Tomorrow at noon, the Berlin House of Representatives will be entirely handed over to young people. As part of the 15th Youth Forum, the parliamentary groups of the House of Representatives, Berlin's members of the European and German Bundestag, and district representatives are invited to discuss various topics with a total of 600 children and young people. The Youth Forum program was developed by young people themselves over the past few months and will cover topics such as refugee policy, racism, right-wing populism, ecology, and urban development.
At 12:00 noon , Anja Schillhaneck, Vice President of the House of Representatives, will hand over the parliamentary bell to Berlin's youth. Senator for Youth Sandra Scheereswill officially open the youth FORUM and, in this context, also launch jup! Berlin, the new online youth platform.
From 1 p.m. onwards, the plenary hall will transform into a vibrant, lively jam space with musical instruments and drumming workshops. Themed workshops and discussions will take place throughout the building. A maker space will offer opportunities for immediate, sustainable upcycling. In addition, young Berlin cinema will be screened, including the film ASYLAND by filmmaker Cagdas Yüksel. At 4 p.m., Kreuzberg rapper Yansn will perform in the lobby.
The "Refugees" section will focus on the specific challenges faced by young refugees in Berlin. Young refugees themselves are especially invited this year. To facilitate dialogue, interpreters will be available in twelve languages. This year's youthFORUM will be held in Arabic, Persian/Farsi, English, Kurdish, French, Spanish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Turkish, Punjabi, Urdu, and Hindi
Saturday, December 5, 2015, from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM
throughout the Berlin House of Representatives,
Niederkirchnerstraße 5, 10117 Berlin,
S/U-Bahn station Potsdamer Platz.
The full program and some press materials can be found at:
www.berlinerjugendforum.de/
About the Berlin Youth Forum:
The idea behind the Youth Forum, which was launched in 2001, is to facilitate exchange between young people in Berlin and responsible politicians. The young people themselves decide what is discussed and with whom, and they organize the program independently.
The wannseeFORUM,
the initiator of the Berlin youth FORUM, is the youth education center Stiftung wannseeFORUM. The focus of wannseeFORUM's political and cultural education work is the concept of participation, i.e., supporting young people through various programs to actively, critically, and creatively engage in social life – be it at school, in the workplace, in their neighborhood, in political projects, or in civil society initiatives.
Organizers of the youthFORUM:
The youthFORUM is made possible by the Berlin Youth Democracy Fund “STARK gemacht!”, supported by the Senate Department for Education, Youth and Science, the Berlin State Youth and Family Foundation, WeTeK eV, and over 30 associations, youth media outlets, and youth and youth social work institutions. The translation of the event is made possible with financial support from the Kreuzberg Children's Foundation.