D&F Academy

The D&F Academy offered a "new kind of education"^[9][10] where experienced personalities could pass on their knowledge to a group of young people, motivate and support them to turn their venture ideas into reality.^[3][4][11]

The D&F Academy brought together one mentor (Friends) and up to 20 students (Fellows) per project in experiential educational programs. Friends are leading personalities from different areas such as arts and culture, sports, business, and politics, who want to give back and pass on their knowledge and experience to the young people. The fellows are young adults aged 18 to 28 from around the world and all social classes.^[1][3][12] Each year the educational initiative organizes three projects.^[7]

The projects comprised a 10-week Challenge Phase and a 10-month Implementation Phase. In the Challenge Phase, the fellows worked on a challenge in Hamburg, given to them by their mentor, and prepared their venture ideas through the participation in the D&F start-up program.^[4] In the following ten months, the students implemented their sustainable social or ecological start-up plans in their home countries.^{[1][3][4][13]}

Project	Period	Location	Fellows	Friend
Museum Project	09/2009–11/2009	Schliersee, Germany	13	Markus Wasmeier: Painter, conservator, alpine ski medalist, owner of the Farmhouse Museum Schliersee
Dance Project	10/2009–12/2009	Istanbul, Turkey	13	Mustafa Erdogan: General Art Director, choreographer
Rehousing Project	04/2010-09/2010	Cebu, Philippines	16	Heinz Kulüke: Philosopher, social worker, founder of the NGO JIP-IDC
Media Project	04/2010-08/2010	Cebu, Philippines/ Manila, Philippines/ Zurich, Switzerland/ Geneva, Switzerland/ Schliersee, Germany/ London, England	1	Matthias Zuber/ Björn Hering: Director of cinema and TV documentaries/ lecturer at film schools Award-winning TV host and producer
Culinary Project	08/2011-11/2011	Hamburg, Germany	5	Tim Mälzer: Chef, TV cook
Teaching Project	08/2011-11/2011	New York City, United States	15	Sam Ross: Founder of Green Chimneys
Engage in Conservation Project	01/2012-01/2013	Hamburg, Germany	13	Jane Goodall: Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace
Sports Coaching Project	04/2012-04/2013	Hamburg, Germany	15	Jens Lehmann: Former soccer player
Music Project	09/2012-10/2013	Hamburg, Germany	16	Christoph Poppen: Conductor

^{[1][3][8][11][14][15]}

In each project the students had to accomplish an interactive task during the project, the so-called "Challenge".

• Museum Project:

Restoring a 17th-century farmhouse in the German Alps utilizing original materials, traditional tools, wood-crafting and handicraft techniques.

• Dance Project:

Learning and sharing dance tradition from different cultures, as well as partaking in the dance shows of Fire of Anatolia, one of the biggest dance groups in the world.

• Rehousing Project:

Learning about community building, as well as constructing a facility to initiate the rehousing of a community of scavenger families who currently live on a dumpsite.

• Media Project:

Traveling the world to meet the Fellows of the D&F Academy, Friends and other people in search of stories. Sharing experiences in a bi-weekly IPTV show hosted on YouTube, iTunes, and on the D&F World.

• Culinary Project:

Creating a multimedia online food portal with the aim to inspire other young people around the world to care about what they eat. www.goodfoodgood.com

• Teaching Project:

Planning and building an intercultural learning center on the Green Chimneys campus.

• Engage in Conversation Project:

Developing a youth engagement project that will combine fieldwork and online elements.

• Sports Coaching Project:

Organizing a soccer tournament with youth groups from Hamburg.

• Music Project:

Creating a Music Camp Day in Hamburg with youth groups.

^{[3][14] [16][17]}