Preamble

The Fachschaft Geography Bonn represents all geography students of the University of Bonn. In accordance with its statutes, the Geography Bonn student council has the goal of promoting the political and professional education of students and representing all geography students of the Institute of Geography Bonn in committees. The student interests are decisive in this respect, which include questions and topics of study, the subject of geography and the academic life of the students.

Basic principles

In its activities, the Geography Student Council Bonn is guided by the following basic principles:

  1. Free democratic basic order: This is based on the recognition of human dignity, the principle of democracy and the rule of law as well as non-violence and the idea of intercultural understanding and cooperation.
  2. Self-determination of individuals: The freedom of the individual is fundamental, which ends with the restriction of the freedom of others.
  3. Equality of all and freedom from discrimination: The Department of Geography Bonn advocates equal opportunities regardless of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, impairments, social status and ideology. Within the framework of this self-conception, the Geography Department Bonn is party-political, ideological and cosmopolitan neutral.

These basic principles result in an incompatibility with sexist, racist, fascist, totalitarian, nationalist, anti-religious, historical-revisionist, revanchist and disbelieving ideas and actions.

Incompatibilities

These incompatibilities are outlined below:

  • Sexism represents discrimination according to sex and gender and any form of sexualised violence. The term covers gender stereotypes, affects and behaviour that reproduce, among other things, social inequality based on gender/gender identification.
  • Racism is seen in close relation to belonging to another ethnicity and nationality. Racism categorises and judges people on the basis of external (e.g. skin colour, height, language) and cultural characteristics (e.g. religion, clothing, or customs).
  • Totalitarism and fascism are characterised by, among other things, extreme hierarchical structures, claims to totality, rejection of individualism and pluralism, inhuman world views and military structures (principle of rank and force).
  • Nationalism is understood as the exaggeration of one’s own nation over others. Nationalism thereby exceeds the characteristics of patriotism.
  • Religious hostility is the discrimination and oppression of people on the basis of their religion. This includes in particular, but not exclusively, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.
  • Historical revisionism is the questioning and reinterpretation of the generally accepted course of German, European and world history from political, ideological and non-scientific motives.
  • Revanchism aims to violently change the political map on the basis of historical events.
  • Ableism or hostility towards people with disabilities means the discrimination and rejection of people with physical or mental impairments and any other diseases.

Sustainability

The Geography Student Council Bonn also feels committed to the principle of sustainability. All actions of the student council must always be compatible with this principle under ecological, economic and socio-cultural aspects. The behaviour of the student council is to be regularly reviewed and evaluated in this respect.

Furthermore, we commit ourselves to bringing the scientific consensus on climate and environmental protection into the public eye and to defending it.

Final sentence

Appropriate action is derived from these principles, which is defined and laid down in more detail in our awareness concept, our sustainability strategy and the guidelines for public relations work.

This self-image is in a state of constant change and should be regularly developed further by the respective active members.