Political Picnic at Flussbad Berlin e.V. June 11th, 2023

Political Self-Representation of and for People with Migration History: Equal Participation, Access, Representation, and Onboarding Methods

The Flussbad Berlin e.V. association has been fighting for over 20 years to realize its project: a publicly accessible, non-commercial river bath in the Spree along the Museum Island in Berlin-Mitte. While there was a lack of courage and imagination 20 years ago, today there is a lack of the necessary political will and financial support to finally realize the project.

The struggle for access and agency is not only being waged by Flussbad Berlin e.V. Newcomers, people with refugee experiences, or those who have moved to the second and third generations also face this challenge. Therefore, political self-representation of and for people with migration history are important actors who can provide support at various levels—whether it be dealing with experiences of racism, overcoming bureaucratic hurdles, equal participation in the labor market, or access to educational opportunities. But are integrative projects of empowerment and visibility sufficiently promoted? How do the state and politics behave towards voluntary engagement and civil society interest representation?

 

Photocredits: Janin Blunert, 2022 All photo and video materials belong to their owners and are used for demonstration purposes only. Please do not use them in commercial projects.

As part of the seminar 'Onboarding in Europe' at the Europa-Universität Viadrina, we discussed equal participation, access, representation, and different methods of onboarding with various actors and gathered knowledge. In July, we organized an interactive political picnic at Flussbad Berlin e.V. to bring the different actors together again in this new format. We exchanged perspectives, debated, and set new impulses for the future of political self-representation of and for people with migration history.
The event took place within the framework of the EU-funded Jean Monnet Program for teaching and research on Europe and European integration processes, as well as in cooperation with the Europa-Universität Viadrina and the Federal Conference of Migrant Organizations (BKMO). The discussion of the interactive political picnic was guided along two overarching questions. We discussed what is needed for sustainable democratic cohesion and how we can create more equal opportunities in the onboarding process in the future. The results were recorded on two mind maps.

Photocredits: Janin Blunert, 2022 All photo and video materials belong to their owners and are used for demonstration purposes only. Please do not use them in commercial projects.

We would like to thank the Federal Conference of Migrant Organizations (BKMO), Flussbad Berlin e.V., the Jean Monnet Program, and the Europa-Universität Viadrina for their kind support.