Ludwigshafen (ako) - For the first time, the Ferdinande Boxberger Prize for Ignatian Education, endowed with a total of 10,000 euros, was awarded within the framework of the "Days of Ignatian Education" in the Heinrich Pesch House (HPH). The winners are Prof. James Arthur, Director of the Jubilee Centre at the University of Birmingham, and Julius de Gruyter, Kai Lanz and Jan Wilhelm, who developed the anti-mobbing app "exclamo!

The eponym of the prize

With this prize, the founder of the prize, Friedrich Wilhelm Krekeler from Bonn-Bad Godesberg, commemorates his mother, Ferdinande Boxberger (1914-2014), and expresses the grateful connection of his family with Ignatian pedagogy. As a self-confident personality, the cosmopolitan Jewish Sauerlander, who was rooted in the cosmopolitan world, preserved her pride and dignity in the tectonic upheavals and upheavals of her centuries-long existence.

"Personality development is not an academic matter. The name of this prize stands for it in an exemplary way", said Father Johannes Siebner SJ, Provincial of the German Province of the Jesuits, who presented the award ceremony. For Ferdinande Boxberger had been a woman "who stood for character formation in her family in an exemplary way". Alfred Delp's saying "He who does not have the courage to make history becomes her poor victim. Let us do" also applied to the eponym of the prize and her life. The motto of the life-affirming businesswoman, who was open-minded and turned towards strangers, was "Let us do! Always to become master of the situation, never victim of the circumstances.

The Ferdinande Boxberger Prize

The Ferdinande Boxberger Prize is divided into two parts: "On the one hand, we honour the life's work of people who have made an exemplary contribution to personality development in the sense of Ignatian pedagogy. And we want to support lighthouse projects in the schools of Ignatian pedagogy that stand in a special way for the goals of our pedagogy", said Father Johannes Siebner SJ, Provincial of the German Province of the Jesuits. Good pedagogy needs reflected action, committed personalities and outstanding initiatives. The prize is intended for people and groups who have adopted Alfred Delp's motto: Let us do it.

Prof. Dr. James Arthur - Jubilee Centre, University of Birmingham

James Arthur is Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor for Human Resources and Professor of Education and Citizenship at the University of Birmingham. In 2012 he founded the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues. This institute at Birmingham University, in collaboration with educators, philosophers and psychologists, develops concrete models of character building for schools and explores the effectiveness of different concepts. The background to these efforts is the classical Aristotelian model of virtue ethics on the one hand, and modern developmental psychological models such as positive psychology on the other. With its scientific work, the Centre supports the work of local schools in order to advance the quality of school education, the school development of concrete schools and the further training of teachers.

"The Jubilee Centre is a stroke of luck for our Ignatian schools," Johannes Siebner thanked the prizewinner. The Centre for Ignatian Education (ZIP) at HPH and the Jubilee Centre have become good partners. "This has given our work at ZIP great dynamism and breadth," said Siebner. With James Arthur, "a pioneer of pedagogy" became the first winner of the Ferdinande Boxberger Prize.

"We want to make people more human through virtues," said Arthur, "virtues that help shape the character of young people. The work of the Jubilee Centre focuses on community, society and the individual in society. "Our goal is for people to think about others and about their neighbors. If you make people think that way, you improve society - and people. Both are important," he explained.

Anti-Mobbing-App "exclamo!" from the Canisius-Kolleg in Berlin

 Three high school graduates of the Canisius-Kolleg in Berlin - Julius de Gruyter, Kai Lanz and Jan Wilhelm - have developed the anti-bullying app "exclamo!" within the framework of a school project "business@school" with Boston consulting. (Latin for outcry). With the help of this app, bullied pupils can find out about help offers. "The app provides information so that those affected understand that the problem is not them but the mobber. And it encourages action," said the Provincial. "Violence must not be tolerated", he stressed.

The app can be used for both current smartphone operating systems and is also available to teachers to discuss the topic of "violence".