Manifest

Famines and lack of potable water in Africa, catastrophic earthquakes in China, floods in Pakistan and daily reports of other emergencies all over the world. No day passes by on which we are not confronted with a flood of images of this kind!

Despite or even because of this huge amount of information we are not able to stand up and help. Dull and indefferent due to the endlessness of these situations and the spatial distance we are unable to come up to our sociocritical claim and we renounce our responsibility by turning it over to the state.

We therefore often try to calm our conscience through finacial donations which we contribute to several social projects in the time around Christmas and Easter, but even this doesn't provide us with the feeling of really having taken sufficient action. Because of the missing personal link, we rather see ourselves as small and unimportant and we long for the experience of becoming an essential part of a bigger whole through our personal commitment.

This is where the "Live for Life" idea kicks in, providing a plattform for participation, in which everyone becomes irreplacable through his uniqueness and at the same time gets the opportunity to contribute to something big and valuble within a strong network.

Theory

How does Live for Life differ from an ordinary donation project?

First and foremost Live for Life of course has the aim of collecting money, which then is transferred to social projects, predominantly working in the field of development aid. Purely financial contributions however will not be accepted if they are not preceded by a direct activity, according to the concept of the association.

In difference to traditional welfare associations, the focus is set on the personal capacities of each individual, his hobbies, talents, and interests. These individual resources are the basis for individually or collectively developed charity events, conducted with the aim not of gaining money by the traditional way but of asking people to compensate the individual for his achievements, independent from the fact that the money will end up as a donation in the end.

The individual is therefore of elementary importance for putting the idea of Live for Life into effect.This idea is not only determined by its simplicity, but is to be understood as a holistic philosophical-anthropological concept.

Live for Life aims at the satisfaction of basic human needs, according to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, for example the pursuit of social recognition, membership in social groups, and the striving for self-realization in a sensible context.

This is especially true for the age of youth: the association aims at the same key qualifications as the official german youth work, supporting qualities such as self-responsibilty and sociability. This in turn contributes to the development of a personality guided by a system of values based on global responsibility, which clears the way for a higher grade of self-determination, lets one take responsibility in society and develops social commitment.

In this context, Live for Life is to be understood as playground and steppingstone at the same time, and can therefore be rated at highest priority in the general pool of projects available to the german youth. What exactly does this mean?

The playground-metaphor may be understood as follows: Live for Life itself is supposed to function, among other things, as a perturbation which, according to the theory of radical constructivism, triggers reflexion and action. In the best case, this will lead to the development of new ideas for independent projects working on different social issues; however, the main goal is at first to animate people to participate.

The basis for for social commitment is laid primarily in younger years, which means it is of especially high importance not to constrain creativity and freedom of action and to provide a sufficient and stimulating offer so as to reach a high level of attractivity.

However, this offer is not only directed at the youth, but, logically, to all age groups of the population, right up to seniors. Each age group posesses special capabilities which are to be discovered and applied, which only lack the possibility to come to the surface and which often complete each other. Especially seniors, for example, are a group whose resources often remain unused, who are somewhat separated from civil life and exluded from modern means of communication, but who strive for a sensible contribution to society.

Practice

An idea is only useful if it doesnt't stay one!

In fact, the concept of live for life is easy to put into practice; we will now try to explain it further, using a few examples to make it easier to understand. Realistic scenarios could be the organisation of tournaments in different sports disciplines (be it soccer, basketball, ping pong, tabletop soccer, poker, etc.), musical events such as concerts or street music, or exhibitions of art. Another possibility is the organisation of bazars, where homemade articles could be sold.

Another completely different possibilty is to play a part in the association's work by using one's diplomatic skills and social networks. Especially those who are members in other associations or have some other sort of helpful connections to groups can use these to spread the idea and to mobilise support for Live for Life.

A promising alternative could also be simply the organisation of partys. Backed up by Live for Life, the access to a solid infrastructure is guaranteed. Live for Life can help promoting an event, for example by putting up posters etc. Furthermore, the association is able to reach like-minded people who are willing to help with the organisation. If the organisers of any kind of event need money in advance, they can borrow it from the capital stock of the association after making an adequate request. The profit generated in the event, for example by charging entrance fees or selling beverages, will then go directly to the project currently supported by Live for Life.

Conclusion

The advantages of taking part in in Live for Life are clear to see:

On the one hand, each individual makes his or her contribution to the projects supported by Live for Life, who work directly on social issues worldwide. On the other hand, the individuals themselves profit enormously through the social recognition earned by their commitment, they expand their personal skills and are able to employ them in a social context. Finally, they will gain an active influence on the cultural life and the offer of events in their city.

However, by his or her dedication the individual does not become a hero, as often described in other places; he or she rather makes a natural, but nonetheless not obvious, contribution as a human being for other human beings!