The exhibition in the Fuggerei NEXT500 Pavilion

Take time for an audio tour through the exhibition. Learn about the background and hear what the participants have to say about the Fuggerei NEXT500 Pavilion. To do so, scan the QR codes at the individual stations with the photo function of your smartphone. Listen to the tour comfortably via your mobile phone and use your headphones for the best audio experience.

• 9 stations in front of and in the pavilion
• available in German and English
• free of charge

Seven social challenges – seven objects

On the way up, an object exhibition in the blue cubes shows you how real and current the seven social challenges are around the world. Learn the stories behind the objects and let the impressions sink in.  

Overcoming need

Object: Original pension certificate from Lithuania

The average pension in Lithuania is just 238 euros, while the cost of living is only 20 to 30% lower than in Germany. The poverty and loneliness of the elderly in Lithuania is of dramatic proportions. Care is primarily the unpaid responsibility of relatives, especially women, who are thus themselves caught in a spiral of need.

The Lithuanian Gintaras Grachauskas wants to change this – with a “Fuggerei of the future” in his home country. People in need – families and individuals of all ages – will be able to live there. Care services would be provided by medical professionals and trainees, who would also live there with their families at low cost. This “Fuggerei of the future in Lithuania” would be a strong impulse for how real need can be overcome on a structural level.

Developing spirituality

Object: Omamori to ward off misfortune, from the Kinomoto Jizō Temple (木之本地蔵院) in Nagahama, on loan from Julia Thurner-Irmler

In Japan, omamori are bestsellers in Buddhist temples as well as in Shinto shrines. They contain slips of paper with protective sayings or prayers and are offered for every situation in life: from the wish for happiness in love to requests for healing to protection against loss of data. Omamori receive their power through priestly rituals and must be treated with respect. They mustn’t be opened under any circumstances. When their power is exhausted after a year, they are collected and burned in a ritual fire.

Even in societies where technological progress seems to dominate everything, spirituality accompanies everyday life and creates moments of reflection. This has a positive inward effect as well as impacting our relationships with our fellow human beings. This is why Fuggereis of the future offer space to develop one’s own spirituality.

Guaranteeing humanistic values

Object: Transistor radio, on loan from Rekord Café, Augsburg

For the indigenous Shuar people in the Amazon region of Ecuador, transistor radios have become intermediaries for their rights and identity. With their own radio schools, the Shuar have been giving lessons in their own language and in Spanish in their scattered settlements since the 1970s. This strengthened their sense of self-determination while promoting tolerance in the country instead of confrontation. More recently, mining encroachments on Shuar territories have caused conflicts with the government. The Shuar still own and use their radio stations today – mainly for educational work.

Fuggereis of the future can play a positive role in societies whose guiding principle is, will be or should remain that of human dignity. After all, curation in a Fuggerei ensures that humanistic values such as non-violence, tolerance, dignity and personal freedom are guaranteed.

Strengthening self-determination and dignity

Object: Part of a water pipe from the Fuggerei

Water supply is a major issue in parts of East Africa. There, even children often have to travel for hours with jerrycans to waterholes. To address this problem, the foundation established by the footballer Neven Subotic is having wells and sanitary facilities built at schools. The idea: better access to clean water will create time and motivation to attend school. School and education in turn create better opportunities for a self-determined life in dignity. As a guest at the Fuggerei NEXT500 Forum, Neven Subotic highlighted these important connections.

When basic needs such as water, food and housing are met, people can develop and tackle other goals. Fuggereis of the future cover basic needs, but they do even more: by providing a high quality of living and helping people to help themselves, they strengthen the self-determination and dignity of their residents.

Creating living space

Object: Razor blade used in the practice of genital mutilation, Sierra Leone

As a result of a long civil war, Sierra Leone is lacking vital structures. The local NGO “Amazonian Initiative Moment” and the German NGO “PfefferminzGreen” are now starting a community development project in the village of Rothumba in the form of a Fuggerei of the future. By helping people to help themselves, the aim is to create a living space for hundreds of people. The idea comes from the Rothumba community itself.

One main focus is the fight against female genital mutilation. 86% of the women, young and old, living in Sierra Leone today have been subjected to this deep-rooted cultural ritual, which also frequently results in deaths. In the Fuggerei of the future in Rothumba, empowerment and protection are intended to prevent genital mutilation while preserving positive aspects of traditional culture.

Creating sustainability

Object: Cork oak bark, gift from O Moliceiro Portuguese Specialities, Augsburg

In the year 2017 alone, 110 people died in forest fires in Portugal. Since forestry there has relied on eucalyptus trees, which are quick to mature but highly flammable, fires have spread to an uncontrollable extent. The traditional cork oaks, on the other hand, with their thick bark, are considerably more resistant to fire. Cork oak forests can mitigate and even stop fires. For this reason, new initiatives are planting “cork oak islands” or converting to mixed forests.

For sustainable success, however, further measures are needed, such as prospects for the many older forest farmers with extremely low incomes. Another aspect is providing internet access in the area as a way to stop the rural exodus and to attract young people to settle in the area. Sustainability is a never-ending task and must be actively generated – Fuggereis of the future can contribute to this.

Providing security

Object: Bomb splinters from the Second World War, on loan from the Augsburg professional fire brigade

In the wartime year of 1944, the Fuggerei was reduced to rubble during bombing raids. There was one fatality. Many residents survived the night of bombing in the Fuggerei bunker and were subsequently evacuated. The Fugger senior council of the time immediately decided to rebuild. The first families were able to return starting in the year 1947.

Remnants of the air raids are still being found in Augsburg today. During the 2016 Christmas season, a World War II bomb had to be defused, which meant that the city centre and the Fuggerei had to be evacuated. The experience revealed to many that a safe home is not something that can be taken for granted. Yet, for the people who live there, the Fuggerei fulfils its mission permanently and safely – even in bad times. Fuggereis of the future can thus provide an important perspective, especially in areas of crisis and war.