Minister of Science Manja Schüle informs herself about BTU monitoring centre

Against the backdrop of increasing right-wing mobilisation attempts, the Minister was very interested in the initial experiences from two semesters, the perception of the "Monitoring Office against the Right" and the cooperation in the city. She praised BTU for being the first university in Germany and Brandenburg to set up the monitoring centre and scientific support.

Susanne Dyhr, who coordinates the monitoring centre, Chancellor Robert Denk and Prof. Jens Schubert in his role as Commissioner for Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Semitism took part in the meeting on behalf of BTU. As a representative of the university management, Robert Denk emphasised BTU's position as one of the social players in the region that is actively addressing the current situation and right-wing extremist developments. He emphasised: "We take our responsibility for our students and Staff Members seriously. Our self-image includes providing a good education in our degree programmes, education in the spirit of an open-minded society and, as a research institution, being and remaining a place of critical debate. As such, it is important to us to analyse right-wing extremism and extreme right-wing influence, evaluate the facts and draw conclusions for future action plans."

In addition to documentation, analysing the situation and providing support to those affected, Susanne Dyhr sees her tasks as working on the basis of trust, but in particular also in a well-functioning network and cooperation with many players in the city, the region and nationwide. Recognising that not all incidents are reported, she hopes that this opportunity will be taken up even more. In cases where there is uncertainty, she is available with advice, counselling and argumentation support.

With its action plan against (extreme) right-wing influence, BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg is actively positioning itself against right-wing extremism and discrimination. The monitoring centre is part of the implementation of the action plan. It documents incidents of (extreme) right-wing influence peddling and discrimination, clarifies the context and supports those affected.

The executive committee of BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg decided to set up the monitoring centre in order to further expand the university's own structures for the prevention of discrimination and to generate the relevant knowledge. The monitoring centre is therefore affiliated to the Research Centre for (Social) Education and Civil Society Counter-Strategies in Dealing with Right-Wing Extremism (FUR) of the Methods and Theories of Social Work chair in the Faculty of Human Sciences.