Panda School

PandaSchool – Political education at the KAS Eupen stadium

With PandaSchool, KAS Eupen is breaking new ground and becoming the first soccer club in Belgium to offer workshops in political education. Starting in the 2025/2026 school year, students from the 5th grade onwards will have the opportunity to explore important social issues such as inclusion, democratic values, group behavior, and dealing with hate speech at the Kehrweg Stadium.

The project is part of our #morethanfootball initiative and is based on a successful model from England and Germany (Lernort Stadion), in which soccer stadiums become places of education. In collaboration with the BELvue Museum, an experienced center for democracy education, we have developed a pedagogically sound workshop program.
The workshops are led by François Letocart, specialist advisor for political and democratic education at AHS Ostbelgien and Jugendinfo Ostbelgien. The workshops can be booked in German or French.

PandaSchool is part of the official catalog “Demokratie macht Schule” (Democracy goes to school). This means that schools in East Belgium can have their travel expenses reimbursed.

The first workshops took place in April 2025 as part of a trial phase with schools from the region. The regular program will start in September 2025 at the Kehrweg Stadium—a place where education and soccer come together in a unique way.

Description of the individual workshops:

Inclusion / Combating Discrimination

In a role-playing game, students experience discrimination firsthand. First, they form a soccer team and a fan club. Then they experience discrimination: Is it normal for one team to have a smaller goal? Why is the referee stricter with one of the two teams? The analysis of the experiences of discrimination is intended to illustrate the spiral of violence and emphasize the need for a “fair” environment in which inclusion is the top priority.

Well-being / Distance from the group effect
Our identity consists of many facets. Students are simultaneously their parents’ children, classmates, gamers, and much more. When an identity is shared with a group, a group effect can arise. You’re stronger in a group, right? Doesn’t this group effect become harmful when it leads to the exclusion of other groups? In this workshop, students discover not only the many facets of their identity, but also the effects of the group effect.

The weight of words
Is it acceptable to laugh at everything? Can our words hurt others with impunity? Must we accept all hate speech on social media in the name of freedom of expression? This debate is examined in the context of the 19 recognized criteria for discrimination. In a playful activity, students recognize hate speech and understand that even a “like” on social media carries responsibility.

Discovering democratic values
Once the students have understood the concept of democracy in comparison to totalitarianism, they experience how democracy works in a game. Is it easier to play soccer in a democratic or a totalitarian system? Is a collaborative system more efficient and motivating for players than a totalitarian system in which the referee decides everything, even the rules of the game, without ever explaining anything and without allowing discussion?

Each school can choose two of the four workshops mentioned above. The two workshops together last three hours. There is a short break between the two workshops.

📅 Dates & registration PandaSchool: an overview of the available dates from September 2025 to June 2026 and the option to register can be found here

👥 Number of participants: 12-25 people

🕘 Time: 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. or 1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.

📍 Location: Kehrweg Stadium, Kehrweg 14, 4700 Eupen

Tip: Offer can be combined with the Parliament of the German-speaking Community

Directly opposite the Kehrweg Stadium, the Parliament of the German-speaking Community also offers workshops in the field of political education. Depending on the availability of the Parliament, school classes can take part in supplementary workshops there and thus organize a whole project day on political education and democracy education – with half a day at each location.

For further information and to register for workshops at the Parliament of the DG, please contact: nadine.streicher@staff.pdg.be