The value of free research and teaching for society and for each individual becomes particularly clear when this is jeopardized. Political repression in the school and university sector, marginalization, intersectional discrimination, or a lack of choice in education are key reasons for many people to come to Germany, specifically to Berlin. Even today, almost 20 percent of students enrolled in Berlin are new to Germany, and many of them come from countries where academic freedom is under threat.

We suggest to focus more on the following questions: what do freedom of education and academic freedom mean to these newcomers? What are their expectations of academic freedom, vocational training and higher education? Are their expectations fulfilled and, if not, why not?

The centerpiece of our project is a research-based and artistic co-production process moderated by academics who have experienced displacement, in which the meaning of ‘freedom’ is explored. The results of this research-based learning will be documented in two artistic formats – as a video and a radio play.

Our research project will be part of the Long Night of Science 2024 at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin on June 22nd, where we will record the audience's ideas and experiences with freedom of learning and research in Berlin. You can find us and our mobile studio in front of the main building on Unter den Linden 6.

The value of free research and teaching for society and for each individual becomes particularly clear when this is jeopardized. Political repression in the school and university sector, marginalization, intersectional discrimination, or a lack of choice in education are key reasons for many people to come to Germany, specifically to Berlin. Even today, almost 20 percent of students enrolled in Berlin are new to Germany, and many of them come from countries where academic freedom is under threat.

What do freedom and academic freedom mean to these newcomers? What are their expectations of academic freedom, vocational training and higher education? Are their expectations fulfilled and, if not, why not? documented in two artistic formats – as a video and a radio play.

The centerpiece of our project is a research-based and artistic co-production process moderated by academics who have experienced displacement, in which the meaning of ‘freedom’ is explored. The results of this research-based learning will be documented in two artistic formats – as a video and a radio play.

The value of free research and teaching for society and for each individual becomes particularly clear when this is jeopardized. Political repression in the school and university sector, marginalization, intersectional discrimination, or a lack of choice in education are key reasons for many people to come to Germany, specifically to Berlin. Even today, almost 20 percent of students enrolled in Berlin are new to Germany, and many of them come from countries where academic freedom is under threat.

What do freedom and academic freedom mean to these newcomers? What are their expectations of academic freedom, vocational training and higher education? Are their expectations fulfilled and, if not, why not? documented in two artistic formats – as a video and a radio play.

The centerpiece of our project is a research-based and artistic co-production process moderated by academics who have experienced displacement, in which the meaning of ‘freedom’ is explored. The results of this research-based learning will be documented in two artistic formats – as a video and a radio play.

This lecture series organized by Prof. Dr. Schirin Amir-Moazami and Dr. Dina Wahba takes place Thursdays during the summer term at FU Berlin (Fabeckstr. 23/25, Seminarraum 0.3090B) at 4 - 6 pm (c.t.). At the first session on May 2nd, 2024 Dr. Dina Wahba will speak on the topic "Politics is What Moves Us: Affect, Emotions and Political Action". Please find the full program below.

On June 7th, Dr. Dhara Patel will hold a lecture about "Socio-Spatial Negotiations of the Highly Skilled Indian Migrants". For further information, please view the event poster below or click here.



This event is part of the lecture and conversation series Dwelling Together: Urban Housing, Neighborliness and Multilocal Homemaking, which takes place every wednesday from 6-8 pm during the summer term 2023. To view the full program of the lecture series, please take a look at our poster via the link: https://www.iaaw.hu-berlin.de/de/querschnitt/medialitaet/poster-dwelling-together-urban-housing-neighborliness-and-multi-local-homemaking.pdf

GAMS and RePLITO are delighted to present:


"I ESCAPED TO MY FUTURE"

- an accompanying booklet to a participatory film project made in Berlin (2023).

The idea for a joint film project with unaccompanied children and young adults who arrived here recently and after weeks and months of being on the road, sometimes on very unprotected and risky routes, was jointly created during a workshop held by our visiting research fellow Dr. Nagehan Uskan on the topic of “Visual Storytelling as Resistance” at the beginning of 2023.

(To read the booklet, click here or on the image below)

On May 31st, Dr. Arshi Javaid (Einstein Junior Scholar/GAMS) will hold a lecture about "Tracing Vignettes of Srinagar through a Memory Lens". For further information, please view the event poster below or click here.

This event is part of the lecture and conversation series Dwelling Together: Urban Housing, Neighborliness and Multilocal Homemaking, which takes place every wednesday from 6-8 pm during the summer term 2023. To view the full program of the lecture series, please take a look at our poster via the link: https://www.iaaw.hu-berlin.de/de/querschnitt/medialitaet/poster-dwelling-together-urban-housing-neighborliness-and-multi-local-homemaking.pdf

“The Ice Cream Sellers” (2021, 75min)

A film by Sohel Rahman

The Ice Cream Sellers (75") tells the story of two little siblings and the genocide survivors of the Rohingya community who fled from Myanmar into Bangladesh after a brutal genocide. While most of the Rohingya people were exhausted from the weight of their trauma, the two siblings began their new life with hard work, selling cheap ice-cream door to door in the world´s largest refugee camp in a desperate attempt to earn enough money to bribe officials for the release of their father from prison in Myanmar. The film invites the audience to become a part of the journey of two children across the refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, just as the director himself was invited and received intimate access into their journey of life. The film portrays a story of tragedy and loss, courage, and suffering. On one hand, we have parents’ harrowing tales of their flight from their homeland, and on the other, we see laughter and the irrepressible spirit of the children.

Director’s note:

During the Rohingya genocide in 2017, a picture of a mother fleeing from Myanmar carrying two children on her shoulder touched my heart deeply. My mother does not belong to the Rohingya community, but what would have happened if she did? I imagine a situation where I am a Rohingya child, and my mother is running fast with all her energy towards the border while carrying me and my little sister over her shoulder to escape from a massacre.

I saw the Rohingya exodus arrive from Myanmar, crossing the River Naf into Bangladesh. The refugee camp is just a few hours from my home town, Chittagong. One morning I went to the refugee camp where I encountered many Rohingya people. Eventually, I met Ayas and Asia. I saw those sad eyes staring at the sky with thousands of words.

Making a film about the refugee crisis is not a new concept but in my view, the encounters and access into the lives of those Rohingya people make the film unique. As a result, it is a universal story of human tenderness and struggle rather than a conventional refugee film. I approach filmmaking from both an artistic and humanitarian perspective, incorporating my knowledge of literature, anthropology, and my life experience and background.

I hope that the film The Ice Cream Sellers will not only make a significant contribution to the

existing film world but will also help to stop the ongoing genocide in Myanmar and protect the Rohingya community from further violence.

2021 Winner 16th Tasveer South Asian Film Festival: Audience Choice Best Documentary

SAFF Montréal 2021: Jury Award Best Feature Documentary

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgVESYILtQg&t=31s

On May 3rd, Prof. Nadja-Christina Schneider will hold a lecture about Memory, Housing Architecture and Everyday Life. For further information, please view the event poster below or click here.

This event is part of the lecture and conversation series Dwelling Together: Urban Housing, Neighborliness and Multilocal Homemaking, which takes place every wednesday from 6-8 pm during the summer term 2023. To view the full program of the lecture series, please take a look at our poster via the link: https://www.iaaw.hu-berlin.de/de/querschnitt/medialitaet/dwelling-together_final-version.pdf

On May 17th, Anna Schnieder-Krüger will hold a lecture on the topic of “Living Together or Living Separately? Indian University Spaces and their Neighborhoods”. For further information on the film screening, please view the event poster below or click here.

This event is part of the lecture and conversation series Dwelling Together: Urban Housing, Neighborliness and Multilocal Homemaking, which takes place every wednesday from 6-8 pm during the summer term 2023. To view the full program of the lecture series, please take a look at our poster via the link:

https://www.iaaw.hu-berlin.de/de/querschnitt/medialitaet/dwelling-together_final-version.pdf

On May 10th, architect Karishma and filmmaker Vishwesh from Teepoi Collective will show their film KANADE at HU Berlin, Invalidenstraße 118. For further information on the film screening, please view the event poster below.

This event is part of the lecture and conversation series Dwelling Together: Urban Housing, Neighborliness and Multilocal Homemaking, which takes place every wednesday from 6-8 pm during the summer term 2023. To view the full program of the lecture series, please take a look at our poster via the link: https://www.iaaw.hu-berlin.de/de/querschnitt/medialitaet/dwelling-together_final-version.pdf

The international lecture series "Interrogating Coloniality: Post- and Decolonial Thought and Practice" will take place from April 27th until July 13th 2023.

Venue: Freie Universität Berlin, Holzlaube
Fabeckstraße 23-25, 14195 Berlin
Room N° 2.2059

This lecture series is organised by Dr. Mahmoud Al Zayed and Prof. Schirin Amir-Moazami in the framework of RePLITO.

ON SATURDAY, MARCH 25, 2023, the “Multilingual Dictionary: Living Together in a Refugee Camp” will be presented as part of the Off-Festival event and made available to the public as Wikibooks. The dictionary documents the everyday life and shared language of refugees in the camps of Moria and Mavrovouni in Greece, enabling them to live together multilingually.

Dr. Nagehan Uskan, RePLITO visiting scholar and lecturer at the department for Gender and Media Studies for the South Asian Region (GAMS) of the Institute for Asian and African Studies (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) implemented the project in Lesvos together with Hadis Yakubi, Shahram Ahmadi and Mehdi Darif. She says: “The dictionary documents in an extraordinary and very direct way the multilingual everyday life of refugees and their enormous competence to live together peacefully despite all adversities. Since the first presentation of the dictionary, we noticed that this vocabulary is used far beyond Lesvos by refugees to communicate. To collect and document more terms, we are using the tools of Wikipedia and inviting people to contribute their own words.”

The dictionary was originally created and first presented to the public by migrants and activists on the island of Lesvos on International Mother Language Day 2022 under the motto “Living Together in Multilingual Societies”. It is supported by the collaborative research project Beyond Social Cohesion - Global Repertoires of Living Together (RePLITO).

RePLITO takes marginalized and neglected repertoires of living together as a starting point to rethink social cohesion from a transregional perspective. These repertoires and associated knowledge archives of coexistence will be further negotiated and transformed in the context of dynamic interactions beyond nation-states and regions. RePLITO is funded by the Berlin University Alliance (2021-2024) as part of the Grand Challenge Initiative Social Cohesion.

For further inquiries, please contact Prof. Nadja-Christina Schneider by email: nadja-christina.schneider@hu-berlin.de

The two-day event focuses on gendered engagement in social and political activism as well as on gendered work experiences in and from South Asia. We are interested in understanding the two-fold dynamics of how local pioneers intervene(d) in and shape(d) transnational debates and how global engagement became/becomes localized. As ideologies, critique and visions travel, professional and activist networks and solidarities have developed across borders and helped to forge new global alliances. The aim of the workshop is to discuss these dynamics and networks through a gendered perspective.

Interested participants can register at globalnetworkslocalpioneers@gmail.com. 

2-Day Workshop in New Delhi

Date: 23 and 24 February 2023

Cooperation partners: ICAS:MP New Delhi, DFG project “Hidden Histories”, RePLITO (Beyond Social Cohesion: Repertoires of Living Together)

For further information, please visit https://micasmp.hypotheses.org/11274