Organization history
The German Adult Education Association (DVV) was founded in 1953 as an umbrella organization for the then ten, and now sixteen, Land or State Adult Education Associations in the Federal Republic of Germany.
The historical roots of the adult education schools (VHS) go back to the beginnings of the workers' and popular education movement in the late 19th century. Today, the VHS are Public continuing adult education centers which offer very varied provision, ranging from communication and personal development, vocational qualifications and inservice training, school-leaving and other certificate courses, to social partisipation and integration through adult education (AE).
The Institute for International Cooperation of the German Adult Education Association (IIZ/DVV) serves the national, European and international goals, functions and practise of German AE. The institute supports the design and implementation of AE programmes in numerous partner countries, fosters cooperation between German and International AE, and promotes the exchange of information and exprience in this field.
In the 1950s, reconciliation and understanding between peoples were major goals of international contacts and partnerships. In the 1960s, development-oriented AE was a component of the educational aid provided to support decolonization. Contacts were quickly made, and experience exchanged, with partners in Africa and Latin America, leading the DVV to establish a Department for Adult Education in Developing Countries in 1969, its name being changed in 1975 to the Department for International Cooperation.
Interest in international exchange of experience in AE increased in the 1970s, in response to the growing importance accorded to development cooperation. This led to greater commitments being made to partners in Africa and Latin America, and their extension to Asia.
The changes in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe in the late 1980s, and the process of European integration in early 1990s, created new demands and challenges, which have been taken up since 1993 by the newly organized Institute for International Cooperation of the DVV in numerous initiatives and projects.
