"Baruch Ata Adonai Elohainu Melekha Olam ..." "Blessed are You, LORD, our God, sovereign of the universe ... (common prayer in Judaism ) The fourth day of our interreligious and intercultural exchange started with cloudy weather and wet roads that led us to the Synagogue Fränkelufer in Kreuzberg. With open and interested minds we listened to a member of the local Jewish community in Berlin, who explained the history of their prayer house and answered patiently the questions of our curious group. After that we were heading to the Anne Frank Center. But before that we enjoyed lunch at a Hackescher Markt. At the centre we got to know the very touching story of Anne Frank through an audiovisual exhibition. Back at the hostel we discussed our impressions of the day since it caused a lot of emotions and opinions. Afterwards we started a very creative theatre exercise that wanted to illustrate power relations. We spent the evening together having fun, discussing and reflecting our exchange. Authors: Sandy Safwat Yanni, 21, Student of B.A. Tourism and Hotels/ Ahmed Muhammad Elsayed, 19, B.A. Business Administration/ Peter George Ayad, 20, Student of B.A. Mechanical Engineering/ Tim Friedrich, 22, Student of B.A. Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies   A project as part of the German-Egyptian Transformation Partnership The ReliXchange project receives financial support by the German-Egyptian Transformation  Partnership through the German Foreign Office, by funds of the Ecclesiastical Development Services through Bread for the World - Protestant Church Development Service and by the “International Youth Work” Programme of the German Federal Child and Youth Plan through BKJ

Today is the second day of the German-Egyptian youth exchange: our knowledge about cultural diversity -- especially within the area of Berlin -- increases. During the first activity we discover that we all perceive our surroundings in a different way. Afterwards we are guided through two different churches: a Catholic one and a Protestant one. Later on, the lunch at the "Route66" American Restaurant gives us the opportunity to rediscuss our impressions and strengthen our relations. Then we are introduced to the GPS city rally through the centre of Berlin that was especially designed for us as religious communicators. The tour leads us to very interesting religious historical places: from the Holocaust Memorial, over synagoges and churches to political places of crucial importances for Germany. After this long trip all four competing groups meet again in the hostel, inspired by the discovery of religious and artistic places of Berlin. We gather in the seminar room in order to share our impressions of the day by presenting our pictures and moreover talking about public and private space in the city. Through this meeting our different perspectives and points of view are brought together and enrich our picture of Germany's multicultural capital. Authors: Rukayyah Reichling, Diva Saidze, Carol Daniel, Amany Ibrahim               A project as part of the German-Egyptian Transformation Partnership The ReliXchange project receives financial support by the German-Egyptian Transformation  Partnership through the German Foreign Office, by funds of the Ecclesiastical Development Services through Bread for the World - Protestant Church Development Service and by the “International Youth Work” Programme of the German Federal Child and Youth Plan through BKJ

What happens when you put together 20 young opend-minded people from two different parts of the world, with different beliefs, in a small hostel in Berlin? They will be eager to learn about each other and make the most of the experience. That's what happened in the first day of the unique experience of ReliXchange. Expectations were high. The participants did not expect less than to discover a new perspective on religion – maybe even on life! To reach this goal we followed our intuitions and let spontanity take over during a theatre exercise that proved that a gesture says more than a thousand words. Thus we tried to free our minds from prejudices and stereotypes stuck in our heads. Moreover, a discussion about the roles of state, community and individual raised a lot of questions. How do these three components interact, and how much power does each of them have over us? There is no easy answer, but maybe the next to weeks will bring us closer to the truth.   A project as part of the German-Egyptian Transformation Partnership The ReliXchange project receives financial support by the German-Egyptian Transformation  Partnership through the German Foreign Office, by funds of the Ecclesiastical Development Services through Bread for the World - Protestant Church Development Service and by the “International Youth Work” Programme of the German Federal Child and Youth Plan through BKJ

Die Flüge sind gebucht, das Programm ist fertig, alle sind bereit zum Start. In nur einer Woche wird das ReliXchange-Programm losgehen: Montag, der 27.10.14 ist der Ankunftstag für die Berliner Austauschwoche. Wir freuen uns sehr und sind neugierig darauf, welchen Lauf die Dinge während des Programms nehmen werden, denn bereits die Bewerbungen waren sehr spannend zu lesen. Nachdem wir mehr als 100 Bewerbungen von vielen verschiedenen und überaus interessanten jungen Leuten mit vielen guten Ideen erhalten haben, fiel es sehr schwer, die Mehrheit davon aussortieren zu müssen. Schließlich haben wir aber für jede Austauschgruppe, die ägyptische und die deutsche, zehn besonders interessante Kandidat/innen ausgewählt. Alle Teilnehmenden bringen eine Menge Energie und Motivation sowie eine Vielfalt persönlicher Erfahrungen und Blickwinkel auf das Thema Religion und Gesellschaft mit. Sobald das Programm beginnt, können die Erfahrungen, die die Teilnehmer/innen im ReliXchange machen, täglich nachgelesen werden. Während beider Austauschwochen in Berlin und Kairo werden die Teilnehmenden bloggen und im ReliXchange Blog ihre Gedanken und Ideen mitteilen.   Photo credits: Karl-Marx-Allee_CC-by-visitBerlin-SA-2.0 on flickr   Ein Projekt im Rahmen der deutsch-ägyptischen Transformationspartnerschaft Gefördert durch das Auswärtige Amt, Brot für die Welt – der Evangelische Entwicklungsdienst, sowie aus Mitteln des Programms „Internationale Jugendarbeit“ des Kinder- und Jugendplans des Bundes.