Tag: Berlin
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Berlin Wiki: The Overlooked Election — BVV and Local Democratic Participation
How Does the BVV Election Work? On September 20, Berlin goes to the polls. On that day, the election to the House of Representatives (Abgeordnetenhaus) will take place, along with the elections to the District Council Assemblies (Bezirksverordnetenversammlungen, BVV). Berlin is divided into twelve districts, each of which elects its own District Council Assembly. This is the elected representative body of…
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Finding Trauma Instead of Belonging: A Review of I Keep My Shadow Light
TL;DR “I Keep My Shadow Light” is the self-published debut novel by Fionnuala Kavanagh. This challenging work follows a cast of four characters from different backgrounds as they try to find a home in Berlin. Very dark in places, the book gives us a chance to read something that would probably never come out of any publishing house. Its uniqueness alone…
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Berlin Wiki: Who Makes Decisions in the Districts?
What Does a District Office Do? A Berlin district office (Bezirksamt) manages the administration of one of Berlin’s twelve districts and serves as the district’s political leadership. It consists of the district mayor and five district councillors (Bezirksstadträte), who are elected by the district assembly (Bezirksverordnetenversammlung, BVV). The district office implements adopted laws and policies. Like the Senate, the district office…
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Migrants With Degrees Are Not What Germany Is Looking For
Education is a right, not a privilege. This idea has been a founding principle of modern democracies. In practice, however, access to education is far from guaranteed for everyone. As of this year, Germany has significantly restricted access to state-funded intermediate and advanced German courses for migrants participating voluntarily. Many rejected asylum seekers, people with insecure residence status, and migrants without…
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Tempelhofer Feld: Berlin’s Most Emotional Urban Conflict Is Back
We are approaching an election in September. Hopefully, you’re reading along in the Berlin Wiki to bone up on how stuff works in German elections, the lexicon, and the issues. Well, one of the issues we’re going to see debated concerns the Tempelhofer Feld. So let’s talk about that for a bit. The other night, I was at 20% Berlin’s live…
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Good Intentions Are Not Democratic Enough
“What you do for me, but without me, you do against me” — the exact origin of this quote is unclear. Nevertheless, it captures something that frequently happens in Germany when it comes to the political participation of historically excluded groups. Policies are supposedly made for migrants, yet not with them. Gender equality is debated while no women are involved in…
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