... living,

              learning and

working together

...  is the motto of the Exchange Project that was initiated by  the Felix-Fechenbach-Berufskolleg in Detmold, the Administration of the County Lippe,Black Teens for Advancement (BTA) and the Atlanta Technical College (ATC) in Georgia, U.S.A.

The first contacts  were established in 1996 and have been intensified ever since which led into an active exchange project. This was made possible by the Dept. Of Employment, Health and Social Affairs of Northrhine-Westphalia who initially funded this project. Additional assistance was granted by the Chamber of Commerce in Detmold.

Globalization of the markets and the growing international cooperation of the economies need international thinking. Thinking Internationally is one of the made goals of the institutions involved in vocational training. Therefore vocational training has become a main aspect of the project. Young people from both cultural backgrounds are enabled to experience, understand and  evaluate the different systems of vocational training.

The first phase of the project was the visit of 10 students and their chaparones from the Felix-Fechenbach-Berufkolleg in Atlanta and the return visit of ATC students to Detmold in the same year. At that visit  Dr. Brenda Watts-Jones, President of the ATC, and OStD Heinrich Lindau, then Director of the FFB, officially signed the partnership document and laid the groundwork for further development of the project.