WahlheYmatPost — Understand How To Berlin

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  • Wahl-Kompass: Understanding Berlin Politics Takes More Than Speaking German

    Wahl-Kompass: Understanding Berlin Politics Takes More Than Speaking German

    Ahead of Berlin’s September 2026 election, Nina Harz wanted to understand what the political parties were actually promising. What started as a personal spreadsheet became Wahl-Kompass, an online platform comparing ten parties across 65 topics in eleven languages. We spoke with Nina about making political information more accessible, tracking election promises, and why understanding Berlin politics requires more than speaking German.
  • You Cannot Be Both a Host and a Guest

    You Cannot Be Both a Host and a Guest

    When does a guest become a member of society? And who gets to decide? Ivan Gabor explores the relationship between citizenship, voting rights, and belonging in a city shaped by people from around the world.
  • From Corporate Law to Kindergarten: Finding Belonging Between Brazil and Berlin

    From Corporate Law to Kindergarten: Finding Belonging Between Brazil and Berlin

    Ivan Custódio grew up in a working-class family in Brazil and worked his way toward a prestigious career in law. But after moving to Berlin, his life took an unexpected turn. Today, he works as a kindergarten teacher – a job he finds meaningful and intellectually challenging in its own way. His story is about belonging, breaking free from expectations and redefining what success really means.
  • Social Psychologist Ulrich Wagner on How Fear and Prejudice Fuel the Far Right

    Social Psychologist Ulrich Wagner on How Fear and Prejudice Fuel the Far Right

    Why do we so easily divide people into “us” and “them” – and when does this natural tendency turn into prejudice, discrimination and hostility? In an interview with WahlheYmatPost, social psychologist Prof. Dr. Ulrich Wagner explains how feelings of threat can be politically exploited, why simple solutions are so appealing in uncertain times, and how contact between different groups can help counter polarization.
  • From Distrust to Dialogue: Why We Need to Meet

    From Distrust to Dialogue: Why We Need to Meet

    Political trust is not just about voting rights. It is also about feeling heard, respected and recognised as part of society. Ivan Gabor argues that rebuilding trust requires more than political promises – it starts with conversations between people who might otherwise never meet.
  • The Participation Paradox: Why Political Trust Doesn’t Always Translate Into Votes

    The Participation Paradox: Why Political Trust Doesn’t Always Translate Into Votes

    Immigrants often arrive with greater trust in democratic institutions than the native-born population. But that trust does not necessarily translate into political participation – and over time, it tends to decline. New European research raises an important question for Berlin, where hundreds of thousands of residents could not vote in the recent state election at all.
  • We talk a lot. But what do we actually do?

    We talk a lot. But what do we actually do?

    We vote, governments govern, and we expect politics to solve our problems. But what if democracy needs more from us? Drawing lessons from Taiwan and Berlin 1989, Ivan Gabor asks how civic movements can reclaim the power to shape society – instead of waiting for someone else to do it.
  • Democracy at the Späti: What Berlin’s Symbolic Election Revealed

    Democracy at the Späti: What Berlin’s Symbolic Election Revealed

    What happens when voting moves out of polling stations and into Berlin’s neighbourhood Spätis? This summer, the Migrationsrat Berlin held symbolic elections across the city to give people without voting rights a space to make their voices heard – and to start conversations about political participation, exclusion and democracy. WahlheYmatPost spoke with Mallika Basu and Maria Vittoria Celardo about what they learned from the experiment, the conversations that surprised them and why they believe voting rights in Germany need to change.
  • From Kyiv to Berlin: War Changed His Path, but Not His Dream

    From Kyiv to Berlin: War Changed His Path, but Not His Dream

    At 15, Oleksandr Drevytskyi left Kyiv with his mother and their dog Ozzy after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In Berlin, he found himself navigating a new language, a new school system and an uncertain future. Four years later, he is studying mathematics at Humboldt University – and helping other Ukrainians find their own way through the city.
  • Strangers by the Spree: Inside Berlin’s Outdoor Latin Dance Community

    Strangers by the Spree: Inside Berlin’s Outdoor Latin Dance Community

    Just a few hundred metres from Berlin Central Station, strangers meet by the Spree to dance salsa and bachata together. Drawing on her own experience of joining the crowd, Borbála Hanna Dévai explores how Berlin’s outdoor Latin dance scene brings together people of different ages, backgrounds and professions.
  • StimmlosTrend 2026: 96 Percent Would Vote If They Could

    StimmlosTrend 2026: 96 Percent Would Vote If They Could

    The final results of WahlheYmat’s StimmlosTrend are in. They show a striking willingness to participate among international Berliners without voting rights – but also widespread concern about the city’s future and a strong sense of having little influence over it.
  • A Mayor Tandem for Berlin

    A Mayor Tandem for Berlin

    What if Berlin’s nearly one million residents without a vote had their own representative at the very top of the city? A second mayor, working alongside the elected Regierende Bürgermeister, could give international Berliners a visible voice in how the city is shaped. A radical idea? Perhaps. But in a city where roughly one in four residents cannot vote in state elections, it may be time to rethink what political representation can look like.
  • No German Passport? You May Still Have a Vote in Berlin 

    No German Passport? You May Still Have a Vote in Berlin 

    Around 240,000 non-German EU citizens are eligible to vote in Berlin’s district elections on September 20. A new series of multilingual events aims to explain how the election works – and how EU citizens can help shape the neighbourhoods they call home.
  • “Berlin taught me to dislike the word integration” 

    “Berlin taught me to dislike the word integration” 

    Berlin was the city that changed everything for Marilena Chatziantoniou. After more than two decades working in humanitarian aid around the world, she founded Just-Go-For-It to help people recognise opportunities rather than obstacles. In this interview, she explains why she rejects the word “integration”, why community matters more than bureaucracy, and why she believes participation is something we choose every single day.
  • What is Germany’s greatest asset?

    What is Germany’s greatest asset?

    Germany doesn’t need to become more German. It needs to become better at turning its greatest asset—its reputation as an open, reliable, and innovative country—into a magnet for people and ideas from around the world.
  • Migrants With Degrees Are Not What Germany Is Looking For

    Migrants With Degrees Are Not What Germany Is Looking For

    As state-funded German courses become harder to access, many migrants are left trapped between limited language skills and low-income jobs. At the Lohana Berkins Center in Berlin, Darío Farcy and his team are trying to break this cycle through free education, solidarity, and community organizing inspired by Latin American grassroots movements.
  • Home Is Not a Place: A Berlin Exhibition Rethinks Migration

    Home Is Not a Place: A Berlin Exhibition Rethinks Migration

    What does it really mean to leave a place behind? Migration is often reduced to politics, paperwork and statistics—but in reality, it is a deeply personal process of losing, carrying and reshaping pieces of one’s identity. In her latest installation, Berlin-based artist Noa Heyne explores how memory, space and belonging collide when we move between worlds.
  • Berlin Wiki: Your Guide to the 2026 Berlin Election

    Berlin Wiki: Your Guide to the 2026 Berlin Election

    On September 20, 2026, Berlin will elect a new House of Representatives and its district assemblies—but what does that actually mean, who gets to vote, and how do these decisions shape the city? Together with Berliner Morgenpost, we are launching “Berlin Wiki,” a series that breaks down the basics of Berlin’s electoral system in a clear and accessible way.
  • “Das Volk” in 2026: Time to Redefine the People

    “Das Volk” in 2026: Time to Redefine the People

    What does it mean to belong to a society if you have no say in shaping it? As Germany debates its identity as a diverse nation, the question of voting rights exposes a growing gap between reality and political structures.
  • “Treat Every Case as Your Own”: How Zaki e.V. Supports Berlin’s Overlooked Migrants

    “Treat Every Case as Your Own”: How Zaki e.V. Supports Berlin’s Overlooked Migrants

    For many newcomers in Berlin, one of the biggest challenges—besides the language—is navigating a system that is both highly complex and constantly shifts responsibility. This is exactly where Zaki e.V. steps in—with accessible, multilingual support and a clear principle: no case is passed on; every case is followed through to a solution, as Pia Bergmann, communications officer at Zaki, explains in our interview.
  • Germany Has an Energy Crisis — Just Not the One You Think

    Germany Has an Energy Crisis — Just Not the One You Think

    We debate gas, nuclear, and renewables—while something far more critical is running low: social energy. A tired society, shrinking trust, and unused potential are the real bottlenecks of the future.
  • Multilingualism, Participation, and Power: A Berlin Case Study

    Multilingualism, Participation, and Power: A Berlin Case Study

    Drawing on ten years of experience with the migraUp! Pankow project, Marita Orbegoso Alvarez, board member of MigrArte Perú e.V., reflects on how migrant organizations are not just participants in local life, but key drivers of democratic engagement, multilingual participation, and community resilience in Berlin. 
  • One In Four Berliners Cannot Vote: Europe Still Struggles With Migrant Political Participation

    One In Four Berliners Cannot Vote: Europe Still Struggles With Migrant Political Participation

    A quarter of Berlin’s residents cannot vote in national or local elections because they do not hold German citizenship. A new report by the Brussels-based Migration Policy Group shows that this democratic gap is not unique to Germany. Across Europe, migrants face major barriers to political participation — making it the weakest area of integration policy on the continent.
  • ‘Migrants’ Are The Greatest Opportunity For Germany

    ‘Migrants’ Are The Greatest Opportunity For Germany

    While people are eager to connect with their neighbours and build community, political participation often feels distant and alien. Ivan Gabor’s conclusion: if we take democracy seriously, we need to rethink who participates — and how.
  • “Democracy Is More Than Voting”: Sami Atris on Organising Communities in Berlin

    “Democracy Is More Than Voting”: Sami Atris on Organising Communities in Berlin

    Many Berliners feel that political decisions are made far away from their everyday reality. Sami Atris, lead organiser of the Berliner Bürgerplattformen, works to change that — by helping communities organise, build trust, and speak with a stronger voice.
  • Ukrainian Voices in Berlin: “People Are Not Objects for Integration Debates”

    Ukrainian Voices in Berlin: “People Are Not Objects for Integration Debates”

    Migration is often discussed in terms of labor, integration, and bureaucracy – but rarely as a question of rights, voice, and political participation. Oleksandra Bienert, chairwoman of the Allianz Ukrainischer Organisationen, speaks about fighting disinformation, confronting structural discrimination, and why migrant communities must be recognized as active political actors rather than the objects of integration debates. 
  • WahlheYmat Turns Two — And Invites You In

    WahlheYmat Turns Two — And Invites You In

    People who moved to Berlin from other countries are one of the largest untapped democratic potentials of the city. For two years, WahlheYmat has been working to activate that potential — and we are now inviting new members to join us.
  • The Berlin Blueprint: Participation as the Ultimate Act of Self-Determination

    The Berlin Blueprint: Participation as the Ultimate Act of Self-Determination

    What if wellbeing is not found in retreat, but built through action? Taylor Coburn follows Berlin’s story from the Trümmerfrauen to contemporary Kiez initiatives, arguing that self-determination — practiced collectively — has long been the city’s most powerful form of self-help.

Diverse voices tell the complete truth.

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.

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