„Thinkers think and doers do. But until the thinkers do and the doers think, progress will be just another word in the already overburdened vocabulary by sense.” We have chosen this old La Rochefoucauld quote as our New Year’s message. Why?
Progress comes from seeing what we do not see. Daring to go where we never allowed ourselves to go – that can change perspectives. Search for blind spots! In yourself, in your work, among your friends, colleagues. Hence, searching for safety is our instinctive reaction. Making our bubbles smaller gives the feeling of having more safety. A bubble is not just the number of people you connect with. Tradition, rituals, ways of thinking, religion – very useful bubbles. Breaking bubbles, believing in the new without losing our inner values – that is a challenge we are facing with. Your inner stability, being courageous enough to embrace new things – that will bring all of us forward.
We were lucky enough to have met wonderful people on our way since September 2023. Thinkers who dare to do and vice versa. Just to name a few of them: Annamaria Olsson, Alexander S. Wolf, john powell, Sara Grossman, Tiago Gonçalves Nunes, Robin Sontheimer, Ana Álvarez, Sophia Katharina Burton, Joerg Geier, Firas Khalifeh 👽, Ragıp Zık, Ph.D., Nicole Loeser, Anna Gottschalg, Jim McSherry, Dr. Ulrich Becker, Achim Jeckel, Christian Wolf, Christian Stahl, Anja Schmidt, Silke Georgi, Vera Kämpfer, Jeff Kwasi Klein, Majid Albunni, Mohammed El Ouahhabi, Fanni Gabor, Omar Asmar, Sabine Stengel, Bence Bodnar, David Lubell, Leonor Babo, Henrique Nascimento, Christophe Knoch, Maik Bauer, Barbara Vid, Deana Mrkaja, Balazs Denes, Kate Dearden, Khaled Abdalla, Zina Hmidan, Mariam Hamad.
We are thankful for all of them, and we can’t wait to meet the ones we haven’t met yet. Because until thinkers do and doers think….”
WahlheYmatPost — Understand How To Berlin
Weekly guide for Berlin’s international community
Quick stories, local events, and ways to take part, right in your inbox — made with Berliner Morgenpost.
Your data matters to us — see our privacy policy.
This is a cooperation with Berliner Morgenpost. You can subscribe to their newsletters here.
Thinkers think and doers do
More From WahlheYmatPost
-
From Peru to Berlin: Building Bridges Between Different Ways of Knowing
Are degrees really the only measure of knowledge? Should humans focus on altering nature or adapting to it? Do international studies actually include perspectives from all around the world? Academic credentials, adapting nature to suit modern lifestyles and Eurocentric education are standards that are rarely questioned. Marita Orbegoso Alvarez, Peruvian educator, community organizer and activist,…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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.…
-
Berlin Wiki: How Berlin’s Government Works
What Makes Berlin’s Governing Mayor Special? Whoever holds the office of Governing Mayor is both the head of government and the ceremonial head of the city of Berlin. The House of Representatives (Abgeordnetenhaus) votes on who will hold the position. There has even been a case in which someone won the election without being their…
-
Berlin Wiki: How Do the First and Second Vote Work?
What Does the First Vote Decide? The article looks at how voters elect candidates and parties in Bundestag elections and elections to the Berlin House of Representatives, and how seats in parliament are distributed through proportional representation. In Bundestag elections or elections to the House of Representatives, voters cast both a first vote and a…
-
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,…
-
Berlin Wiki: Parties, Direct Mandates and the Five-Percent Threshold
What Is a Political Party? A political party is an association of citizens regulated by the German Federal Party Law. Political parties aim to influence political decision-making at federal or state level over a longer period of time and may represent voters in state parliaments or in the Bundestag. First of all, a party needs…
-
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…
-
What Happened When I Tried to Organize My Neighbors
There’s a lot of talk today about building community. At our March WahlheYmat Talk, the crowd brought up the subject, specifically that we should be creating more of it. Ideas flew around the room. We are living in an era of schism, where the people pulling the levers of power are trying to create an…
-
Berlin Wiki: Who Is Allowed to Vote – and Why Not Everyone Can
Who is allowed to vote, and who is not? In a democratic state like Germany, the right to vote is of central importance. It allows citizens to take part in political decision-making and help determine the composition of the government. In Germany, voters must meet certain requirements in order to vote. They must hold German…
-
Berlin Wiki: Party Profiles II – The Greens, The Left, the AfD and the BSW party
What is the Green Party? Bündnis 90/Die Grünen is an important political force in the Berlin House of Representatives. Although the party has not been part of the government since the 2023 election, it operates from the opposition within parliament. Its guiding principle is ecological, economic, and social sustainability. It focuses on stronger climate protection,…
-
Berlin Wiki: Party Profiles I — Which Parties Shape the Capital?
Which parties are important in Berlin? Berlin has many political parties, each pursuing its own agenda. These parties are organized at different levels. Many have a Berlin state association, as well as several district and local branches. The parties that receive the most votes form parliamentary groups in the House of Representatives, Berlin’s parliament. The…
-
The Good, the Bad, and the Arbeitsamt
Most places have an arm of the government to help folks out when they’re unemployed; governments like their citizens to have jobs and pay taxes. It tends to keep the governments – and the citizens – happy. There’s also the matter of not letting people starve in the street when they’re out of work.…
WahlheYmat Writes Newsletter
Our association’s own updates, including news about upcoming events, new initiatives, organizational news, and project developments from WahlheYmat e.V.
Address
Am Hamburger Bahnhof 3
10557 Berlin
Germany
hey@wahlheymat.de