Save the Date

Finally, the time has come! We are happy to announce that a date has been set for the Book Launch of our book “What happens when we meet”, which was written last spring. We may return to the Stadtbibliothek Tempelhof-Schöneberg, at Hauptstraße 40, for the reading and book launch on December 6 at 6 pm and celebrate together the project “Medienwekstatt Encounters” and its results. The book itself is an exciting

Encounter Magazine No. 3 (2021)

We have great news: Medienwerkstatt Encounters is celebrating the new edition of our magazine – Encounter Magazine No. 3 (2021) – and the closing of our Medienwerkstatt project with some festive activities on Friday, 6 August 2021.  When? 6 August 2021 from 15:00 until 20:00h.  Where? In front of the Mittelpunktbibliothek Schöneberg/ Theodor Heuss library (Hauptstraße 40). In between we will have a magazine distribution flash mob at Tempelhofer Feld

Mentoring Insights – Our Experiences and Thoughts

Franziska Seise, Clara Bolldorf, Mona Hartel, Josefine Hilbeck, Leonie Anna Koll, Nina McAllister, Dennis Lange, Stefanie Roth, Katharina Sonnberg, Elena Tietze Illustrations: Elena Tietze For our work placement project ‘Integration as a Dialogic Process’ (2019-2020), we – a group of students at Freie Universität Berlin’s Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology – worked with Wedding-based charity WIR GESTALTEN e.V. to mentor young refugees. We regularly held private, guided discussions in

Kiezstory 10 – The Meaning of Life 

In the workshop The Meaning of Life we looked for connections between philosophical considerations and cinematic artistic implementation. After an introduction to philosophical thought, three groups got together, contemplated important questions of life and started filming. A short film with three chapters was created in the process. Shadow A Kiezstory by Brooj Al-Ammari, İdil Deniz Şakar, Patrycja Komor & Encounters media workshop. Berlin 2021 The film is an expression of

Shelves Gigs – Jaqee

In times when we all are searching for meaning in our lives, Jaqee’s music comes to our hearts filled with hope, strength and light. Our musical encounter with Jaqee and guitarist Jeff Chapah took place on a sunny winter morning between the bookshelves of Theodor-Heuss library. We invite you to our second Shelves Gigs session!

“Encounter in Motion – the Stop Motion Film”

On Saturday, 24 April 2021, “Encounter in Motion – the Stop Motion Film” made its online premiere on YouTube.The workshop hosts and participants were excited to share their final project with their audience, who cheered and applauded. The film consists of five short films that were created by the participants of a Medienwerkstatt Encounters stop motion workshop led by Azam Aghalouy and Hassan Tavakoli. Put together, the collaborative project provides

YouTube Premiere of “Encounter in Motion – the Stop Motion Film”

In the stop motion workshop “Encounter in Motion”, 11 people came together to learn and practice stop motion and animation principles. They experimented with different techniques, studied the work of other animation artists and developed a final collaborative project. Now we would like to share the results with you! Medienwerkstatt Encounters invites you to our online YouTube premiere of “Encounter in Motion”. Join us and get inspired! Here is the

Best Encounters: October 2020

Müge: When you start living in a new place, sometimes people suddenly demonstrate to you the fluidity of belonging. You then recognize that you can also belong somewhere through common past experiences, and that sometimes these experiences do not even need to be shared at the exact same time or at the exact same place.  Nazlı: We first met at an event of a migrant women’s organization in Berlin, but we

Extremely far, incredibly close: the last 3000 meters

Text: Zeynep Disbudak & Burçin Tetik  Photography: Zeynep Disbudak  “Does it feel any different?” I asked Burçin as I was embarking on the journey which she, on paper, has completed, while fearing to ask the main question, “will it ever feel any different?” Upon this, we decided to walk the path she did every year until she received her citizenship.  We have spent a day sitting in front of Ausländerbehörde*,

Encounter in Motion – a Stop Motion Workshop

Have you ever been curious about how animations and stop motions are created? In this 2-day workshop, we will go through the different steps of creating a short stop motion film and will also practice magical techniques of stop motion. We will also work in pairs to collaboratively create a story using the stop motion technique.  Procedure: The first meeting will take place online on Zoom, where you will learn

The Meaning of Life

For a very, very long time, humanity has been trying to find out what the meaning of life actually is.
In the workshop, we want to philosophise about this topic and, during that process, gain insights into some of the intellectual approaches of philosophers…

Cuddly Toy Sleepover – The Movie

As a cooperation project of the Tempelhof-Schöneberg city library, the Encounters media workshop has access to professional photo, video and sound equipment. Staff members of the Tempelhof Schöneberg city library requested a workshop that would equip them with the know-how for handling this equipment in the long-term. A project idea was quickly developed: “Cuddly Toy Sleepover – The Movie”…

Senses

I was sitting in the nature, watching the clouds passing by and watching the trees and myself taking in the good sunlight and heat. That was the first time I felt my skin and eyes are exactly the same type of receptor as the surface of the leaves. Since then I have the idea that I sense my atmosphere as much as it senses me.

Lino Lukas

Judith Albrecht works as a social anthropologist and documentary filmmaker in Germany and abroad. For her fieldwork and film projects she spent long periods of time in Iran, Tanzania and Malawi. After the Libyan revolution she started to work with the Libyan women’s movement…

Shelves Gigs – Martin Marion

Interview by Alvaro Martinez Photos by Luiza Folegatti During a cold but sunny morning of the Berlin winter, Martin Marion, actor, musician and composer, delighted us with his voice and his guitar. He combines his skills as a theater and film actor with his ability to compose in order to reflect small but transformative facts of life. In the middle of the pandemic, in a lonely library, among the book

Wish card for the end of the year

“In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.” Albert Schweitzer This inner flame was kindled by you. Therefore the Encounter media workshop is thanking all of you, who have actively worked and supported us this year, read and followed our media.

The virtual photo exhibition „Stories of Womxn and Leadership“ opens its doors

On Saturday, 5 December 2020, the vernissage of the photo exhibition „Stories of Womxn and Leadership“ took place online. Medienwerkstatt Encounters invites you to view the images online in a virtual 3D exhibition space under the following link: https://artspaces.kunstmatrix.com/en/exhibition/3135949/stories-of-womxn-and-leadership The exhibition consists of 12 projects that were created during a Medienwerkstatt Encounters photography workshop led by Ina Schebler and Luiza Folegatti. Each project was developed by participants of the workshop. Together,

Vernissage Photo Exhibition: Stories of womxn and leadership

Over the course of four meetings, 12 womxn came together to learn and discuss about womxn leadership through photography and to develop their personal photo projects. They experimented with different techniques, studied the work of other female photographers and supported each other in developing stories that they wanted to turn into pictures. Now we share the results with you! Due to the pandemic, the exhibition opening will take place online via

Kiezstory 8 – How Corona affects your Kiez and life

A Kiezstory by Nadim Helow, Jens Fischer Rodrian & Encounters media workshop. Berlin 2020 2020 will be remembered as a year of dramatic changes for billions of people. No superlative seems big enough to describe the ongoing sociopolitical and cultural challenge facing global society. State decisions have a deep impact on the lives of people who have to come to terms with a “new normality”. What do people say who

Memories of ghost trains and ghost stations in former East and West Berlin

Anja Werner & Sarah Fichtner (text & story) Azam Aghalouie & Hassan Tavakoli (illustrations & video) How did it feel to ride the underground train underneath the divided city of Berlin? Passing through dimly lit, construction site-like stations where trains no longer stopped? What was it like to hear those very trains rumbling underground, but not being able to reach them from East Berlin? To picture them as ghost trains

Best Encounters: August 2020

Tahmine: I met dear Judith during the online workshop for storytellers and illustrators. She was very kind and friendly with me and trusted my work completely. She shared with me a fantastic personal experience that was related to friendship. The general meaning and conclusion that could be drawn from her story was really instructive and meaningful. Her story was about how valuable a friendship can be, how what matters is the relationships

Picturing Encounters 2020 Art Show

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 create an illustrated story. In the exhibition you will be able to appreciate the illustrations, read the stories and hear

Encounters Participation Puzzle on the Berlin Democracy Day

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 would like to participate more? name one example where participation is possible; where do you enjoy participation? Here are some

Planting flower bulbs in the Tempelhof library garden

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 will exchange our knowledge about flower bulbs and insect meadows and enrich the garden with some colourful spring surprises. Participation is free.

Photography workshop on womxn leadership

In this 4-day photography workshop, we will create a series of portraits on womxn leaders. As we follow the traces of female photographers and womxn leaders, we learn techniques of visual storytelling and experiment with practical exercises. Throughout the workshop, participants develop their personal project and present it in a collaborative exhibition. Information:• Participation is free• Any woman above the age of 18 is welcome• Bring your own camera or phone• No previous knowledge in photography

Encounters Participation Puzzle

By Encounters media workshop / Medienwerkstatt Encounters –An initiative of the public library Tempelhof-Schöneberg, Freie Universität Berlin and Mauerpark Institut e.V. The Encounters media workshop focuses on encounters: encounters between different life experiences, languages, generations, genders, cultures, disciplines. Multilingualism, diversity of perspectives, critical thinking and creative expression are the basis of our work. In various workshops and events at the different locations of the public libraries of Tempelhof-Schöneberg, we bring people together and promote the public library

Making of „ Cuddly – Toy Sleepover – The Movie”

Ina Schebler During an in-house workshop at the Tempelhof Schönebergcity library, employees learned about everything they can do with EncountersMedia Workshop’s photo, video and sound equipment. After an introduction to the basics of photography and filming, and exercises with studio lights and various microphones, the participants developed their own project; a film called “Cuddly-ToySleepover –The Movie”. Over the next day and a half, they collectively produced videos, photos and sound recordings, and learned how to edit them together with Adobe

Gardening in the library

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 four-hour period on July 14th, one such offering took place – in the garden and with beautiful weather, appropriate for

Draw Happy Things

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.

How Big Is Your Monster?

Encounters Media Workshop invites little storytellers with big imaginations! We invite children between the ages of six and ten to participate in the project “My Monster”.  The event takes place on 19 September 2020 from 1 – 3 PM. In this two-hour workshop, we use collage techniques to create colourful monsters and then think about what they are called, what powers they have and from where they might come. The

Kiezstory 7 – Corona Geschichten (Corona Stories)

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 in our web series “Kiezstories” (= neighborhood stories). Become part of our web series by submitting your own video or

Kiezstory 6 – Geknüpft

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, tells us how he grew up between carpet-making, music and traditional storytelling. The film focuses not only on his days

The Encounters Surrealist Web Chat

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 the idea further, each participant receiving a message in a language they don’t understand and replying in their mother tongue.

Kiezstory workshop No. 4: “back on the street”, or: “what impact has Corona had in our neighbourhoods”

This time around, our film workshop “Kiezstories” is looking for participants who are interested in making a 10-minute film with us. This documentary will explore what effects and changes have taken place in our neighbourhoods since the lockdown. The film will be a collage of different neighbourhood experiences. A total of four different teams will each produce two minutes’ worth of film in one neighbourhood. Are all the shops still

Picturing Encounters: a Workshop for Storytellers and Illustrators!

The workshop invites storytellers and illustrators from any background or nationality to participate, meet and work together in the project “Picturing Encounters”. Everybody, who wants to share a short story related to the encounter between different lifeworlds (migration, refugee, travel experiences, encounters between generations, neighbors, human/non-human encounters etc. ) is invited to present his or her story or to write it down. It could be a love story, funny or

The sun rises in the East and sets in the West – A reaction to #mynewritual

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 your everyday life? Intensive hand washing, the gym app, talking to plants, baking bread rolls, walking around the block…?

Urban gardening in the library gardens Marienfelde and Tempelhof: Mini-workshop

Garden enthusiasts, listen up: Did you know that there is a garden in your local library? Discover it with us, start gardening with us and let your ideas flourish! The first urban gardening workshop of the Encounters media workshop was originally planned for April 2020, in the library gardens Marienfelde and Tempelhof. But then the lock-down happened, and the libraries were temporarily closed. A few passionate hobby gardeners began to

Best Encounters: June 2020

Ogül: I met Ina during the online storytelling workshop given by Pınar Özütemiz. She told me a personal story from her childhood. The story touched my heart, because it was not only funny, but it was also about solidarity and overcoming your fears. I guess I will never forget that encounter. Ina: I met Ogül in a Zoom Breakout Room. We had just a few minutes to each tell the other a story. It is

Home (Heimat) 3 – Putting on someone else’s shoes, or: spending Easter somewhere like home

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 my childhood, I remember painting eggs or making some basic ornaments in art class, but the memories are hazy. I

Home (Heimat)* 1

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 illustrations by Guillermo Alberto Diaz Morales Translated by Joanna Mitchell Heimat* is one of the most popular words I have heard

Kiezstory 5 – Berlin Carpet – The street has a memory

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 Encounters Berlin is a mosaic of its history, people, places and stories, which are featured in our web series “Kiezstories”

Kiezstory 4 – My favorite season

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, places and stories, which are featured in our web series “Kiezstories” (= neighborhood stories). Choose your subtitles in Arabic, Farsi,

Bogotrax

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, exhibitions and even raves – all free-of-charge and accessible to all. The reappropriation of different urban spaces such as streets,

How can I tell stories to my children interactively?

A live online storytelling workshop series with Pinar Özütemiz Storytelling is serious fun.  There are plenty of good stories in your library, and you could just enjoy reading them with or to your children. But don’t you want to do something more? In this workshop, you can explore how to create an interactive storytelling session with your children.  How can you enter the fictional world of stories? How can you

For European migration policies in accordance with human rights during the COVID-19 pandemic

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 camps has become nothing but a murmur on the sidelines of public debate. Due to the suspension of the EU-Turkey

Gardening community: alone and yet together!

In April 2020 the first urban gardening workshop of the Encounters media workshop was to take place in the library gardens Marienfelde and Tempelhof. Since the gardening community can neither meet right now to make plans for the new community gardens, nor to dig in the ground and plant beds, we invite everyone to start sowing on the windowsill, the balcony or the terrace. Experiments are allowed – if you

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Encountering Beauty: Beauty and the Norm in Berlin’s Everyday Life

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 third part of our blog post series, based on research conducted during the seminar “Beauty and the Norm: Appearance and

Kiezstory 3 – Moving Sound

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, places and stories, which are featured in our web series “Kiezstories” (= neighborhood stories). Choose your subtitles in Arabic, Farsi,

Best Encounters April 2020: Pınar & Sarah

Sarah: I first met Pınar at the workshop Picturing Encounters for storyteller and illustrators in July 2019 where she moved me to tears with her story of the philosopher’s stone. We discovered that we shared a passion for swing dancing and saw each other at Villa Neukölln, TTMS and Rotbart later that year. While we are now discussing how to organize online storytelling workshops and while I am looking at

Encountering Beauty: Places of Beauty Consumption, Spaces of Urban Encounters

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 of Beauty: Global Norms, Local Bodies?” offered at the Freie Universität Berlin. These places presented themselves to us as spaces

Ruins, Old and New

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 you can’t. Though, not forgetting does not equal pausing. You do not remain in your bareness, You strive for renovation

Kiezstory 2 – Der blaue Streifen

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 cinematic reflection on being a woman today and then and how the past meets the present in everyday life. Kiezstories

Encountering Beauty: Appearance and Exclusion in Berlin’s Everyday Life

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 field of personal care, such as hairdressers, beauty salons, tattoo studios, etc. by official decree. Many of the people we

#DevelopingNewEncounterProjects – The 2020 Medienwerkstatt Encounters Kick-Off Workshop

Sarah Fichtner, translated from German by Joanna Mitchell photos and videos by Ina Schebler Inspiration and exchange, new ideas, creativity, good mood, having fun, networking and collaboration – these are only a few of the keywords that remained in the group room of the Mittelpunktbibliothek Berlin-Schöneberg after the kick-off workshop participants had left. For the participants of the workshop on March 7th 2020, these were terms that characterised the workshop,

The 2nd edition of the Encounter magazine (2020) is published!

Private individuals can get one printed issue of the Encounter magazine free of charge. The new edition is available in all locations of the Tempelhof-Schöneberg district library: In the Mittelpunktbibliothek in Schöneberg, the Thomas-Dehler library, the Bezirkszentralbibliothekin Tempelhof, the Stadtteilbibliothek Lichtenrade, the Medienhaus  Marienfelde and in the mobile library bus. The magazine can also be ordered per post by sending an email with your address to: contact-english@encounter-blog.com Institutions can order several copies of the magazine for € 3 each: contact-english@encounter-blog.com „Encounter means to meet in the middle” is the slogan on the title

Kiezstory 1 – Mein Kiez Friedenau

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 to know the men. The film wants to find out how they spend their days, what they see and think

Cities of migration – Tehran

“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 from her. She has broken nerves and takes a feast full of pills everyday. You can see she used to

Workshop: The Art of Storytelling – Part II

Would you like to go on a journey to the imaginary world of storytelling? Have you ever met your inner storyteller?  Are you ready to suprise yourself with your ability to play and improvise?  This two day workshop builds on the workshop: “An Introduction to the Art of Storytelling”, but is also open for newcomers. It targets adults with an interest in traditional narratives such as folk tales, fairy tales and myths. We will explore together the

Cities of migration – Berlin

“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 concentration camp prisoners had to find a new home after the end of World War II or had to be

Kick-off workshop: the Encounters media workshop marketplace

multiperspective – multilingual –shared – experimental – creative – critical The workshop is for everyone who is interested in getting to know the Encounters media workshop and for those who are already involved in our network. Would you like to participate in the workshops, events or publications on our website (www.encounter-blog.com) and in our print magazine? Have you already been to one of our workshops and do you have ideas in

Distribution flash mob and celebration of our Encounter magazine N° 2

Photos by Luiza Folegatti Some impressions by Nadine Krüger After another year of wholehearted work accompanied by exciting workshops, devoted individuals and so many beautiful encounters we are beyond excitement to bring all this together in the second edition of our Encounter Magazine. On February 1st 2020 we once again came together to spread the word and distribute the merging of our collective endeavor all over Berlin. This day, filled

Let’s talk about food: The recipes

Try out some of the favorite recipes of those behind the article “Let’s talk about food” that you find in the current issue of our print magazine Encounter. Order your copy here: contact-english@encounter-blog.com Karen Spiced dark chocolate cream (vegan) This indulgent dark chocolate dessert with a hint of cardamom will make you forget the darkness of the Berlin winter. Great to prepare for fancy holiday dinners or just as a special

The ‘beautiful disease of Berlin’ OR reflections on the workshop ‘An Introduction to the Art of Storytelling’

by Pinar Ozutemiz Please note that there is another storytelling workshop by Pinar Ozutemiz coming up in 2020. Check our calendar and reserve your place: contact-english@encounter-blog.com In the city of Berlin – that we all secretly love so much – it is very easy to get disappointed by its quick, isolated, alienated, ‘online/offline’, stressful post-modern lifestyle. Sometimes, we have the tendency to feel that our dreams have just rested for

Arrival

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 User-Centered Design @ HMKW Berlin

Encounters media workshop: The new magazine is here!

The big day is almost here! We are happy to announce the second edition of the Encounter Magazine! To celebrate this special occasion, we have an equally special plan: Immediately after the kick-off on Saturday, February 1st 2020 | at 13 h | Thomas-Dehler–Bibliothek, Martin-Luther-Str. 77 we invite you to join us in our distribution flash mob to get attention for our cause. We will split up into teams and distribute the magazine between 14-18:30h all over Berlin. Last time it looked like this: https://www.encounter-blog.com/en/encounter-our-magazine/ For this distribution flash mob

Best Encounters – November 2019

Hama: “I first met Iatidal on the street when I was doing vegan activism and we met again by chance last week at another friend’s house. Now we know each other better and closer so I could tell her more about veganism.” Iatidal: “I met Hama at Alexanderplatz. He asked me if I speak Arabic and then proceeded to tell me about animal rights, and why it would be best

„Entre-deux“

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. My mother is French, my father comes from Algeria. With my photographs I would like to raise questions without providing

The Berlin wall crumbled – and I smelled cake

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 and our brothers. I was scared of falling. It was really high. But the wave of joy and excitement spreading

I’ll paint the world the way I like it!

Children are unpredictable. And we mean it in a positive way. That is also why our purpose to give children an understanding for children’s rights wasn’t entirely achievable. Nevertheless, during the opening celebration of the Mittelpunktbibliothek Schöneberg and, two weeks later, in the context of the Tempelhof-Schöneberg library’s family night, we spent two wonderful afternoons dedicated to painting pictures of so-called “feel-good-places”. The idea of “feel-good-places” emerged in dialogue with