PIONEER Alliance Call for Micro-Stories about TH Köln’s Campus Cities

This call for micro-stories is an invitation to you to share your micro-story on Cologne, Gummersbach or Leverkusen (TH Köln’s campus cities).

The invitation is open to anyone who wants to express themselves in writing. You can be a young person, a student, a working adult, an entrepreneur, a retiree or, for various reasons, not currently working. The most important thing is that you want to write and share your story!

You don't have to live permanently in Cologne, Gummersbach or Leverkusen. To participate it is enough to have a personal connection to one of these cities (even in the past) and to have a story to tell about it.

By a micro-story, we mean a piece of writing that is no longer than 300-400 words, but that is still intense, compelling, and overall stunning. We are looking forward to reading your story!

Stories are about people and life

We all love stories. We connect with other people through stories. Each of us has many stories to tell.

Do you have a story to tell about the city in which you live, work, study, volunteer or simply have some holidays? Are your roots in the city or did you move there later in life? What does the city look like from your perspective? How would you describe your relationship with the city and its people? How does the city affect you as an individual? What kind of memories have you created with the city? What signs and impressions has the city left on you? What experiences has the city given you?

How has the city evolved or changed in the years you have lived there or visited it? What do you expect from the city in the future? How is your city making progress with sustainable development? What are the histories of your city? Are there some nice stories of success, inclusion, resilience or sustainability in your city?

If any of the above questions have given you an idea of a story you would like to put down on paper and share with us, then we invite you to submit your personal anecdote to this European PIONEER Alliance Call for micro stories on cities in ten countries in Europe. TH Köln University of Applied Sciences is a member of the PIONEER alliance and organises this writing event in Germany as part of the European PIONEER cooperation.

How to participate? 

This writing event is open from mid-September until October 31, 2024. Anyone with the enthusiasm to write and share a personal micro-story is welcome to participate. Each author may submit only one micro-story.

By participating, authors expressly declare that the entry they submit is in all respects their own original creation and is completely free of any intellectual property rights. As the organiser of the competition, TH Köln University of Applied Sciences shall not be held liable for any claims by third parties relating to copyright infringement. Failure to comply with these requirements will result in disqualification from the competition.

Write your micro-story (300-400 words) in German or English. Create a pdf document of your micro-story and sign it with a pseudonym. Then create a separate pdf document with your full name, age, email address and phone number.

Send both documents together by email to pioneer-alliance@th-koeln.de by the deadline of 31 October 2024. Write “PIONEER micro-story” in the subject line of the email (in German “PIONEER Kurzgeschichte”). Please note that entries received after the deadline will not be considered.

All information provided by writers will be kept strictly confidential by the TH Köln University of Applied Sciences. By submitting their micro-stories, participants give their permission for their stories to be translated into other languages and published on the PIONEER Alliance website, the websites of the PIONEER partner universities, in a printed/online compilation of micro-stories released by the PIONEER Alliance or individual PIONEER partner universities, and their social media accounts. The names of the authors of micro-stories are published only with their permission.

Review panel

In November-December 2024, a review panel convened by TH Köln University of Applied Sciences will read all micro-stories that meet the above criteria. All authors whose writing meets the criteria will receive a PIONEER certificate for their participation in early 2025.

In the micro-stories, the members of the review panel will focus, in particular, on the following issues:

• Unique connection to the city
• Personal touch and feeling
• Creativity
• Literary quality and style

There will be no prizes awarded at the writing event, but the writers will be recognised by the fact that, with their permission, the writings will be made available to the general public through various channels.  

Issuing certificates

All writers will be contacted personally in early 2025 to provide them with a certificate issued by the organising university, i.e. TH Köln University of Applied Sciences.  

For more information

Would you need additional information on the writing event, please contact Ture Petersenn at TH Köln University of Applied Sciences by email (ture.petersenn@th-koeln.de). In the address field of the email, mention “PIONEER micro-story” (“PIONEER Kurzgeschichte”).

PIONEER Alliance

The PIONEER Alliance is a partnership of ten European universities working together to develop education, conduct research, improve cross-border learning mobility and collaborate with their regional ecosystems. All these joint efforts are focused on sustainable development of future cities. For the PIONEER Alliance, see the figure below.