Möchtest du StreetArt-Techniken wie Schablonentechnik (Stencil) und Graffiti ausprobieren? Und dabei etwas über die Revolutionen in Ägypten und Tunesien erfahren, in denen Graffiti eine große Rolle spielte? Möchtest du lernen, wie man mit Graffiti die Gesellschaft verändern kann?   Dann bist du herzlich eingeladen! Was? StreetArt Workshop mit Infos zu arabischen Protestbewegungen Für wen? Jugendliche von 13 - 19 Jahren Wann? Am Wochenende 28./29. Juni (jeweils 12:00 bis 19 Uhr) Wo? Jugendclub Feuerwache (Friedrichshain) Du entwirfst deine eigene StreetArt, arbeitest zwei Tage lang mit anderen Jugendlichen und Profis zusammen und du lernst etwas über StreetArt als politisches Instrument. Abends grillen wir und tagsüber gibt es Snacks und Getränke. Preis? kostenlos! Wenn du dabeisein möchtest, melde dich bitte bald beim Jugendclub Feuerwache unter 030 / 293 479 440   - wir freuen uns auf Dich! flyer herunterladen und verteilen! StreetArt Facebook-Event   14 Kilometer e.V. veranstaltet diesen interkulturellen StreetArt-Workshop in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Jugendclub Feuerwache in Berlin-Friedrichshain und dem El-Takeiba Center for Artistic and Cultural Development in Ägypten. Weitere Partner sind Pjotr Obuchoff als StreetArtist und der KULT. Verein für Jugendkultur e.V., der das Yaam in Friedrichshain betreibt. Das Projekt wird im Rahmen des lokalen Aktionsplans Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg gefördert. Dies ist ein Projekt des Lokalen Aktionsplans Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg

Shortly before the elections in Egypt, on May 21 Egyptian media experts discussed the state of the media in Egypt. The event was organised by 14km and Reporters Without Borders and took place at the  Zentrum für Kunst und Urbanistik (ZK/U) . First, the panel participants outlined the Egyptian media landscape and gave information on the working conditions of journalists in Egypt. A first conclusion was that the number of the imprisoned, harassed and murdered journalist in the country has reached a record, while fact-based journalism is still rare. A reason for hope is, however, the burgeoning citizen journalism.   Mohamed Selim Khalil, Egyptian journalist, lecturer at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität in Münster and media analyst with research focus on political communication in the Arab world criticised the lack of basic journalistic ethics in Egypt : "The media system always adapts itself to the winners." According to him, in Egypt there is only one narrative, and it is controlled by the state. The media are not independent but closely linked with the Ministry of Information. Thus, in this politically turbulent time, the media are also in a chaotic state. The Egyptian journalist and former vice-director of the Egyptian state-owned TV station Nile-TV Shahira Amin, who quit her job during the protests in 2011 to join the demonstrators and to protest against the state-controlled reporting on the revolution, told the audience that until now she is being ignored by some of her colleagues or is even treated with hostility because she is being seen as a traitress. She noted that journalists in Egypt are hardly trained in journalistic techniques, instead they learn how to follow the official line of the authorities. Currently this line is defined by the military, "censorship is back". Christoph Dreyer, press officer and Middle East expert at Reporters Without Borders, explained this with the fact that the freedom of press, which is recognised in the new Egyptian Constitution, is not being implemented; permanent exceptions are justified by the necessity of fighting terrorism. Large parts of the political landscape are censored, and there is no public discourse about the political events in the country. Also Farid Farid, media coordinator for Middle East and North Africa at  Transparency International, saw no practical effects of the civil rights and liberties defined in the Constitution. He criticised the journalistic practices of the corrupt state media which even fabricate and exaggerate artificial news, thereby distracting from the really important issues. Following the first panel discussion, various independent blogs and bloggers from Egypt were introduced in a brief overview, to discuss the meaning of citizen journalism for critical reporting in Egypt. Regarding this development, all panelists saw reason to hope for an improvement of the situation, as an alternative reporting through social media and open media platforms is now becoming more and more possible. The Egyptians acquired a liking for this new-discovered freedom, said Shahira Amin, and also Farid Farid saw in the new blogs a symbol of hope. However, Christoph Dreyer critically noted that the online social media in Egypt are used only by a minority of people and that still numerous censorship options exist. A question from the audience inquired into who really stands behind the censorship in Egypt. The answer was that censorship needs to be regarded as a mix of several measures. The major media institutions in Egypt are state media, which set the agenda, or media outlets influenced by the state media, who stay loyal to the businessmen from the Mubarak era. In addition, there is a self-censorship of the journalists who do not want to lose their jobs and who therefore adapt to the state narrative. At the same time, critical journalists are always in danger of being accused by prosecutors as terrorists or being attacked on the street by mobs. In the face of the recent turbulent political developments in Egypt, more and more people desire peace, order and security and many of them hope to get this from the presidential candidate Al-Sisi. For Mohamed Selim Khalil this hope lies elsewhere. Asked by the audience whether one could even speak about a revolution, given that everything remained the same concerning the ruling elites, he replied: "We do not need a revolution, we need media, real media. » --- The event was presented by Frédérique Lang (14km). Other contributors from 14km included Anja Gebel, Helena Burgrova, Eugenie Rooke, Elisa Totino, Andreas Fricke and Steffen Benzlers, and Christoph Dreyer from Reporters Without Borders.

Around 40 visitors came on 13 May to our 7th Arab film and discussion evening in Zille-Haus in Berlin Moabit. The focus this time was Lebanon. After the screening of the documentary "Lebanon – Resisting Lunacy" by Uwe-S. Tautenhahn, Henrik Meyervon, a Middle East expert from the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, explained the current situation in the country. Tautenhahn's film tells the story of two Lebanese women living in Germany who had decided after the war in Lebanon in 2006, to travel to their home country in order to report on the consequences of the conflict. They portray a country in which the cities and infrastructures were heavily damaged. Sixteen years after the end of the civil war that shook Lebanon from 1975 to 1990, the July War plunged the country into another crisis. Therefore the words of a taxi driver interviewed in the film are very representative of the situation: "Like everything necessary (...), that sometimes you have to return the clock, so there is anytime again and again war in Lebanon". Roads and factories were bombed, the economy was destroyed. The country was hesitating between hopeful optimism and resignation. While the Lebanese government condemned the attacks by Hezbollah against Israeli militias, the 33-day War united the religious divisions in Lebanon against the common enemy, Israel. The projection was followed by a discussion about the  film as well as the current situation in Lebanon. The guest speaker was Henrik Meyer, Lebanon expert at the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. After a brief sketch of the Lebanese political situation in the early 2000s, he explained how Hezbollah could take its outstanding position in the country after the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon in 2005 and what dynamic led to the Israel-Lebanon war, which caused in the a very short periode of time a massive migration flow. Just a week after the start of the conflict arrived just in Damascus (Syria) 1 ½ million refugees from Lebanon. Hereafter the following topics were discussed with the audience : Which consequences of the conflict can still be seen today in Lebanon and to what extent the local population got used to the state of war as a normal state. A young man with Palestinian family in southern Lebanon gave us information about his own impressions and completed the picture of a population which is trying to get over the trauma of the war and to build its own country again. The event was organized and moderated by Andreas Fricke (14km). Text and Photography by Elisa Totino, editing Steffen Benzlers (both 14km). At the organization helped Eugénie Rooke (intern at 14km) and Anja Gebel (14km), and the team from the Zille-Haus. El Reda Restaurant in Moabit sponsored with delicious Lebanese specialities. The Youth of the Zille-Haus  is supported by the Evangelical clubhouse. We thank all our guests for coming! In regular intervals we screen films which deal with different Arab countries and subsequently discuss the films and the current social and political situation in the respective countries with guests from Berlin Moabit as well as with country experts, always aiming to make links to North-South relationships.   The next Arab Film and Discussion Event will take place in the second half of June and will be about Tunisia. The project receives financial support in the context of the quarter management Moabit Ost through funds from the Programme Social City (EU, Federal Government, and Federal State of Berlin).   Movie preview / Trailer   (In the international version with English subtitles – we screened the original film with German subtitles) Details about the film     Publications from the FES on the subject (in German): Vogt, Achim (2013): Hizbullah in der Krise :Verschiebungen im libanesischen Machtgefüge? Bickel, Markus (2007): UNIFIL und die politische Krise im Libanon : Mission zwischen allen Fronten?

Egyptian citizen journalist Lilian Wagdy provides evidence of military abuses in an interview with a local TV station. Picture courtesy of Hossam el-Hamalawy on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0). 14km e.V. and Reporters Without Borders e.V. would like to cordially invite you to our upcoming event on the state of the Egyptian media. In the form of a panel discussion we would like to discuss the Egyptian media landscape and the working situation of journalists in Egypt. In addition, we would also like to deal with the topic of citizen media and its (actual and potential) role in the Egyptian media landscape and for critical reporting in Egypt. We are happy to discuss this topic with you as well with the following interesting guests who will be on the panel:  Christoph Dreyer, Middle East expert and responsible for public relations at Reporter without Borders since 2013. Previously he wrote reports about the Arab and Muslim world for radio channels, online media and newspapers. He was editor for Reuters und regional correspondent for the Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. Shahira Amin an Egyptian journalist and former deputy head of Egyptian state-owned Nile TV. She resigned from the position on February 3, 2011, in the midst of the Egyptian revolution, due to her disapproval of the channel's coverage of the events. Shahira Amin has been a correspondent for CNN’s weekly program Inside Africa for 8 years. Mohamed Selim Khalil, Egyptian journalist (e.g. for the Daily News Egypt) and media analyst with a research emphasis on Political Communication in the Arab World, currently lecturer at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität in Münster, Germany. In several articles he criticised the lack of press freedom and the deterioration of journalist's work conditions in Egypt. Farid Farid, Middle East and North Africa Media Coordinator at Transparency International. Previously, he worked as an online journalist with SBS World News Australia. He has also published in academic and news publications such as Le Monde Diplomatique, Al Jazeera English, Social Semiotics and Sydney Morning Herald. We would be happy to see you at the event: «The State of the Egyptian Media» on May 21, 2014 from 7 pm at Zentrum für Kunst und Urbanistik (ZK/U), Siemensstraße 27, Berlin. The event will take place in English.

Egyptian citizen journalist Lilian Wagdy provides evidence of military abuses in an interview with a local TV station. Picture courtesy of Hossam el-Hamalawy on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0). 14km e.V. and Reporter ohne Grenzen e.V. would like to cordially invite you to our upcoming event on the state of the Egyptian media. In the form of a panel talk followed by an audience discussion with you and several interesting guests we would like to speak about the Egyptian media landscape and the working situation of journalists in Egypt. In addition, we would also like to discuss citizen media and its (actual and potential) role in the Egyptian media landscape and for critical reporting in Egypt. We would be to happy to see you there and kindly ask you to save the date of the event:  « The State of the Egyptian Media » on May 21, 2014 from 7 to 10 pm  at Zentrum für Kunst und Urbanistik (ZK/U), Siemensstraße 27, Berlin. Soon a more detailed programme will be available. The event will take place in English.

„Lebanon – resisting lunacy“, 6:30 pm at Zille-Haus, Rathenower Straße 17, Berlin Moabit We cordially invite you to our film and discussion evening on Lebanon, which will take place on May 13th at 6:30 pm in the context of our Arab Film and Discussion Series. We will be screening the film “Libanon - Standhalten im Wahnsinn” ('Lebanon – resisting lunacy') by Uwe-S. Tautenhahn (2007, 70 mins, German/Arabic with German subtitles). Two Lebanese women, who lived in Germany for 15 years, are organising public performances in Berlin during the Israel-Lebanon war. They travel to Lebanon in order to better understand the impact of the war in their home country. At sites which represent the past and present times, they tell us about their own experiences in Lebanon, meet friends and strangers, and offer personal insights into the 2006 situation in Lebanon – between hope and hopelessness. The film will be followed by an open conversation and audience discussion in presence of Henrik Meyer (expert on Lebanon at The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung) and further guests on the situation in Lebanon 2006 and current developments, as well as on the repercussions on Lebanese migrants in Moabit and Berlin. Attendance is free, donations are welcome. The event will take place at Zille-Haus, Berlin Moabit,1st floor, Rathenower Str. 17, 10559 Berlin. You can see here where the Zille-Haus is located. In regular intervals we screen films which deal with different Arab countries and subsequently discuss the films and the current social and political situation in the respective countries with guests from Berlin Moabit as well as with country experts, always aiming to make links to North-South relationships.    14km Flyer Lebanon download and share!   The project receives financial support in the context of the quarter management Moabit Ost through funds from the Programme Social City (EU, Federal Government, and Federal State of Berlin). Trailer (International release with English subtitles - we present the film in the original with German subtitles!)

Our first 14 km MENA Network Party took place on April 24, 2014 from 6-10pm in the Moroccan restaurant Argana in Berlin Moabit. The network meeting aimed at offering a platform for people working on the Middle East and North African region to meet and exchange.   We clearly achieved this aim, thanks to the active participation of about 40 guests from science, NGOs/associations, social initiatives, media, administration, business and trade. The networking guests included for example representatives from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, from Amnesty International, the district office Neukölln, the Free University and the Humboldt University Berlin and the Potsdam University, the European External Action Service, Bread for the World, the Organisation for Human Rights in Arab Countries (OMRAS), CRISP, the DO School in Hamburg, the German Council on Foreign Relations, inamo, Global Project Partners, Konsentio, the European Council on Foreign Relations, the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and the East Moabit district management. The guests were welcomed by 14km members with Moroccan mint tea and then had the whole evening to get to know each other and to exchange experiences, contacts and ideas – all that accompanied by Arab alternative music (played by JZR Crew from Ramallah), tasty Moroccan specialities and a presentation of pictures from Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon.   After Andreas Fricke had welcomed our guests and presented 14km as well as the background of the network event, the guests intensely networked until 10pm. Many new contacts were made, old friends met, lots of topics were discussed and ideas were developed, for example concerning youth exchange with the MENA region, events on migration, human rights and media, as well as other projects. At the end everyone agreed that this should not have been the last MENA network evening. We think so, too, and would like to thank all our guests very much for coming !   The event was technically supported by the East Moabit district management, which we warmly thank. May Micklisch (14 km), Frédérique Lang (14 km), Anja Gebel (14 km) and Eugénie Rooke (intern at 14 km) were involved in the preparation of the event. Photographs by Helena Burgrova (14 km).  

INVITATION 14km and closer – MENA Network Party On April 24  between 6pm and 10pm at Restaurant Argana Stephanstr. 19, Berlin (Moabit)   14km e.V. invites you to an afterwork MENA network party: in order to get to know other interesting people, exchange experiences and get creative. The event brings together different kinds of people who deal with the North African/Middle Eastern region (in main profession or as volunteers). In a relaxed environment you will have the opportunity to make contacts for your work in and with the region – accompanied by Arab alternative sound (Arab Reggae, Ska, Indi Rock, Rai, Dub, Fusion) put on by JZR Crew. Since we would like to provide a network platform for people from many different fields of work, feel free to forward this invitation to other interested persons – for example from science, NGOs/associations, social initiatives, political foundations, media, arts and culture, politics and administration, and business. We look forward to an inspiring exchange! Participation is free, yet due to limited space please RSVP via email to mai.micklisch@14km.org. We will welcome you with a special drink. Tasty Moroccan food and further alcohol free drinks can be purchased at the location. We look forward to welcoming you there! The 14km team View Larger Map

Our sixth Arab Film and Discussion Event was again very well attended – on the 2nd of April 2014 at 6:30pm every corner of the Filmrauschpalast was taken by almoust 80 people to watch the film “Libya, the revolution and me”and to subsequently discuss the film, the Libyan revolution of 2011 and the current political and social situation in Libya. The film approaches the revolution from the perspective of the film maker Nicole Nagel, who arrives in Libya for work and starts portraying the rebels and their fight against Gaddafi. She conveys her personal impressions, shows families, women and children surrounding the rebels and creates an emotional picture of the revolutionaries' situation. The film gets closer and closer to the insurgents, accompanying them until the front lines. After the revolution she returns to Libya, meeting again with her old companions. In spite of the euphoria caused by the victory, one of the young fighters provides a thoughtful end to the film, uttering that in the face of the lack of a new constitution the real fight for Libya's freedom was only about to start. Consequently, the reform of the Libyan society was the main topic of the following discussion. With the audience’s lively participation the film maker Nicole Nagel, media scholar and Libya expert Dr. Carola Richter (FU Berlin), and the president of the Libyan Community in Germany Same Ghati provided lots of information and different points of view regarding various questions. Complemented by personal impressions from a young Libyan in the audience a very broad picture of current developments arose. The conversation's topics were for instance the financing of the rebels in 2011 and of the militia today, the hard–to-develop democracy, security issues and unstable power structures, freedom of speech and press, the Libyan cinematic culture, the comparatively high standard of welfare and education, and the influence of the Europeans before and after the revolution. The event was presented by Andreas Fricke (14km e.V.). Thanks go to Mai Micklisch (intern at 14km e.V.) and Johanna Kramer (14km e.V.) as well as the Filmrauschpalast team for their organisational help and support. Photography by Helena Burgrova. We thank the audience for their participation! In regular intervals we screen films which deal with different Arab countries and subsequently discuss the films and the current social and political situation in the respective countries with guests from Berlin Moabit as well as with country experts, always aiming to make links to North-South relationships. The next Arab Film and Discussion Event will take place on 13th of May 2014 at Zille-Haus Moabit. The project receives financial support in the context of the quarter management Moabit Ost through funds from the Programme Social City (EU, Federal Government, and Federal State of Berlin). Carola Richter commits herself to international dialogue and a scientifically sound perspective on Islam and the Arab World at eurient e.V. German newspaper article about Same Ghati and the Libyan Community of Berlin during the revolution against Gaddafi (Tagesspiegel 02/03/2011 "Libyer in Berlin: Im Widerstand zusammenwachsen" by Karin Christmann)

„Libya, the revolution and me“, 6:30 pm at Filmrauschpalast, Lehrter Straße 35, Berlin Moabit We cordially invite you to our film and discussion evening on Libya, which will take place on April 2nd at 6:30 pm in the context of our Arab Film and Discussion Series. We will be screening the film “Libya, the revolution and me” by Nicole Nagel (2013, 82 mins, Arabic/English/German with German subtitles). The film tells how the film maker from Berlin starts documenting the revolt in Libya. While NATO forces support the revolution by air strikes, she portrays the revolutionaries close to the front lines, as well as women supporting them with passion. The filmmaker herself starts holding the revolutionaries' standpoint more and more clearly and open. The film will be followed by a open conversation and audience discussion in presence of the film maker and further guests on the Libyan revolution of 2011 and following developments, as well as on the repercussions on Libyan immigrants in Moabit and Berlin. Attendance is free, donations are welcome. The event will take place at Filmrauschpalast, in the Kulturfabrik Berlin Moabit, Lehrter Str. 35. You can see here where the Kulturfabrik is located. In regular intervals we screen films which deal with different Arab countries and subsequently discuss the films and current social and political situation in the respective countries with guests from Berlin Moabit as well as with country experts, always aiming to make links to North-South relationships. Flyer 14km Libya Event download and share! The project receives financial support in the context of the quarter management Moabit Ost through funds from the Programme Social City (EU, Federal Government, and Federal State of Berlin). Trailer / film preview