From Marijke Floris-Hoekert, Board member of Verus (The Netherlands), we received the following report of her visit to the EKD in Hannover:
At the beginning of October, I had the privilege of visiting the EKD office in Hannover, the heart of GPEN.
After having met our German GPEN colleagues online several times already, it was wonderful to finally meet each other in person. Shaking hands, sharing a hug, looking one another in the eyes – it truly makes a difference. Enjoying a great meal together was an added bonus 😉.
During my short visit, we exchanged information about our respective organisations. I introduced Verus, the themes we are working on, and the challenges we are facing. In return, Birgit and her team told me more about the EKD and the ESS (Evangelische Schulstiftung). It was encouraging to discover how much we have in common and, at the same time, how much we can learn from one another in areas where our approaches differ slightly. Ultimately, our mission is the same: to support high-quality, inspiring education for the children in our schools.
We concluded our meeting by discussing the future of GPEN and the way forward to further strengthen this network.
I would like to thank the entire German EKD / GPEN team for making this visit possible. Thank you!
Marijke Floris-Hoekert