Category: Community Spotlight
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Multilingualism, Participation, and Power: A Berlin Case Study
Local migrant organizations often play a crucial yet underrecognized role in shaping participation, representation, and social cohesion within urban districts. Based on my experience directing the migraUp! Pankow project in Berlin between 2015 and 2025, this reflection highlights how community-based initiatives can strengthen migrant organizations while simultaneously contributing to local governance and democratic participation. migraUp! was conceived as a capacity-building initiative…
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“Democracy Is More Than Voting”: Sami Atris on Organising Communities in Berlin
WHP: Can you briefly introduce the Berliner Bürgerplattformen? What is its main purpose in Berlin? Sami Atris: Who actually decides what happens in our lives? How much influence do we have over how high our rent is — or whether we can even afford to stay in our neighbourhood? Who decides whether our children go to a good school? What the…
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Ukrainian Voices in Berlin: “People Are Not Objects for Integration Debates”
WHP: Can you briefly introduce the Allianz Ukrainischer Organisationen e.V (Alliance of Ukrainian Organizations)? What is its main task in Berlin? Oleksandra Bienert: The Allianz Ukrainischer Organisationen e.V. is a nationwide association currently bringing together 23 civil society organizations in eight federal states. These organizations were founded by people with a Ukrainian migration background and work predominantly on a voluntary basis.…
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“Discrimination is not an individual problem, but a structural one”
WHP: Can you briefly introduce Yekmal? What is your main task in Berlin? Remziye Uykun: Yekmal e.V. is a migrant education, parent and community organisation based in Berlin that now operates nationwide, with locations in several federal states. Our main task is to strengthen multilingualism as a democratic resource, enable equal participation and structurally anchor anti-racist educational work. Yekmal works at…
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35 Years of Integration Work: CLUB DIALOG and the Power of Community Networks
WHP: Can you briefly introduce your initiative? What is its main task in Berlin? Dr. Natalia Roesler: CLUB DIALOG e.V. is a migrant organisation that was founded in Berlin in 1988 to stimulate social dialogue between Russian-speaking migrants and local Berliners, as well as to promote the integration of immigrants. Over the course of more than three and a half decades,…
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Rising Ukrainian Engagement Powers Berlin’s Civic Scene
WHP: Can you briefly introduce your initiative? What is its main mission in Berlin? Tetyana Lavuta: Svoji.de is an online platform that increases the visibility of Ukrainian civic initiatives in Berlin and Brandenburg and supports their networking with other migrant communities. The name evokes a sense of belonging and safety: the Ukrainian word “svoji” (written in Latin script) refers to people,…
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