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Telling 'Life Stories' is a tool that helps us understand better and assess the path the person focussed walked.

We have been conducting exposure and dialogue programmes with politicians and other decision-makers since 1985. Such long-standing experience makes us experts in networking actors from different continents and with different specialist subjects. We offer programmes in many different developing, emerging and transformation countries.

Our focus is always on personal encounter ('meeting as persons') and, thus, getting to know people who are taking steps out of poverty. This is specifically about a deeper understanding of the values the people we meet are guided by. Experiencing a foreign cultural and social environment is giving us new insights into complex interlinkages or causual relations.

These insights are being deepened by the dialogue with local and international decision-makers on site. It opens up new opportunities for improved cooperation when designing globalisation politically.


Please find below some few testimonials of EDP participants:

"During this one week, I learned more about the subject of long-term unemployment than any specialist or expert report could have taught me. I and eight other participants from politics, business and society, were able to use the unique opportunity for one week and spend three days with long-term unemployed from the Diocese of Trier. Each of us spent the time as a visitor of a person in long-term unemployment. We lived together, spent the night at the host's place, went shopping together, cooked together and went to our hosts' workplaces." MP Kai Whittaker, Aktion Arbeit EDP in the Diocese Trier (11 to 16 May 2014)

"[…]participation in the exposure project was an incredibly rich experience... Initially, I thought one of the delegates wanted to "show me how things were done". But we got along so well right away that this was quickly over. The first activity helped. We sorted corks that came from a collection point. We stood facing each other and had a good talk." Dr. Katarina Barley MdB, Aktion Arbeit EDP in the Diocese Trier (11 to 16 May 2014)

"I participated in an exposure and dialogue programme in Zambia in 2009 and would recommend it warmly to every colleague as well. In just a few days, you can experience and learn compactly, intensely and competently how your own decisions affect others and what problems that we may not have observed or thought of can arise." Ulrich Kelber MdB, Zambia 2009

"The exposure and dialogue programmes offer German companies an opportunity to get to know the framework conditions and markets on site specifically." Bruno Wenn, spokesman of the management of DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, EDP Uganda/Zambia 2009

"The dialogue programme gave me an insight into the culture and manner of life of the people that I would never have gotten as a member of an official delegation. I think that I can say that everyone came back to Europe very humbly. I would fully recommend the exposure and dialogue programme." Jens Ackermann MdB, India 2006

"The difference from normal business travels? Living it he family permits a very real and close connection to the country you travel in. The personal contacts and contact with regional business partners are also unusual." Barbara Hagelschuer, Sparkasse Freiburg-Emmendingen

"To me the programme was very helpful to answer the question of that kind of development cooperation could really help people in poor rural regions, what social change processes a country undergoes because of this, and what other supporting political measures will be important because of this in the future political dialogue." Bärbel Höhn MdB, India 2006

"Experiencing poverty up close for a few days changes the personal point of view. Many things are seen from a different perspective." Particularly for intercultural communication, a programme like the exposure and dialogue programme is indispensable." Hartwig Fischer MdB, Bolivia 2004

"The programme offered a great opportunity, ... to expand my own horizon. We were able to experience one thing very clearly: Change is possible!" Karl Starzacher, former chairman of RAG Aktiengesellschaft (former Ruhrkohle AG)


"This woman in Bangladesh got to me. I would almost say she got under my skin. The experience with "Women found existences" confirmed me in my wish to promote my father's company in spite of all challenges." Christine Schübel, managing partner of Schübel GmbH primeparts


"I think that this kind of programme is perfectly suitable for delegates as well as for other functionaries to make personal experiences
that are so deep that attitudes in life that are decisive for our work are affected." Claudia Crawford (former Nolte), former Federal minister, India 2000


"On a professional level, participation the programme showed me that great caution is required regarding the effect interrelations of supposedly simple decisions in foreign societies and cultures." Lothar Binding MdB, Bolivia 2004


“The time with George, in combination with meeting the people in the kanthari institute, who work out many possibilities to overcome all kinds of exclusion, impressed me. The Exposure and Dialogue Programme helped me to create my personal motto for the future: recognize the barriers and the possibilities to overcome them.” Jens B. Bessai, KfW Bankengruppe