At the Encounter Festival in Ulm on 21 June 2026, the EMS children’s programme “YOU+ME: FRIENDS AROUND THE WORLD” brought international encounters and intercultural learning to its youngest visitors. Through a children’s church service and creative activity stations, children had the opportunity to discover different countries and cultures.

The day began at the House of Encounter, where a children’s church service took place alongside the main service at Ulm Minster. Following the “Messy Church” concept, the children explored the biblical story of the Wedding at Cana before taking part in a time of celebration together.

Afterwards, they were invited to visit various activity stations and discover how festivals and celebrations are enjoyed in different countries.

The EMS children’s programme hosted two of these stations together with international guests. At the South Africa station, two volunteers from the EMS South-North Volunteer Programme in South Africa joined Emso and the FRIENDS team. Together with the children, they made colourful bracelets using wool and beads, which they could wear as festive decorations.

Another station focused on South Korea. Rev. Kang-Hee Han, EMS Liaison Officer for East Asia, organised it together with his family. The children learned more about Korean celebrations, sampled traditional Korean sweets and received a special souvenir: a bookmark featuring their name written in Korean characters.

To round off the programme, all the children gathered in the main hall to sing and pray together. They also had the chance to meet Emso, the mascot of the EMS children’s programme, in person.

Together with Emso, the children then made their way to the southern square in front of Ulm Minster, where they took to the stage and enthusiastically sang the song “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”.

The Encounter Festival offered a lively illustration of what “YOU+ME: FRIENDS AROUND THE WORLD” is all about: children discovering other countries and cultures, meeting people from different parts of the world and experiencing what connects them.