My name is Angelika Griessmair, and I am very pleased to serve as the foundation’s director. I am convinced that learning is far more than simply imparting knowledge. Children and young people—as well as adults—need people who believe in them, provide them with guidance, and take their development seriously. Where trust is built and individual strengths are recognized, people can grow and find their own path. For me, an inclusive, holistic perspective is a given. I see great potential especially in out-of-school learning environments. They create opportunities to gain experience, take on responsibility, and get to know oneself better. This is precisely where I see the foundation’s special value: it supports and creates spaces where individual and collective development becomes possible. In addition, it provides important impetus for both education AND personal development. For me, the focus is always on the young person—with their personality, their abilities, their interests, and their very own perspectives on the world.

The foundation is working toward an Interreg project in which a cross-border participatory process will be used to identify challenges and needs in the fields of education, social services, and youth work, with the goal of subsequently supplementing these areas with new and sustainable programs. Through a variety of partnerships, the foundation aims to establish support systems and launch projects in which children, adolescents, and young adults take on responsibility for shaping their region and the community in which they live. The initiative is based on the conviction that people grow and come together through taking on responsible tasks and, when integrated into communities, can create a supportive and nurturing environment for themselves and for others.

Teenagers spend a week at the Burger Hof, reflecting together on how they want to learn and develop. Powerful ideas take shape, and they draft forward-looking educational concepts. The way these young people talk about it makes it clear that this is a topic close to their hearts, driven by a palpable longing for meaning and depth.

The foundation plans to launch a long-term research project. The project will examine how activities and learning formats at external learning sites promote the personal development and resilience of children and adolescents. The project aims to establish a long-term collaboration with EURAC and with universities.

As part of the fall workshop on networking external learning locations, a Quality Assurance Working Group was established with the mission of monitoring the quality of activities and learning formats at the new learning locations. The working group met for the first time on March 18 in Brixen to develop a work plan for 2026.

The growing diversity in schools presents both opportunities and challenges for inclusion efforts. The foundation is working with educational institutions to establish and staff support systems designed to promote integration and equal opportunity. The initiative is initially being implemented as a pilot project.

A key long-term goal remains the development and support of external learning sites and the securing of resources so that they can implement their respective programs of activities. The foundation is currently working to lay the groundwork for funding activities at the external learning sites, beginning in the fall of 2026, through cooperation agreements with school associations, clubs, and other partners.

We are currently searching for a location that could be developed into a “workshop of becoming”—for educational projects and youth work initiatives, but also for a diverse range of community-focused initiatives. A farm in Ratschings is currently under consideration. We are now assessing how well the location fits our needs and whether the project is financially viable. At the same time, we are keeping an eye out for other potential places of inspiration.

The networking initiative, which was approved at the workshop conference on November 26, 2025, is now being implemented. Through mechanisms of self-organization, a vibrant and sustainable network is expected to develop.

The former GS Perdonig has been owned by the state since the beginning of 2026 and will be ready for educational activities as early as this fall. At the same time, a participatory process is being organized to develop the concept for the learning center. This concept is intended to be dynamic and allow for changes based on experience.