21.08.2020

That was our opening! - Intercultural evening at the PluralismCenter Dresden -

After numerous ideas, long preparation and the a few setbacks, on Friday, August 21, 2020, the time had finally come: We opened our PluralismCenter in Dresden Klotzsche! On this occasion, Riadh Ben Ammar performed his one-person theater piece "The Trap", initiating intensive discussions over hummus, poppy snail and homemade icetea.

After numerous ideas, long preparation and the a few setbacks, on Friday, August 21, 2020, the time had finally come: We opened our PluralismCenter in Dresden Klotzsche! On this occasion, Riadh Ben Ammar performed his one-person theater piece "The Trap", initiating intensive discussions over hummus, poppy snail and homemade icetea.

The idea for the intercultural meeting place had been ripening in the mind of Bob Hooda, the director of the power4africa e.V. association, for a long time; after all, it has always been a matter of the heart for him to promote intercultural exchange and understanding for each other. Last Friday, the time had finally come: On the large club property in Dresden Klotzsche, the first Pluralism Center of Dresden opened its doors to invite neighbors, Dresdeners and everyone else - no matter where they come from or how old - to join us.

The evening started at 5 pm. "No Hamza! No, I do not want that. Let me Hamza!" cried Riadh expressively, and with that he had quickly transferred  each one of us to a refugee home in Pirna, where the character Sami fights with drug crime, deportation and not being able to do anything as a daily companion. Riadh himself came to Germany as a migrant 20 years ago and since then, as he told us later, he has learned many aspects and stories of migration and flight. He now incorporates this knowledge into his play "The Trap", creating a story that tells of dreams and disillusionment, of a lack of prospects and the pressure of home - and in doing so he centrally addresses the closed external EU borders with their misunderstandings. It quickly becomes clear that this topic is important to Riyadh and he has a lot to say about it. When the applause had died down and we were invited to a follow-up discussion, we all needed a few minutes to let the performance work. But Bob Hooda and the artist know how to handle it. Riyadh told us about his own history and why he was not politically involved in the beginning. Then our buffet is opened and quickly everyone sits together with some flat bread and hummus or a poppy snail and a lively conversation begins.

At this point at the latest we from power4africa e.V. realize happily: Exactly as we imagined it, it is also in demand by the visitors. Our PluralismCenter is intended to be a place where people with the most diverse backgrounds and stories can meet. A place to exchange ideas, to learn to understand others and to ask questions for which one would otherwise not find the right setting. Even though the Pluralimus Center is still in its infancy and will certainly grow and develop with each event, the goal is clear. We want to offer an opportunity to get to know multiculturalism through various approaches - whether through art exhibitions, music projects, panel discussions, barbecues or theater performances.

We would like to thank Bob Hooda for the opportunity and his great commitment, we thank Riadh Ben Ammar for his impressive presentation and guidance for the discussion and a big thank you to every single person who helped or simply came to the opening! Thank you very much!

Anna Linnemann

21.08.2020

Opening of the PluralismCenter with free theater!

Now it's time: we open our PluralismCentre and want to celebrate it with you! The actor Riadh Ben Amar will perform "The Trap" as an opening event. This theater is preceded by the quote: "We only sleep when the sun rises ... then we are sure that the vampires will not come" - Momo, resident of a refugee shelter in Saxony.

A theater from Tangier to Dresden, about the closed EU external border and its misunderstandings swindlers?

Then let's talk about it!

Not "Welcome to stay", but for freedom of movement.

One-person theater piece on freedom of movement.

16.07.2020

A river, a dam and many interests

As the longest river in the world, the Nile has a great potential, from a scenic, social to economic point of view, which should be used. But how far can one go to make profits for oneself without endangering the well-being of another country? Ethiopia and Egypt are facing this dilemma with the construction of the largest dam on the African continent.

The construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) holds the possibility of an Ethiopian renaissance, rebirth, for the country. However, for other countries, especially Egypt, the full use of this hydropower plant would have devastating consequences.

We, the power4africa association, presented what these could be, what the conflict of interests has to do with contracts from colonial times and what a peaceful solution to the dilemma could look like in a panel discussion at the World Club Dresden on 16.07.2020.

What is the potential of the dam?

With a water storage capacity of 63 billion m³ of water and the possibility to generate sustainable 6,000 mW of electricity, which corresponds to the output of 5 nuclear power plants, the potential of such a dam is obvious. Ethiopia's growing electricity needs, due to increasing population and economic development, could be met and electricity could be exported to neighbouring countries such as Sudan. The employment of mostly Ethiopian people would also bring more social stability and improve the quality of life for the population.
 Ethiopia's growing electricity needs, due to increasing population and economic development, could be met and electricity could be exported to neighbouring countries such as Sudan. The employment of mostly Ethiopian people would also bring more stability and improve the quality of life for the population.
This is an unprecedented opportunity that must be seized.

The importance of filling times - what does this have to do with Egypt?

The filling of the dam began in mid-July, as satellite images now confirm. So it is a big step for Ethiopia, but Egypt is looking with concern at the amount of water in the dam - because the time it will take to fill the dam will inevitably have a strong impact on Egypt and other neighbouring countries. So, the accumulation of water in the dam means a smaller amount of available blue gold downstream. Egypt or Sudan as desert states are up to 98% dependent on the Nile water. Thus, filling the GERD too quickly would mean extensive drying out of the already small agriculturally usable area and great water shortage for the majority of the population.

So, they're all homemade conflicts of interest?

In addition to the given conflict of interest, there are agreements from colonial times that make the problem far more complex.
In order to be able to understand the interrelationships, you need a good knowledge of these agreements, as well as in consideration of the possibility of preventing similar dilemmas in the future.
The most important treaties were concluded in 1902 and 1929 between Egypt and Great Britain on the one hand and Ethiopia on the other, and stipulate that Ethiopia may not erect any structures that could restrict the flow of the Nile waters. However, the contractual versions of the two parties differ. In addition, Ethiopia and Sudan concluded a bilateral agreement in 1959 to share all Nile water between themselves. This is at the expense of third parties.
In addition, with the independence of the former colonies, the Nyerere Doctrine and the Clean Slate principle will become effective, figuratively speaking, this can be imagined like a slate being cleaned. Two years after their independence, all treaties become invalid unless new ones are signed.
Anyone who has read Ethiopia's history attentively will have noticed that the country was never officially colonized. So can these principles be applied or not? What else applies here? What is the connection between international law and regional law?

These uncertainties have created such complex entanglements that it is difficult today to say what the cause of the conflict actually is and how to deal with it now. The UN Security Council is also trying to contribute to a peaceful solution of the conflict.
It is also sensible to discuss the treaty discussions in such a way that similar problems could be solved more easily in the future from the outset.

So what should be done now?

It is a fact that the filling of the dam has begun and that Ethiopia can make profits from this which can bring the country a big step forward. At the same time, water use rights and the dependence of Sudan and Egypt on the Nile must be respected and taken into account.

It is obvious that a solution that would satisfy all the countries involved to 100% is not possible. During our panel discussion, we still came to the conclusion that a consent can be found. A midway solution should be possible: Filling periods taking into account short-term changes, for example in precipitation levels, where Egypt continues to reach enough water for agricultural use and Ethiopia can still generate electricity at GERD.

And perhaps a good compromise also promotes further international cooperation and the relationship between the Northeast African countries, whose collective strength ultimately lays in the blue gold of the Nile.

Anna Swaboda
power4africa e.V.

12.07.2020

BLACK LIVES MATTER - Dresdeners stand together against racism and police violence

July 20, 2020

"The only thing that should be separated by colour is laundry" was the message on a poster at the BLM demonstration on Sunday afternoon in Dresden. Many hundreds of people met at Dresden's Neumarkt to be part of another demonstration of the human rights movement Black Lives Matter.

A lot of singing and music from the "Lauti" accompanied the demonstration to the Alaunpark in the Dresden Neustadt. At the stops at Schießgasse and Jorge-Gomondai-Platz, People of Colour shared their personal experiences with racism in Dresden. In addition, in encouraging and/or personal speeches, speakers also appealed to the German majority society and the Dresden police to treat each other with respect and made clear the privileged position of the white population. In concrete terms: I, as a white person, can choose whether or not I want to deal with the topic of racism. People of Colour have to confront the feeling of being different from almost everyone around them from an early age.

Here in Dresden, the problem of the shift to the right, without wanting to damage the image of a beautiful green student city, is particularly clear. An incident at Neumarkt at the beginning of the demonstration illustrates the polarization of our community quite well. A critically watching man, who apparently does not belong to the participants, responds to the "Black lives matter!" shouts "All lives matter" - at first glance a good thought. But if you take a closer look, it becomes clear that some of the people who exclaim "All lives matter" on Sunday, the next day in the same place, deny exactly this value of being human to people who do not fit into their image of the white majority society.

So how can every life count if a group of people is denied the basic right to equality?

It cannot be denied that we are all in some way racistically socialized, whether through children's books or advertising, etc. Whether we like it or not, even if it is unpleasant, we must accept this fact. Because only then we can initiate a dialogue on an equal level, where all positions can reveal their perceptions. And only in this way we can commonly find a way how in the future a skin colour or presumed origin need not have any influence on the rights of a person. In order for this future to become the present as quickly as possible, however, it requires many face-to-face exchanges (in a Corona-friendly setting, of course), a lot of strength and support from everyone.

So thanks to all who are already there and thanks to all who will be there!

We will continue!

For more information about the Black Lives Matter movement in Dresden klick here.

16.07.2020

06.06.2020

Black Lives Matter: Dresden is silent against racism

June 9, 2020

Tens of thousands of people joined Black Lives Matter protests across Germany on Saturday (6 June) against the police murder of George Floyd on 25 May in the US city of Minneapolis. According to The African Network of Germany (TANG), more than 200,000 protesters took part at rallies, which also drew attention to racism and discrimination against people of African descent in Germany, in 30 towns and cities in the country. Following is a report on the rally held in the eastern city of Dresden.

—–

Silence. Exactly eight minutes and forty-six minutes. So began the demonstration in Dresden of 6 June with its motto “No to racism – together
we are strong” and it remembered George Floyd.

George Floyd was not the first victim of police violence in the United States, but the brutality of his death generated worldwide attention because for eight minutes and forty-six minutes long the White American policeman Derek Chauvin kneeled on the neck of the African American – unmoved by his calls “I can´t breathe!” or the begging by pedestrians to check the pulse after George stopped complaining. The Demonstration in Dresden was one of many all over Germany. It started with an offer to People of Colour to talk to the protesters because many of them were White people and they all did the only right thing: listen. We, from the association power4africa e.V., prepared a short speech as well. Our leader Bob Hooda spoke about his experiences in the liberation struggle in southern Africa, emphasizing the importance of standing up against racism and police violence together.

After that, the more than 4,000 protesters started moved from the square Altmarkt towards the central police station. Again, People of Colour got the chance to voice their grievances. With their personal experiences they narrated that police violence in Germany is existent as well and how racism effects their daily life. Afterwards the demonstration continued across the Carola Bridge heading for the square Jorge Gomondai-Platz. Many of the protesters had signs and placards, showing their solidarity against racism and police violence and demanding justice for George Floyd. 

Along with our modified street signs they made clear “Black lives matter more than white feelings” because we all know: Racism is a dead end.
Without any untoward incidents the demonstration wound its way to its final destination. The square Jorge-Gomondai-Platz was chosen deliberately because Jorge Gomondai was the first victim of racism in Dresden in 1993 after the reunification of Germany.

For the last time people got an offer to vent our frustrations before the huge crowd. The demonstration made one thing clear: We are many. We dislike racism and police violence. We stand up unequivocally against it. Even if we still have a long way ahead of us, we are on the right track and we will not stop until the task is accomplished.
We will only stop when racism and police brutality are just horror stories from the past.

OPENING of PluralismCenter Dresden "PluralismusZentrum"

Dresden is a growing city and attracts many cultures from all over the world. However, Saxony is also increasingly affected by the shift to the right and the division of German society. To reduce the tensions between the growing number of migrants or refugees and the population, Dresden urgently needs an intercultural dialogue.

The aim of power4africa is to open a pluralism centre on our property in Klotzsche in order to generate such an intercultural dialogue. For this purpose we are organising BBQ and possibilities to get to know eachother. Our bright winter garden offers space for art exhibitions and through our well soundproofed room, people of all nations can not only attend our music events together, but also become musically active themselves! Through all these possibilities we want to create opportunities for exchange between people of all nations - no matter if young, old, from Dresden, German or from somewhere else: Everyone is welcome to get to know each other and exchange ideas.

The opening will take place as soon as the current corona crisis has been overcome, in order to celebrate the newly won joie de vivre in a fitting manner.

The project is currently in the construction phase and we are looking forward to any support in its implementation.

12.12.19

Energy Workshop for Sub-Saharan Africa

Thursday 8:30-18:00

Under this year's theme we present, as in previous years, numerous interesting contributions from representatives of well-known companies in the energy sector and the new funding instruments under AfricaConnect. These were announced by the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Dr. Gerd Müller on 04.06.19 at the AXICA Congress and Conference Centre at Pariser Platz in Berlin.

29.11.19

Intercultural Festival in the Pluralism Centre!

Die Ereignisse der letzten Woche in Limburg und in Halle zeigen die Dringlichkeit Ursachenforschung zu betreiben, Brainstorming zu machen, Debatten zu führen, um nach Lösungsmöglichkeiten zu suchen. Mit den beiden Ereignissen und dem Vorstoß der türkischen Armee gegen die Kürden an der syrischen Grenze alles in einer Woche und in einer Zeitspanne von vier Tagen zeigt wie fragil die Weltlage ist. Mit jeder solcher Konfrontation wächst die Gefahr der Verfeindungen zwischen den Bürgern türkischer und kürdischer Abstammungen auf deutschen Gebiet und die Gefahr der Ausweitung der Konflikte. Analysten prophesierten "den Vormarsch des Anti-semitismus" im Osten unseres Landes bereits Mitte-September d.J. In der zweiten Woche wurde es Realität. Manche verstehen gar nicht, was Anti-semitismus bedeutet. Unser Anliegen ist, mehr Licht auf das heikle Thema zu werfen.

Die Ziele sind eindeutig. Eine Aufklärung in Schichten der Gesellschaft anzustreben, die am meisten davon beeinflusst werden können. Die christliche-deutsche Bevölkerung mag eine andere Auffassung über Anti-semistismus als die Neuankömmlinge, sprich Flüchtlinge und Migranten. Mit der gewaltigen Auseinandersetzungen an der Grenze zu Syrien, wächst die Gefahr, dass noch viel mehr Flüchtlinge Schutz in

Europa suchen. werden. Unser Event möchte die Teilnehmer bereits darauf vorbereiten.

Vorgesehener Ablaufplan

15:00 - 15:30 :

Get-together am PluralismusZentrum Klotzsche beim Kaffeeklatsch und heiterer Musik

15:30 - 16.00 :

Vorstellung der Hauptreferenten und Einleitung - Kulturkonflikte und Missverständnisse

he events of the last week in Limburg and Halle show the urgency to investigate the causes, to brainstorm, to debate and to look for possible solutions. With these two events and the Turkish army's advance against the hurdles on the Syrian border, everything in one week and in a period of four days shows how fragile the world situation is. With every such confrontation the danger of hostilities between citizens of Turkish and dignified descent on German territory and the danger of the conflicts spreading increases. Analysts prophesied "the advance of anti-Semitism" in the east of our country already in mid-September this year. In the second week it became reality. Some people do not even understand what anti-Semitism means. Our concern is to shed more light on this sensitive issue.

The goals are clear. To seek to educate those strata of society who can be most influenced by it. The Christian-German population may have a different view of anti-Semitism than the newcomers, i.e. refugees and migrants. With the huge conflict on the border with Syria, there is a growing danger that many more refugees will find protection in

Europe. Our event would like to prepare the participants already.

Planned schedule

15:00 - 15:30 :

Get-together at the PluralismusZentrum Klotzsche with coffee klatsch and cheerful music

15:30 - 16.00 :

Presentation of the main speakers and introduction - cultural conflicts and misunderstandings

16.00 - 16:30 :

Lecture by the keynote speaker (Oliver Bradley from Berlin - Media-Relation, EIPA - Europe) Origins of anti-Semitism, how the problem should be tackled and overcome

16:30- 17:00:

Questions and answers - open discussion with the audience

17:00 - 17:15:

Music by MadagasART with coffee and drinks

17:15 - 17:45:

Presentation to an Indian speaker. How conflicts between the enemy parties can be scaled down

17.45 - 18.00 :

Questions and answers and open discussion

18.00 - 18.30:

Presentation by Mrs. Hyeinn Yoo, Boston University

Cultural conflicts in Asia and in the USA and how they can be contained

18.30 - 19.00:

Questions and answers - open discussion with the audience

19:00 - 20:30:

Networking session + food cooked by Fatima with live music

27.09.19

Intercultural Festival at the PluralismCenter "Pluralismus Zentrum"!

As part of the intercultural days, a cultural festival will take place on 27.09. in our prospective Pluralism Centre in Dresden Klotsche. The band MadakasArt will play music and accompanied by this we will eat our food and drinks, create encounters between the intercultural participants and exchange about current topics. In this way we do not only want to become a closer community, but we also want to make each other aware of the constraints, problems and fears in other nations in order to create more understanding for each other.

24.08.19

indivisible-Demo

The broad alliance #indivisible is committed to an open and solidary society (https://www.unteilbar.org). After the great success of the #unteilbar-Demo in Berlin on 13.10.18 with more than 240.000 participants*, the alliance is now organising another nationwide demonstration "Solidarity instead of exclusion" in Dresden on Saturday, 24.08.19 (https://www.unteilbar.org/demo-dd). Background is a Europe-wide spread nationalism, right-wing populism and racism as well as the upcoming state elections in Saxony, Brandenburg and Thuringia.the Development Policy Network Saxony (ENS), the INKOTA-network, the agl - Working Group of One World State Networks in Germany e.V., Venro - Association of Development Policy and Humanitarian Aid of German Non-Governmental Organisations and the North-South Bridges Foundation are organising a development policy block at the demonstration under the motto "A good life for all people ... here and everywhere!

21.08.19

Lecture on the subject of climate flight: The phenomenon of migration, causes and solutions

05.06.2019

"Dresden isst bunt - a feast for all"

On Wednesday evening from 17 to 20 o'clock there will be a big feast for all at the Dresden Altmarkt. Under the motto "Dresden is colourful", all people should come together for a common meal - no matter if meat eater or vegan, local or from another nation. This campaign is intended to promote a cosmopolitan and colourful Dresden. So COME ALL! Take part and get to know each other. Let it be known that Dresden consists of more than Monday demonstrations.

Edit: Wow! More than 3000 people came and made the event a unique experience. Thanks to all who participated and/or organized!

22.03.2019

Nowruz

Freitag 22.03.2019 von 16.00 bis 20.00 Uhr – Künstlerhaus, Grüner Weg 1a, 01109 Dresden

21.12.2018

The mainstream media in India and Pakistan: How moral and free are they really? (panel discussion) at the World Club

Particular attention was paid to the main media in the two countries. The influence on possible solutions was dissected and then discussed objectively. The evening was rounded off with personal talks and Asian snacks.

December 2018

The world in upheaval - Africa on the moveAfrica as a pioneer for sustainable energy supply.

We are holding our 14th Energy Forum on 06 December 2018.

Under this year's theme, as in previous years, we will present numerous interesting contributions from representatives of well-known companies in the energy sector, the Berlin Agency for Economics and Development, the Technical University of Dresden and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development on the opportunities for entry into Africa - the world's fastest growing continent. The official speech will be held by the Tanzanian ambassador in Berlin, Dr. Abdallah Saleh Possi.

This measure is co-financed with tax funds on the basis of the budget approved by the members of the Saxon State Parliament.

11.11.2018

Cultur-Festival in Freiberg.

During a colourful drifting to different cultural sounds and dances, there was also a very appealing, international buffet.

28.09.2018

Glimmers of hope in Southeast Asia - Are the two nuclear powers moving closer together after the elections in Pakistan? After the elections in Pakistan on July 25, 2018, the question was raised whether this would allow a rapprochement with India. This was widely discussed with experts and the audience.

26.09.2018

during the intercultural weeks

Marshall Plan with Africa (lecture) in the World ClubHere the implementation of the Agenda 2030 for sustainable development of the United Nations was examined. Particular attention was paid to the issues of health, trade policy and the development of agriculture in Africa.

24.08.2018

2018: The Year of the Dialoque: There were heated discussions with the experts about the policy between the two nuclear powers India and Pakistan.

23.08.2018

Banquet in Prohlis

We have achieved a great response here with Indian cuisine. Our neighbours offered Eritrean and Russian food. At the culinary feast we had good conversations and promoted international understanding.

19.06.2018

Dresden is colorful 2018. a feast for all on the Neumarkt. here we can let the pictures speak for themselves.

03.06.2018

Mulakat

With food, chai and folklore there was a pleasant exchange, which was accompanied by expert lectures.

April 2018

Campfire and barbecue in the Walpurgis night of 30 April in international round.