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 aimed at supporting migrant organizations in the district of Pankow, Berlin. The project focused on grassroots engagement, the identification of collective interests among migrant communities, and the development of both community-based and professional networks. A central component of the initiative was the creation of spaces for dialogue between migrant organizations and local public administration, with the broader objective of bringing migration-informed perspectives into the district’s public agenda.
Building Local Capacity Through Community Organizing
The project began in 2015 as a tandem initiative between MaMis en Movimiento e.V.—the association I founded in 2011—and moveGLOBAL e.V., continuing until 2016. It was later implemented in cooperation with VIA e.V. until March 2022. After a brief pause, the initiative was relaunched in July 2022 under a new supporting organization, Sources d’Espoir e.V., and continued until 2025.
Throughout these phases, the project maintained a close relationship with the Pankow Integration Office (Integrationsbüro), which initially accompanied the process at a strategic level. However, the office was unexpectedly dissolved during the pandemic lockdown, creating a significant institutional weakness.
Despite these structural changes, the project demonstrated a high degree of flexibility and adaptability, maintaining its objectives and quality standards even in the absence of stable institutional counterparts. Between mid-2021 and early 2024, when the Integration Office faced difficulties stabilizing its team, migraUp! expanded its collaborations with transnational actors. Among these partners was ELAR (Endangered Languages Archive), with whom we co-designed several activities and developed a district-wide map highlighting the multilingual realities of Pankow.
After several unsuccessful attempts to secure further funding, the initiative eventually developed a smaller but highly meaningful community-based mapping project. The resulting community map, published in 2025, became a tangible outcome reflecting local engagement, multilingual participation, and collaborative knowledge production. As long as our website stays up, you can find the community map here.
Multilingualism as a Driver of Participation
One of the central insights emerging from the project is the importance of multilingualism as a catalyst for community engagement. Migrant organizations in Pankow were already using multilingual communication as a practical and symbolic tool to reach diverse communities.
From the perspective of community organizing, multilingualism is not simply a matter of language accessibility. It represents a broader recognition of cultural diversity and an acknowledgement of migrants as active contributors to local public life.
In my own experience as a community organizer, I had previously collaborated with neighbors and community groups who did not share Spanish as a common language. What became evident through these interactions was that migrant communities often share similar challenges, mutual support networks, and a strong sense of solidarity, regardless of linguistic background.
This collaborative ethos became one of the defining characteristics of migraUp!, shaping both its methodology and its community outreach.
Structural Challenges in Local Collaboration
While the project demonstrated the potential of migrant-led initiatives, it also revealed several structural challenges that frequently affect community-based work.
One of the most significant difficulties was institutional instability. The weakening of the Integration Office during the pandemic created a situation in which the project lost a key administrative partner. As a result, much of the coordination work had to rely on the internal capacity of the participating organizations and the strength of informal networks.
Another persistent challenge was access to sustainable funding. Even projects with strong community roots and clearly defined objectives often face difficulties in securing long-term financial support. Several funding applications were unsuccessful, forcing the project team to rethink strategies and scale down certain activities.
In addition, the project experienced multiple shifts in cooperation partners between 2015 and 2025. Each transition required rebuilding trust, redefining roles, and renegotiating collaborative frameworks. At the same time, these changes also opened new opportunities for innovation and expanded the project’s network beyond its original institutional partners.
Lessons for Local Policy and Community Development
The experience of migraUp! suggests several lessons for local policy and community development.
First, migrant organizations should be recognized as key actors in local governance, not merely as beneficiaries of integration policies. Their grassroots knowledge and community networks provide valuable insights that can enrich local decision-making processes.
Second, multilingualism should be understood as an asset rather than a problem. Policies that actively support multilingual participation can strengthen community engagement and foster more inclusive public spaces.
Third, stable institutional partnerships are essential for sustaining community-based initiatives. While grassroots organizations are capable of remarkable adaptability, long-term collaboration with public institutions provides the structural support needed to scale up successful initiatives.
From Project to Lasting Impact
The experience of migraUp! Pankow demonstrates how migrant-led initiatives can contribute to local participation, knowledge production, and community cohesion. Even in contexts marked by institutional uncertainty and limited resources, community organizing rooted in trust, collaboration, and multilingual engagement can generate meaningful local impact.
For me personally, this project reaffirmed a central conviction: when migrant communities are recognized as partners rather than passive recipients of policy, they can actively shape the social and democratic life of their districts.
The networks created, the collaborations developed, and the resources produced—such as the 2025 community map of Pankow—are not only the outcomes of a specific project. They represent ongoing foundations for collective work and inclusive local development in Berlin and beyond.
