Student Exchange
Kalpitiya x Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf

Between October 27 and November 07, 2025, students from Berlin and Kalpitiya came together in Sri Lanka to exchange ideas on pressing topics such as ocean protection, waste reduction and recycling to develop joint strategies for a sustainable future.
 

The partnership project was launched in 2019 by the Department for Eduaction for Sustainable Development of the Berlin district Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. In cooperation with the Kitesurfing Camp and School Kitesurfing Lanka and the Berlin based start-up Merijaan, the project aims to raise awarness of the increasing pollution of Kalpitiya’s beaches.

The main goal of the project is to foster public awareness of environmental issues in a creative and tangible way. At the heart of this intercultural exchange lies the question: Why does ocean protection and plastic waste reduction concern all of us?

Using the Education Box #2030, global challenges are explained in the context of UN’s Agenda 2030, laying the foundation for developing local solutions.

The Goethe-Institut Sri Lanka supported the project by strengthening the link between cultural exchange and sustainable development. In July 2025, this collaboration led to the open-air photo exhibition at the Steinplatz in Berlin by Sri Lankan photographers.  Within the conceptual frame “Humanity & Earth”, the participants explored approaches to visually capture the relationships between humans and nature while raising awarness of sustainability issues.

This year, the Goethe-Institut supported the new project phase with a two workshops, providing a creative starting point for intercultural dialogue and waste management.

The first poster making workshop, called Listen to us! took place from 14 – 17. February and was led by Pathum Egodawatta of Mooniak and comedian/ activist Nathasha Edirisooriya with the goal of teaching students how to express their thoughts and ideas through simple, powerful messages they can share with a wider audience. Sustainability, ocean wellness and plastic waste prevention remained the central theme across all workshops. A total of 30 students from six local schools participated in the program, and eight students were selected to take part in the student exchange to Berlin in June, where they will engaged in cultural exchange, sustainability-focused workshops, and collaborative learning with partner schools, strengthening international understanding and long-term partnerships between the two communities.

The second workshop took place from the 11th until the 16th of September at Kitesurfing Lanka, Kalpitiya, involving 30 students aged 13 to 15 from 6 different schools. The workshop lead by actor and stand-up comedian Lihan Mendis and actor Tracy Jayasinghe with V. Thusandra was conducted primarily in English, with Tamil and Sinhalese translations provided when necessary. During the workshop the students explored what sustainability can look like in Kalpitiya, with a specific focus on plastic waste reduction. Together with the workshop facilitators they discussed what the limitations of reusing and recycling waste are. The workshop featured brainstorming sessions, script developing sessions, games and arts and crafts. It also included one field trip to the nearby Donkey Beach where students collected objects that could be used as musical instruments for the final performance.

The final performance consisted of a short play, which explored the topics of friendship, sustainability and waste management. During a birthday party a group of friends collected waste at a beach but later found itself left with the impossibility of properly disposing of the waste collected as neither burning nor burying nor bringing it back home was an option. The play left the audience with the question “What shall the younger generation do with a waste problem, which they did not create and possess no proper way to dispose of?”