Your voice counts

"Your Voice Counts" consisted of two one-week workshops held one year apart. Both workshops focused on the creative exploration of political topics such as diversity and participation. Young women with and without refugee experience had the opportunity to come together to exchange ideas and take action together.

Theater Workshop 2018

In October 2018, EAF Berlin invited young women with and without refugee experience for the second time to engage creatively and artistically with politics, civic engagement, and the history of women's movements. The workshop was funded by the Federal Agency for Civic Education.

On the very first evening, participants explored Berlin and 200 years of women's and emancipation history using a tandem principle. Learning how women fought for their rights in the past inspired them to follow in their footsteps, said one of the participants.

In the theater pedagogy workshops led by Andrea Krönke of EAF Berlin, the participants learned how to improve their stage presence and gained insight into theater and ensemble work.

As a group, they developed initial scenes in which they addressed political and social issues while simultaneously sharing their personal life realities and everyday experiences. They were then able to observe and analyze what they had learned during a joint visit to the plays "Revolt. She said. Revolt again. / Mar-a-Lago."

A special highlight was the fireside chat with Soufeina Hamed (illustrator and artist focusing on identity, racism, and Islamophobia), Diala Brisly (political activist and painter focusing on refugee children and women), Nabila Alhakim (dancer focusing on identity and home), and Michael Enslein (author, director, and theater educator). Through personal exchange, the participants gained insights into professional fields that combine art and politics and were inspired by the guests to express themselves politically in various ways. "The connection between art and politics encouraged me to try out political art," said one participant.

After intensive work in theater and dance sessions led by Andrea Krönke and Annapaola Leso (Sascha Waltz & Guests), it was finally time for the participants to take the stage. In front of family and friends, they presented the workshop results as an ensemble, bringing political topics such as "100 Years of Women's Suffrage" and "Workplace Discrimination" to the stage. As had become clear throughout the workshop days, the final presentation showed that the participants had grown together as a group.

Politics Workshop 2017

How and for what can I become politically active? How can people in all their diversity help shape society? These questions occupied the participants of the "Your Voice Counts" workshop in early November 2017, which was aimed at young women with and without a refugee background.

A highlight, alongside discussions and encounters with primarily female role models, was a visit to the Bundestag and an exchange with Member of Parliament Dr. Julia Verlinden (Alliance 90/The Greens). "I think this is a wonderful project to show young women that it is possible to get involved and have a say in the political arena," said the politician, who is a member of the EAF Berlin support association.

In a conversation with journalist, blogger, and EAF board member Kübra Gümüsay, the discussion turned to being political on social media. Helene Weber Prize winner Alev Deniz answered the young women's questions about political volunteering. During the fireside chat on the topic of politics as a career—with Yvonne Lehmann from the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Sibel Özdemir from the Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb), Julia Leiditz from the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, and Hanna Völkle from EAF Berlin—the participants received very personal insights into various career paths, which encourage them to be politically active in their professional lives as well.

The participants gained insights into political reporting during a visit to the RTL capital studio. The five-day program was rounded off with a diversity training session, in which the participants were able to reflect on their own unconscious biases.