In the course of a two-hour workshop titled “how big is your monster?”, children between the ages 6 and 10 created colourful collages in the
public library Tempelhof Schöneberg…

The vernissage of our exhibition ‘Picturing Encounters’ took place on September 17th 2020. It was a pleasant evening during which visitors were able to enjoy the works of our artists. The works presented are the result of a 3-weeklong intense collaborative process, during which storytellers and illustrators worked together to

On September 15th, 2020 we took part in the Berlin Democracy Day by staging the interactive Encounters Participation Puzzle. In front of the Mittelpunktbibliothek library in Schöneberg, we invited passer-bys to participate by asking them: what does participation mean to you? give one example where participation is lacking; where you

Dear gardening friends, Following up on our first urban gardening workshops in July 2020, we invite everyone who is interested to a collective flower bulb action in autumn! On Thursday, October 8th, 2020 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the garden of the district central library (Bezirkszentralbibliothek) in the Eva-Maria-Buch-Haus, Götzstr. 8 | 10 | 12, 12099 Berlin. We

During the last more or less secluded months, Mina and Farshid started a YouTube channel where they publish drawing tutorials called “Draw Happy Things”. Franzi was curious to learn more about their concept and got in touch with them. The conversation they had is summarized in the following.

A guide for newcomers to Germany – particularly from Iran. By Azam Aghalouy Aghmiyouni When arriving in Germany, there are some small details that newcomers notice in everyday life, but which often remain unexplained. Being aware of these little things can make it easier to settle in. A project in

By Sarah Fichtner Illustration Ashbee Wong I was 10 years old when the wall came down. The wall that divided my hometown, creating the artificial “island” of West Berlin. I remember climbing on top of it on the 10th of November 1989 together with my parents, my best friend Susi

Story by Judith Albrecht (Germany) Video & Illustration by Mina Aghalouy (Iran) & Farshid Tavakoli (Iran)

In November 2016 I spent one short week in Berlin. I went to visit friends and explore Berlin’s realities. Building my traveling and city experiences in mostly southern European destination, the low sky and fairly empty spaces of Berlin stroke me. I wanted to grasp Berlin’s character. During my stay,

Run, Ahmed, run! You’re late for your German course. Six goddamn minutes until the next train? What will I tell this new teacher? I need to convince her I am the best student. She could now make an impression that I am just another lazy ‘migrant’. How do you say

  Illustrated by Faezeh Shakoori Dizaji

This collaborative article was written in spring 2016 and can thus be seen as a ‘record of encounters’ after the arrival of a large number of refugees in Berlin. What encounters do you recall? And how have they shaped ‘your’ Berlin? Sarah Fichtner in collaboration with Hussam Tumma Al-Saadi, Rawaa

A Kiezstory by Thomas Klein, Bianca Wiedersich & Encounters media workshop. Berlin 2020 In an online-meeting, five Berlin citizens of different generations tell stories about their experiences in times of COVID-19.   Kiezstories by Medienwerkstatt Encounters Berlin is a mosaic of its history, people, places and stories, which are featured

A Kiezstory by Georgios Kechagias, Idil Deniz Sakar & Encounters media workshop. Berlin 2020 Geknüpft (knotted) is a short film about Hamid and his Gallerie Schiras, an Iranian carpet shop close to Wittenbergplatz. Hamid, a migrant of Azerbaijani ethnicity who was born and raised in the carpet city of Tabriz in Iran,

A Kiezstory by Klaus Abromeit, Adrian Banciu, Sonam Dechen & Encounters media workshop. Berlin 2019 The streets, roads and pavements made of stone are western symbols for comfort, like the oriental rugs. We consider them unworthy of our attention, as voiceless servants. This movie will change that. Kiezstories by ©Medienwerkstatt

A Kiezstory by Roja Ghoreishi, Vanessa Macedo & Encounters media workshop. Berlin 2019 “My favorite season” is centered on gender issues. In order to challenge patriarchy, two people from different parts of the world share their experiences with each other. Kiezstories by ©Medienwerkstatt Encounters Berlin is a mosaic of its history, people,

Bogotrax is festival for electronic music and electronic art. Originally launched in 2003 as a small gathering of local and international creatives in Bogota, it has been held in February every year since then. Framed by a political demand for more social justice, the festival organises presentations, conferences, performances, workshops,

A Kiezstory by Charlotte Bütterich, Brooj Alammari, Sophie Erman & Encounters media workshop. Berlin 2019 The short film “Moving Sound” is an experimental exploration of how sound is influencing our perception of the environment and the moving body. Kiezstories by ©Medienwerkstatt Encounters Berlin is a mosaic of its history, people,

A Kiezstory by Noemi Brachvogel & Encounters media workshop. Berlin 2019 On her way home, the filmmaker discovers a blue stripe in her neighborhood in Friedrichshain. She follows it and searches for its origin. It is a memorial to the former women’s prison on Barnimstrasse. “Der blaue Streifen” is a

A Kiezstory by Lou Rodrian & Encounters media workshop. Berlin 2019 Lou lives in Friedenau, has her favorite places and everyday life in her“Kiez”/neighborhood. On her way to school, she walks past a group of homeless men every day. One day she decides to speak to the group and get

The web series “Kiez stories”   The web series “Kiez stories” intends to show the polyphony of Berlin. Possibly you know someone you are fascinated by or whose destiny touched you. Or there might be a place in town that you would like to present. Maybe you feel like telling

Dagmar Giesecke, translated by Jenny Rosenberg There’s more going on in public libraries than just reading. For a few years now “reading rooms” (as they were called in their early days) have been expanding their offerings. The same is happening at the “Maria Buch” central library in Tempelhof’s Götzstraße. In a

Sabrina Mainz This project was developed in the Encounters media workshop: “Women tell stories through photography” by Luiza Folegatti and Ina Schebler, 2019.

Astrid Zepezauer This project was developed in the Encounters media workshop: “Women tell stories through photography” by Luiza Folegatti and Ina Schebler, 2019.

by Ana Nenadovic Trampling they push through your doors, Violently they dismantle you piece by piece, Until you are left stripped, bare. Shamefully they avert their gaze, Contemplating your nakedness only from the corner of their eyes, Forgetting you slowly. But you, you do not forget, you try to, yet

“Tehran is a woman. One of those women who wasn´t lucky in marriage. Her husband didn´t have good manners. He didn´t pay alimony. He beat her up, made her age fast. She has many children, one malevolent, one aggressive and rebel. Tehran had many properties, but the fraudsters stole them

“Berlin is more a part of the world than a city” (Jean Paul (1763-1825), German poet, writer and educator) The German Federal Agency for Civic Education (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung/bpb) writes: “over 12 million German refugees, as well as 10 to 12 million ‘displaced persons‘, former forced labourers and foreign

Mehdi Bahmed Refugee integration, terror attacks and the rise of right-wing populism in Europe are subjects that delineate the fields of concern of this photo series. Here, I am especially concerned with the schism of the “Western” and the “Arab world”. This theme is closely connected to my own biography.

By Ina Schebler Everyone has a story. Everyone has a voice to tell it. And everyone has ears to hear or eyes to read it. Now it only needs people to listen to these voices, to see these faces and to change first their perspective and later the world. The

Voices on the Move Everyone has a story. Everyone has a voice to tell it. And everyone has ears to hear or eyes to read it. Now it only needs people to listen to these voices, to see these faces and to change first their perspective and later the world.

By Ina Schebler Everyone has a story. Everyone has a voice to tell it. And everyone has ears to hear or eyes to read it. Now it only needs people to listen to these voices, to see these faces and to change first their perspective and later the world.

I have been looking forward to the book “The Kids from the Refugee home” by Cool Kids & Hoa Mai Trần with illustrations by Michaela Schultz for a long time. It‘s a wonderful read!

with Jens Fischer Rodrian & Peter Kokoefer Text: Jens Fischer Rodrian, translated by Joanna Mitchell It was about one year ago that I became aware of the wonderful paintings by Viennese artist Peter Kokoefer. For months, I had been searching for a painter whose artwork could enrichen my upcoming book

In May 2020 we asked you on Facebook and Instagram to send us a photo, an illustration, a short video, a GIF or a sentence about your new ritual, together with your first name and the city you live in. Which new ritual have you integrated into or rediscovered in

Zeynep Disbudak My acquaintance with Easter, surprisingly, goes a long way back to my childhood. It is surprising, given how I am a citizen of a “Muslim” country, whose history with its non-Muslim communities is indelibly violent; where we almost live by a bifurcated calendar and in different realities. From

It is a coincidence where we are born
Whether we stay or go, is either a decision or fate…

Heimat /Home is a trilogy: three texts by three authors meet on our blog for three consecutive weeks and inspire each other. They all revolve around the question: What does home /Heimat mean to me? Heimat[ˈhaimaːt] Feminine noun 1) home, homeland, home town 2) habitat, biotope 3) native country, town or place Text and

Joint public statement about the situation at the EU external borders by the Working Groups Migration and Public Anthropology of the German Anthropological Association (GAA) While the COVID-19 pandemic draws public and media attention to the emergence of yet another crisis, the critical situation of migrants confined to Greek refugee

By Amelie Bauer, Paul Gredig, Maysun Hijazi, Kesho-Tabitha Imadonmwinyi, Marie-Helen Jakob, Izabela Matulewicz, Jennifer Rosenberg, Arowotosuna Olaitan Smith, Elisabeth Winterer and Jodi Cheuk Tung Wong Norms of physical appearance are connected to processes of exclusion and recognition, especially within a city shaped as strongly by migration as Berlin. In this

By Amelie Bauer, Paul Gredig, Maysun Hijazi, Kesho-Tabitha Imadonmwinyi, Marie-Helen Jakob, Izabela Matulewicz, Jennifer Rosenberg, Arowotosuna Olaitan Smith, Elisabeth Winterer and Jodi Cheuk Tung Wong In this second part of our blog post series, we present several locations for beauty consumption which we visited as part of the seminar “Anthropology

By Amelie Bauer, Paul Gredig, Maysun Hijazi, Kesho-Tabitha Imadonmwinyi, Marie-Helen Jakob, Izabela Matulewicz, Jennifer Rosenberg, Arowotosuna Olaitan Smith, Elisabeth Winterer and Jodi Cheuk Tung Wong Preface: In the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, on 22 March the German Federal Chancellor and the Prime Minister closed all service providers in the

By Andrei Cucu The Encounters Surrealist Web Chat is an experiment in verbal communication happening between languages and between people that transcends semantics. Starting from the idea of the exquisite corpse, the surrealist word game where participants need to continue a text without knowing what the preceding participant wrote, the project develops