Action – WIR SIND HIER!

WIR SIND HIER! becomes host* in the Green Salon of the Volksbühne

WirSindHierAdmin — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 13:08:00 +0000

Opening on September 16, 2022. New theater project and event series planned.

Berlin, September 2022

This season, the Green Salon will again be run by artists* and activists from Berlin’s Roma* and Sinti* communities: Together with RomaTrial e.V and the Romnja in Power theater collective, WIR SIND HIER! is shaping a vision of a future society in the Grüner Salon – a society in which the lives and perspectives of all people are of equal value. A future in which Roma* and Sinti* are no longer a problem, but the hosts.

Among other things, WIR SIND HIER! will contribute a new youth theater piece to the program of the Green Salon and will recruit new young performers from the Roma communities in Berlin. WIR SIND HIER! fulfills its role as host par excellence with a planned series of events: On October 21 at 9 p.m., the young peer trainers invite you to dance on the red carpet. Further dates will follow.

The Green Salon opens its doors on September 16, 2022 for the 2022 / 2023 theater season with the week-long series of events and exhibition “Germany your children – On continuities of right-wing violence”. They commemorate the 30th and 31st anniversaries of the pogroms of Rostock-Lichtenhagen and Hoyerswerda and draw an arc to the current treatment of people on the run.

In film, radio play, lecture and discussion, those affected – former contract workers from Mozambique and Vietnam as well as Roma – and activists from Sea Watch as well as Afghan and Syrian associations will have their say.

The musician Mal Élevé will kick off the event with an open-air concert. With his open approach to his Manouche identity, Mal Élevé inspires young Roma* and Sinti* in particular. His songs -a mixture of reggae, dancehall, ska, rap and punk- are a declaration of war against fascism, capitalism and sexism and at the same time a call for worldwide solidarity.

More information about the program of the Green Salon here.

WE ARE HERE! is happy to be part of the Green Salon team!

WE ARE HERE! at “Peer Loaded” Youth Conference in Görlitz

WirSindHierAdmin — Fri, 22 Jul 2022 14:37:00 +0000

On the first weekend of July 2022, our youth group “Wir Sind Hier!” traveled to Görlitz in Saxony and participated in the first youth conference of Saxon peer – projects.
Under the name “Peer Loaded”, committed young people from all over the state came together, got to know each other and attended a variety of workshops.

Update (09/30/2022): Video documentation of the youth conference:

WIR SIND HIER! auf „Peer Loaded“ in Görlitz

In addition to topics such as hate speech, fake news, and civil courage, there was also a well-attended awareness-raising workshop against antiziganism by “Wir sind Hier!”.

The group was able to reach many young peer trainers in Saxony through varied methods, expertise and a good dose of humor and has raised awareness for the continuous and multi-layered discrimination against Sinti and Roma*.

In addition to the input from the group, the stay in Görlitz was also used intensively for networking with local peer projects.

The nice weekend was rounded off by a concert of Brass Riot from Berlin in the old factory Rabryka. After a busy weekend, we were able to dance the night away.

We would like to thank the “Peer Loaded” crew, the Saxon Youth Foundation, the RAA Saxony and especially all the great young people for the good time.

We will be happy to come back and look forward to seeing you again!

Our youth group was selected for the Theatertreffen of the youth

WirSindHierAdmin — Tue, 05 Apr 2022 12:33:00 +0000

The forum theater play of the youth group WIR SIND HIER! has been selected for the Theatertreffen der Jugend. This was announced today by the Berliner Festspiele as organizers of the national competition. WIR SIND HIER! is one of a total of eight productions invited to the Theatertreffen der Jugend from 25.5. – 4.6.2022 in the festival center at the Berliner Festspiele. The young Roma and Romnja of WIR SIND HIER! were able to prevail against about 50 applications. The jury focused on the question of specific youth perspectives and the appropriate development and implementation of the respective material by the entire ensemble. The personality and attitude of the players are decisive for the invitation to the Theatertreffen der Jugend.

Forum Theater Play WE ARE HERE!
By: Christoph Leucht, David Paraschiv, Estera Elisa Paraschiv, Estera Sara Stan, Naomi Stan | With: Daniel Hromyko, David Paraschiv, Estera Elisa Paraschiv, Estera Sara Stan, Naomi Stan | Directed by: Christoph Leucht | Audio/Video: Christoph Leucht | Premiere date: 17.6.2021, Youth Theater Festival “Festiwalla” in Berlin
Next performance: 8.4.2022, ROMADAY | Duration: 80 minutes
https://romaday.info

The interactive theater piece about persecution, rejection and oppression of Roma* in Germany was created between March and June 2021 in a rehearsal process using the methods of teatro das opridmidas under the guidance of Christoph Leucht (Theaterwerkstatt KURINGA).

The next opportunity to see the young people of WIR SIND HIER! in action will be at this year’s ROMADAY on April 8, 2022 at 16:00 during the ROMADAY parade through Berlin-Mitte and at 19:00 with a performance of the award-winning play in the Green Salon of the Volksbühne. Admission is free.

Theatertreffen der Jugend – WIR SIND HIER by Jana Kießer-1

The youth group WIR SIND HIER! is composed of young Roma and Romnja from RomaTrial e.V. from Berlin and Kiev, who speak Romani, Romanian, Ukrainian, German, English, Russian and Spanish. The artistic theater work is part of their political commitment within the framework of the “WIR SIND HIER! Education Program against Antigypsyism” and also includes peer training instruction, organizing demos, events, appearances at panel discussions, and producing videos and social media content.

“WE ARE HERE! Bildungsprogramm gegen Antigypsyism” trains young Roma and Romnja, as well as other young people affected by racist and intersectional discrimination, as peer trainers against anti-gypsyismin Berlin, Brandenburg and Saxony. Together they develop educational tools to raise awareness about antigypsyism.

Further information at https://wer-ist-hier.de/ https://romaday.info

Picture material here © Jana Kießer @jana.kiesser @ein_garten_in_berlin
Press contact: Sarah Rosenau | (030) 99 00 82 14 | mail@sarahrosenau.net

Potsdam: Home game for the committed

WirSindHierAdmin — Sun, 20 Mar 2022 12:24:00 +0000

The youth group “WIR SIND HIER!” met with fans from Fanprojekt Babelsberg at Karl Liebknecht Stadium.

Die Jugendgruppe „WIR SIND HIER!“ zu Gast bei Fanprojekt Babelsberg. Foto ©: Alexander ‚Ali‘ Rönisch

Fanprojekt Babelsberg stands up against discrimination and against racism. So it was only a matter of time when we would visit them. After brief preliminary discussions, we met with some activists from Fanprojekt Babelsberg at SV Babelsberg’s home game against VfB Auerbach at Karl Liebknecht Stadium. We presented our workshop concept to the Babelsberg fan project and some of their “Diversity is Strength” coordinators, exchanged ideas about our anti-racist work and talked animatedly about anti-gypsy ideas in society.

Afterwards, we cheered on the teams on the soccer field, invited the Babelsberg fan project to our theater performance the next day, and made plans for the future together.

It was a great and inspiring meeting and we are looking forward to our further exchange with Fanprojekt Babelsberg!

Guest performance in the sold-out youth theater office of Theater X

WirSindHierAdmin — Tue, 15 Mar 2022 12:10:04 +0000

In March we, the youth group “WIR SIND HIER!” had two more strong performances. Our interactive play featured performance, dialogue, recitation, music and video projections.

Gastspiel der Jugendgruppe „WIR SIND HIER!“ im Theater X, Berlin; Foto ©: Jana Kiesser

The audience was directly involved in the theatrical action – this was intentional from the beginning. Known as the method “Forum Theater” and made strong by the Theater of the Oppressed, this form of interactive theater is low-threshold: the dialogue with the audience reduces social differences, offers the audience to identify with the issues, and thus contributes to reflection on what is happening and to change social reality. These two performances took place as a guest performance in the sold-out Youth Theater Office of Theater X. Afterwards we were able to further exchange with the audience, answer questions, tell about our workshop activities and make new contacts.

Should we found a Roma* army, do Roma* need their own state or what can we do to stop racism and oppression of Roma* and Sinti*?

Ein Forumtheaterstück der Jugendgruppe WIR SIND HIER! über Verfolgung, Zurückweisung A forum theater play by the youth group WIR SIND HIER! about persecution, rejection and oppression of Roma* in Germany. After a very late recognition of the Holocaust against Roma* and Sinti*, there are racist attacks again and the Holocaust memorial is to be partially destroyed because of a new S-Bahn line. Enough is enough!

The youth group WIR SIND HIER! is composed of young Roma and Romja from RomaTrial e.V. from Berlin and Kiev, who speak Romanes, Romanian, Ukrainian, German, English, Russian and Spanish. The young people have been politicized early on through the youth work of RomaTrial and other Roma organizations and involved in the fight against racism against Roma* and Sinti*. The artistic work in the theater is part of the political engagement, which also includes guiding peer trainings, organizing demos, events, appearances at panel discussions and producing videos and social media content.

By: Christoph Leucht, David Paraschiv, Estera Elisa Paraschiv, Estera Sara Stan, Naomi Stan.
With: Daniel Hromyko, David Paraschiv, Estera Elisa Paraschiv, Estera Sara Stan, Naomi Stan
Director: Christoph Leucht

Advent, Advent, a little light is burning…

WirSindHierAdmin — Mon, 28 Dec 2020 13:56:43 +0000

The days are short, the weather is too cold. There is a pandemic that complicates this dark season… but after Advent comes Christmas and our team is young and motivated. The youth would like to put on something creative that also provides information. Sounds right up our educational alley!

Out of the group an advent calendar against antigypsyism has been created, which lets open a little door every day – from A to Z. The campaign, which became an Instagram hit in its time, can be viewed at the following link…this time even without having to wait for the next day:

Sieh dir diesen Beitrag auf Instagram an

Ein Beitrag geteilt von RomaTrial (@romatrial)

Networking trip to Dresden

WirSindHierAdmin — Sun, 20 Sep 2020 13:47:23 +0000

Our WSH project aims to be active in the German states of Berlin, Brandenburg and Saxony and to set up youth groups in these locations. Since the worldwide pandemic broke out at the beginning of our project, we lacked for a very long time the possibilities of a trip to the other federal states with our youth group to see with which forces there we can cooperate. But as soon as that was possible, we traveled with the youth group from Berlin to Dresden.

In Dresden we met some Roma youth and activists and talked with them about our goals and wishes regarding the project. They were lively conversations! Along the way, we were able to see some of the beautiful city of Dresden, which was a bonus point. We are really looking forward to building up our youth group in Saxony. Hopefully we can continue to make trips like this to keep the networking going between groups.

Theater play: We are here! Where are you?

WirSindHierAdmin — Sat, 12 Sep 2020 14:01:28 +0000

At the youth center Dosto in Bernau, our youth group from Berlin put on a theater performance as part of the intercultural week, which we would like to incorporate later as an educational tool in our project. After intensive rehearsals, the young people, together with our chairman and experienced directorHamze Bytyçi, conceived a play in which the group talks about their experiences of discrimination. The play also tells the story of the first Roma congress 50 years ago and the resolutions passed there, as well as theatrically demonstrating the continuity of antigypsyism. After the performance, there was a round of questions in which the young people talked about the project and about the different realities of Roma lives.
You can watch the video of the play here or at the following link on facebook.

Theater play “We are here! Where are you?” from 12th of September 2020