Brno–Stuttgart Study Visit: Young People, Sustainability and Community Life

A study visit may sound like a rather formal term. In reality, however, it often hides something very alive: people meeting each other, sharing experiences, asking new questions, looking for common paths and finding an opportunity to view familiar topics from a different perspective.

At the beginning of July, we welcomed a group of young people from Brno and Stuttgart to Multicultural Center Brusinka. The visit was part of a programme focused on youth participation in public life, sustainability and social inclusion.

The programme took place in Brno from 1 to 5 July 2026. Brno is one of Stuttgart’s partner cities. Eight young people aged 18 to 21 took part in the visit. The aim was to get to know organisations in Brno, discuss opportunities for participation in the fields of sustainability and social inclusion and find inspiration for a future international project in 2027.

he whole visit was prepared in cooperation with Stadtjugendring Stuttgart e.V. and followed on from previous international youth activities in the fields of sustainability, volunteering and community engagement. We are glad that Brusinka also became part of the programme.

At Brusinka, we opened topics that are closely connected to our everyday work: community support, diversity, inclusion, personal development, mutual understanding and the role of shared activities in building trust between people from different backgrounds.

The atmosphere was very open. It was a lively conversation about how young people can influence the environment around them and how important it is to have a space where they can be heard.

Experts from different fields took part in the workshop on behalf of Multicultural Center Brusinka: Mgr. Viktoria Netíková, who has long been involved in multicultural education, community development and international cooperation; Shaun Copple, who works at Brusinka as Community Cohesion & Integration Lead and focuses on community cohesion and integration; and Ilona Dostálová, Wellbeing in Education Coordinator, with a focus on pedagogy, psychology and parental support.

We introduced Brusinka as a community space where education, culture, creativity and mental wellbeing naturally come together. We spoke about language and educational programmes, music and art activities, workshops, community events, work with children, families and young people, as well as international cooperation.

One of the main ideas was the understanding of community work as a process that grows from long-term relationships, trust and repeated encounters. In such an environment, people can learn from one another, share experiences and gradually develop a sense that they belong to a place and a community.

During the presentation, we described this process simply: safe space → shared activity → dialogue → trust → sense of belonging → participation

This path from a safe space to active participation is one of the core principles on which we build our work at Brusinka.

The participants also shared their experience from the Precious Food-Ture project, which took place in Stuttgart and focused on rescuing and sharing food, community gardening and volunteering in a multicultural team. We were especially interested in its practical dimension – for example, the creation of the Stuttgart Food Map, which helps people find places where rescued or shared food is available.

This experience was followed by a roundtable discussion focused on current questions of community work, sustainability and youth participation. We connected examples from Stuttgart with our presentation on community work at Brusinka and jointly explored topics that could become the basis for future cooperation between Brno and Stuttgart. We discussed what helps young people feel that they belong, how a community center can support their participation and how shared activities can strengthen trust between different groups.

At the end, we asked together: what could Brno and Stuttgart create in 2027?

We especially appreciated the openness, curiosity and energy of the young participants. It was inspiring to see that they think about public space, community, sustainability and social responsibility in very concrete ways – through their own ideas, experiences and questions.

This visit followed on from our longer-term Czech-German cooperation. In the past, for example, we welcomed students from Oberschule Bad Essen for a workshop dedicated to racism, discrimination and inclusion. In the field of culture, we implemented the Czech-German project “Personal Musical Journey” with German pianist and composer Clemens Christian Poetzsch, supported by the Czech-German Future Fund. Our current project Danube Peace is also based on similar principles of cross-border dialogue, education and work with historical memory. Within this project, we cooperate, among others, with the German partner organisations Outside Multicultural Magazine and Youth Power Germany e.V.

The Brno–Stuttgart study visit represents another important step for us in the development of Czech-German cooperation. It reminds us that international partnerships are built on personal encounters, open dialogue, shared experience and the willingness to think about the future together.

We believe that opportunities like this give young people space to be active, discover new places, bring their own ideas and participate in society. Open dialogue, trust and cooperation can then gradually move not only individuals, but entire communities forward.

Brusinka builds bridges, not barriers.