Activities Beyond
There’s a lot going on in vibrant Berlin. If you have additional time to spare before or after the conference, we are glad to refer you to some activities and events that might spark your interest. They are only recommendations, however, and we are not affiliated with these events. Please direct any questions and inquiries directly to the organizers.
Meet Berlin’s Vietnamese Communities
Date & Time
Tuesday, 10 September 2019 — 16:00
Meeting Point
Schönhauser Allee train station (in front of the Schönhauser Allee Arkaden shopping center, facing the street)
About this Event
Let us take you to places of the Vietnamese communities in East Berlin and tell you some stories about Vietnamese life before, during and after German reunification that were shaped by hardship, discrimination, and also success.
This “Walk of Vietnamese Berlin” will give you a short insight into the history of the former contract workers and their families in Berlin, who make up the largest group of Vietnamese migrants living here, and then lead you to the latest group of labor migrants. Furthermore, it connects the migrants’ stories with a story of East Berlin and the district of Prenzlauer Berg. This once working-class neighborhood was, and still is – despite its rapid transformation into an area with expensive rents and chic cafés – home to those migrants who settled down with an own, “ethnic”, business. Most of the stops of the tour will be in Prenzlauer Berg; a second part of the tour will take you to the Dong Xuan Center in Lichtenberg for dinner (food and drinks need to be covered individually).
According to the German administration authority for statistics, the three biggest migrant groups in Berlin in 2017 were the Turkish (231,000), the Polish (80,000) and the Russian communities (52,000). Although the numbers of the Vietnamese population with about 20,000–25,000 (176,000 in all of Germany) might be smaller, the German-Vietnamese communities have had an impact on the shape and face of the city of Berlin. The migration history of long-term residents in this area has been closely connected to the context of the Cold War and therefore with modern German and Berlin history.
Among the many diverse migration flows from Vietnam to Germany, two have been central in terms of numbers and diaspora organizations. After the fall of Saigon (today, Ho Chi Minh City) in 1975, about 40,000 people from South Vietnam fled the Communist regime of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV) to West Germany by boats – they hence refer to themselves as “boat people”. The second central group is the one of contract workers who came to East Germany (GDR) during the 1980s. According to bilateral agreements between the GDR and the SRV, about 60,000 people arrived in the GDR to work in factories. Their integration into the German society was not wanted and not part of the deal between the two countries, as the Vietnamese were merely brought over to work for a limited period of time. However, about 25,000 have stayed on and tried to find a new perspective amongst the turmoils of German reunification. Today, while the “boat people” are mainly scattered throughout the Western districts of Berlin, most of the former contract workers are still in the Eastern districts of the city (e.g. Lichtenberg, Marzahn-Hellersdorf, Prenzlauer Berg) where their former residential accommodations were once located.
Since the new millennium and until today, a third migration “flow” from Vietnam to Germany can be observed. The newcomers are mostly from Central Vietnam and seek a better life looking for employment opportunities. They usually enter Germany via a third, Eastern European state (Czech Republic, Poland, etc).
Please register in advance by 08 September by sending an email to info@vlabberlin.de.
Organized by
VLab Berlin and Vietnam Stammtisch @ HU Berlin
Salu-Salo Sa Embahada: Afternoon Fellowship at the Philippine Embassy in Berlin
Date & Time
Tuesday, 10 September 2019 — 13:00
Location
Embassy of the Philippines, Luisenstraße 16, 10117 Berlin
About this Event
Take a tour of the Philippine Embassy’s new chancery and get to know each other while enjoying a hearty Filipino lunch. There are only 25 slots for this event and invitation is exclusively for EuroSEAS conference participants. Interested individuals are requested to sign up through this link.
Organized by
Embassy of the Philippines in Berlin
“Reading Bodies!” Cruising Corpoliteracy in Arts, Education and Everyday Life
Duration
14–15 September 2019
Location
Haus der Kulturen der Welt, John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10, 10557 Berlin
About this Event
“Whether on the subway, on social media, at the museum – in fractions of a second, people classify the bodies surrounding them, often in categories like female/male, young/old, sick/healthy, alien/familiar, normal/different. Bodies are complex sign systems. They send intentional and unintentional messages, reflect traditions and current trends, which are often interpreted unconsciously by others. Corpoliteracy, or body reading, is interested in the complex backgrounds of how people perceive themselves and others. Corpoliteracy reflects value systems, social practices and the mechanisms that lead to attributions, constraints and exclusions. For Reading Bodies! contributors from the arts, education and mediation, science and everyday life examine the transformative potential of corpoliteracy, or body reading, for a pluralistic and inclusive society.” (Source)
More Information
Photo Exhibition “Kinder Hinter Gittern” (“Children Behind Bars”)
Duration
12–21 September 2019
Location
Galerie Mensing, Friedrichstraße 169–170, 10117 Berlin
About this Event
Photo exhibition on the work of the Philippine Children’s Rights organisation PREDA, with photographs by Raffy Lerma and Cajus von Eickels. The exhibit will run from 12 to 21 September.
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Thaipark: Outdoor Thai “Street Food” Market
Opening Times
Fridays to Sundays, midday to early evening
Location
Preußenpark, Brandenburgische Straße, 10707 Berlin (close to Fehrbelliner Platz underground station)
About this Place
“At first glance, the park appears like a crowded sunbathing area, in which the Berlin residents fill up with sunshine at times. Only at second glance does one recognize the true backdrop. Under colorful umbrellas, on bast mats or small stools, there are a number of Thai women who cook delicious Thai food on the spot and offer it for consumption. Strictly speaking, other Asians are sitting there too, such as Chinese, Laotians, Vietnamese or Filipino. But the main focus is on the Thai flair and the delicious food. This special, actually private event invites all the curious, just try it out as you feel like it. You can even watch the women make the dishes fresh. The air is filled with the classic Thai smells that give you water in your mouth.” (Source)
Dong Xuan Center: Berlin’s Largest Asian Market
Opening Times
Wednesdays to Mondays, 10:00–20:00
Location
Dong Xuan Center, Herzbergstrasse 128–139, 10365 Berlin
About this Place
Covering about 200 hectares in size, this post-socialist marketplace is a central institution of the Vietnamese community in Berlin. It offers a plethora of Asian supermarkets, restaurants, wholesale textile businesses as well as hair and nail salons. The “Walk of Vietnamese Berlin” described above will also lead you here.
International Literature Festival Berlin
Duration
11–21 September 2019
About this Event
“The aim of the international literature festival berlin (ilb for short) is not only declared by its name. In the scope of the festival, every September the ilb serves as a platform to present contemporary developments in prose, poetry, non-fiction, graphic novels, and children’s and young adult literature from all around the world; here, we debate exceptionally current political topics and academic discourse and actively promote reading and teaching literature. With the goal of reaching as broad an audience as possible and including them in the festival in many ways, readings, discussion panels, encounters, and workshops take place over eleven days in Berlin. The festival offers people in Berlin and the surrounding region the extraordinary chance to get intensive access to the worldwide literary scene in all its diverse forms, temperaments, and styles. During the festival, the capital transforms into a center and platform for international literature to resonate. The international literature festival berlin is committed to human rights, a cosmopolitan outlook, multiple perspectives, dialogue, and hospitality.” (Source)
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Berlin Art Week
Duration
11–15 September 2019
About this Event
“Berlin Art Week is one of the highlights in the year of contemporary art in the German capital and annually takes place in September. For Berlin Art Week, the big museums of contemporary art in Berlin, exhibition venues and art societies, two art fairs, private collections and project spaces join forces and present a joint exhibition programme. For almost a full week, the entire city opens up to art enthusiasts from around the globe: with openings, award ceremonies, talks and special events, art tours through the city and the exhibition venues, with urban interventions, open studios and galleries. During these days, visitors experience Berlin as a place for contemporary art, where German and international artists live and work, where art is created, and where current topics in art are being discussed.” (Source)
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Musikfest Berlin
Duration
30 August – 19 September 2019
About this Event
“Musikfest Berlin sees itself as a forum for the innovative creative work carried out by large-scale orchestras and ensembles in the genre of classical and modern music. It presents an ambitious festival programme with alternating focal points. Alongside opera, theatre and cinema, the orchestra is one of the most complex, magnificent and varied “machines” that Western culture has developed to represent and create ideas and emotions. Today, the variety of different forms of orchestra is greater than ever, due to modern technologies and our intimate knowledge of historical practices of performance. This three-week festival is therefore not only devoted to the symphonic repertoire, but also especially to significant but seldom heard, forgotten or unusual works from the past, and equally interesting new works. The Musikfest Berlin sees itself as a forum for innovative artistic work by the great orchestras and ensembles on the international music scene.” (Source)