Our community
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The Great Berlin Bake Off
Since the beginning of the first lock down there has been a massive increase in homebaking the world over. And we haven't been spared by the hype!
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A socially-distanced Ramadan
GSBTB's Muslim community members give an in-depth view into how Ramadan is practised in their respective home countries, and share their experiences of how the Covid-19 crisis and social distancing guidelines affected them this year.
What We Do
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Open Hearts Space community looks for a new volunteer
We are looking for a person who can establish a relationship with an eight-year-old boy from Syria, a huge fan of dogs (both small and big ones).
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International Arabic Language Day
Join us on a journey to world of Arabic culture, language, and cuisine - featuring Gayath Almadhoun.
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Lessons learned and awarded after almost a year of music under lockdown
We did it again! Our Open Music School received the Active for Democracy and Tolerance 2020 Prize of the Alliance for Democracy and Tolerance.
Society
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What should the world be like post-Coronavirus?
GSBTB's website manager Rein Vyncke shares some thoughts about the global consequences of the current Corona crisis, and how to approach our uncertain new world.
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Bringing up baby (in the office)
What's it like being a mother in a world that constantly links your usefulness to how productive you are? Open Kitchen Manager Ricarda Bochat explores the complexities of being a working mother in today's productivity-driven society.
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Welcome to Berlin – but good luck finding a place to live
Skyrocketing rents and growing homelessness in Berlin. How can you help?
Mental Health with Eed Be Eed
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GSBTB partnered with Arabic-German newspaper Eed Be Eed for a special edition of the newspaper focused on mental health. Here we present a selection of the articles, many of them available in English, German and Arabic.
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“I love my son differently”
Diana al-Atwani writes about her relationship with her mother, and the lessons she has carried forward when fostering bonds with her own son.
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Birds, prayers and how to play the strings of the soul: thoughts about the Islamic reflections on music therapy
Though modern psychiatry lauds 'new discoveries' such as music therapy, music has been used as a therapeutic tool for centuries in Islamic societies - find out how in this article.
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Overcoming survivor’s guilt
A step-by-step guide to overcoming the survivor's guilt that manifests itself within you.
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What connects us all: survivor’s guilt as a universal human experience
Hania Hakiel and Antonia Stasiuk draw comparisons between the experiences of survivor's guilt in Holocaust survivors with those of Syrian refugees in Berlin, to show how such guilt is a fundamentally human experience.
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I’ve survived the war, but why can’t I make sense of my feelings anymore?
Hania Hakiel retells experiences of people in Berlin who suffer from survivor's guilt, showing the different ways in which this guilt can manifest in the body and the mind as well as steps one can take to address it.
Migration Matters
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Migration Matters was founded in 2016 to address the public’s biggest conundrums and fears surrounding migration and the so-called refugee crisis.
Their free video-based courses break down commonly held preconceptions about migration and offer nuanced and solution-oriented perspectives from leading thinkers in the field: researchers, practitioners, as well as migrants and refugees themselves.
We've partnered with Migration Matters to arm our community with fact-based information about migration, driven by experts.
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Integration: What Works and What Doesn’t Work?
Part six of our course Six Impossible Ideas (after Brexit): Right now, the integration of refugees and migrants is a policy priority for every European government. However, according to Dominik Hangartner of the London School of Economics, we know surprisingly little about what works and what doesn’t when it comes to integration.
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Do Migrants Take Away Jobs?
Part two of our course Six Impossible Ideas (after Brexit): Many people think that migrants take jobs away from citizens, reduce wages, or both. But you may also have heard the argument that immigrants benefit the economy. So, who’s right? Well, it's not that simple, explains Alan Manning of the London School of Economics.
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How Effective Are Borders in Keeping People out?
Part eight of our course Migration 101: Borders have partially returned to the European Union, from Brexit to Hungary’s fences. But borders and visas do not always have their intended effect, argues Hein de Haas, one of the leading scholars in the field of migration studies.
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Are Migrants City-Takers or Makers?
Part one of our course Six Impossible Ideas (after Brexit): Suzie Hall of the London School of Economics takes us to a super-diverse street in South London, telling us what we can learn about the ways migration shapes modern cities and economies.
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Are We Living in a Time of Unprecedented Migration?
Part one of our course Migration 101: More people than ever before are on the move, right? It’s not that simple, explains Hein de Haas, one of the world's leading migration researchers.
Opinion
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Lessons learned and awarded after almost a year of music under lockdown
We did it again! Our Open Music School received the Active for Democracy and Tolerance 2020 Prize of the Alliance for Democracy and Tolerance.
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What should the world be like post-Coronavirus?
GSBTB's website manager Rein Vyncke shares some thoughts about the global consequences of the current Corona crisis, and how to approach our uncertain new world.
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(Un)equal access to the dancefloor
Being a woman in the music scene is no easy feat - and being an immigrant often makes it harder. Äggi Blu is here to give you the full run-down of the many layers of discrimination she's experienced during her electronic music journey.
Global Kitchen
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The Great Berlin Bake Off
Since the beginning of the first lock down there has been a massive increase in homebaking the world over. And we haven't been spared by the hype!
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Quarantine Kitchen #3: Yellow Mixed Daal and Dosa
GSBTB Communications Manager Abeera lets you in on all the secrets of how to make South-Asian style daal, served hot with a crispy, fresh dosa.
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Quarantine Kitchen #2: Golden Roasted Cauliflower
In our second Quarantine Kitchen post, volunteer chef Wilma shares her recipe for tasty (and cheap) golden roasted cauliflower, served with sinfully creamy coconut rice and masala fried leaves.