving pupils in school development, anti-discrimination work and political education. Led by politics teacher Charlene Senkler the group developed an educational escape room, which brings to life how opinions are formed, digital communication works and social exclusion takes place. According to the school, the format offers an accessible starting point for discussions about diversity, rules and scope for action in everyday school life; puzzles and role-play are combined with debriefing sessions.
An important milestone came in May 2026, when the project received the Youth Democracy Prize of the Federal Agency for Civic Education. The jury explicitly recognised the initiative’s contribution to youth participation and democratic education. Its nomination for the German Engagement Award builds on this: the competition brings together initiatives that have already won awards and presents them to a wider public.
The German Engagement Award selection process combines a public vote with jury decisions. A nomination does not guarantee an award, but it increases visibility and can help secure additional support. For Von-Sanden Secondary School, this chiefly means greater reach: the school says it will explore further partnerships in the district of Diepholz and beyond.
In the view of experts in political education, whether the Lemförde model can be replicated depends on two factors. First, it needs to be embedded in the curriculum so that the content does not remain limited to one-off activities. Second, it requires ongoing educational support to ensure reflection and participation extend beyond the escape room and are sustained in everyday school life. The project team says it is keeping both in mind and preparing materials for other schools.
The nomination thus highlights a trend towards integrating more participatory formats into school practice. Regardless of the competition’s outcome, #VSOistbunt shows how democratic skills, conflict resolution and taking responsibility can be brought together at a secondary school – and how a learning game developed in class can prompt debate about attitudes and rules.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).