UK-German Connection is a bilateral government initiative dedicated to improving contact and understanding between young people in the UK and Germany. It was established in 2005, following Her Majesty’s State Visit to Germany in November 2004, during which Queen Elizabeth II and Federal President Horst Köhler launched an initiative to foster UK-German school and youth links. Bringing young people together lies at the heart of their work. They act as a first port-of-call for information and advice, provide a dedicated advisory service for school and youth partnerships, and offer funding for UK-German activity as well as a range of bilateral programmes, trips and seminars. Networks and virtual activities facilitate the active involvement of young people in the development of UK-German youth relations.
In collaboration with The Prince’s Foundation and Fashion Council Germany, UK-German Connection gave 40 students from the UK and Germany the chance to go behind the scenes of the fashion industry and explore what the future of textiles could look like. Across five days in Scotland, we took part in a range of workshops covering handcraft skills, sustainable practice and cultural exchange and also had the chance to be part of a wider conference where brands and designers provided industry insights.
I had the opportunity to travel to Glasgow to meet 20 German students as well as 19 other British and Irish students, to learn about sustainable development in fashion and take part in a variety of workshops as well as a seminar. The actual activities and seminar happened outside of Glasgow in a town called Dumfries. I met 39 amazing young people and a group of very talented fashion designers and students from across Germany and the United Kingdom. The programme was fully funded by UK-German Connection, even the travel costs were reimbursed.
Over the course of 4 of the days, I took part in 10 different activities and workshops, ranging from natural dying and Sashiko mending to STEM workshops to team building and cultural quizzes. On Day 1, we covered four different hour-and-a-half-long workshops that covered weaving, natural dying, Sashiko mending and basic sewing machine skills. On day 2, we had a bit more of a calm day with team building and knitting. Day 3 was a bit more energetic with a sustainable farm tour and the STEM workshop in the morning and a trip into Ayr for a mill tour in the afternoon. On Day 4, we had our fashion conference, where we met successful German business owners and fashion designers and a took a tour of Dumfries House.
During my experience, I learnt so many different things like avocado stones turn fibres pink and not brown or green and how mending garments can be a form of art and should be shown and celebrated. Not only did I learn a lot about fabrics, fibres and fashion, I learnt a lot about cultural differences between the United Kingdom and Germany as well as other people. Each night we engaged in many different cultural activities to build an understanding with each other and learn about us as teens in modern-day fashion. To find out about this in more detail, along with detailed instructions to try for yourself at home, please click HERE.
Germany is one of the leading countries in the world in the way of sustainable fashion and has produced many successful designers that have revolutionised the fashion industry. It was a pleasure to meet a couple of these designers as well as many young people who have the potential to revolutionise the industry further.
Even though I do not feel like following textiles and fashion as a career or in the future, I love it as a hobby and will continue to love it until the day that I die. It is a topic I feel very passionately about and I am glad I have learnt the origins of just some of the clothes I wear. UK-German Connection has allowed me to appreciate my clothes more and has given me a new pair of eyes when looking at sustainability in fashion. I believe that in any job, sustainable fashion is important because why can’t we be doing our part to help the world in a different way? If all clothes and uniforms were made sustainably then there would be less pollution in the world.
I would definitely recommend a UK-German Connection activity to everyone as they don’t only do fashion but a lot more topics as well. Even if you just want to meet new people from Germany and build new connections, you can. You do not need to know how to speak German and you can meet many new people. They do video calls between countries (so you do not need to leave the comfort of your home) as well as their trips to places in the UK and Germany.
This week, Year 13 students attended a presentation given by South Wales Fire and Rescue Service about road safety. This was to emphasise to new, young drivers the dangers they face on the roads that they are now driving on. This presentation made very clear the impact that one student can have on others using the roads and, hopefully, will make young drivers and passengers at our school think twice before driving a vehicle in a dangerous manner.
Monmouth, Hate Litter’ Campaign’. Mr Handley is a significant contributor in spreading awareness in the fight against litter throughout the community. The Council also discussed how to make period products more accessible within the school building, a subject raised by Year 12 student Asha, which will certainly be discussed further in the coming weeks.
Congratulations to Year 8 student Carys Hughes (centre) who became U14 Welsh National Champion in cyclocross on Sunday at Pembrey Country Park and gets to wear the Welsh jersey for the rest of this year. 
The pop-up bookshop from Rossiter Books will be in school on Monday (Y7 and 8) and Tuesday (Y9, 10 and 11) .
Monmouthshire County Council held the first of a series of fostering events at Shire Hall in Monmouth in November to encourage people to foster local children and young people with drop-in sessions planned around Monmouthshire during December.
