Berlin protests against Ukraine War, by Lewin Bormann, CC BY-SA.
While probably many of us are still struggling with the effects of the ongoing pandemic, the world has been thrown another shocker of a curveball just a week ago: A violent war that is closer in front of our own doorstep than many of us ever expected to witness. The people from Ukraine had to deal with the aggression of the unpleasant neighboring autocrat for such a long time now that we in the West of Europe have already pushed this ongoing conflict into our subconscious. But now it can hardly be ignored and is a brutal wake-up call for the rest of Europe about how fickle the world we believe to live in actually is.
The response from the people of the other European countries has been overwhelmingly positive towards the people of Ukraine. It is touching to see how people have not only massively expressed solidarity and sympathy in countless freedom and peace marches across the continent (also from within Russia), but also how many organized help and support in terms of transport, supply, and accommodation for refugees from Ukraine. It might be a biased impression, but I can only hope the determination and efficiency of the PEOPLE, will also inspire more CORPORATIONS and GOVERNMENTS to follow suit.
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by Frank | Stories
On Saturday the Ballroom scene of Berlin came together for a very special charity Ball hosted by the lovely David Angels Milan and Oliver Jopke. Following his super colorful and fun Pride Ball back in July, this was only his second Ball here in Berlin, but a massive one at that with around 1000 guests attending! The theme of the night was the ocean. In a time of climate awareness, it was a poignant gesture to this important ecosystem. But it was not just a gesture, in fact, all proceeds at the door were fully donated to the Ocean Now organization that campaigns for the protection and recovery of the oceans. We hear that it was the proud sum of 4.800 EUR that came together for this purpose.
The ocean theme, of course, saw many Voguers come up with their best oceanic outfits – we saw mermaids in fishnets, penguins, starfish, lots of shimmering scales and flowy blue fabrics. Commenting on the tragic state of pollution of the oceans there were also a couple of outfits assembled of bottles, bags and other plastic trash. The photographers of fabulous Tush Magazine were in the house as they were media partners of the event and they had quite a lot to photograph with all these crazy looks. The winners of each category did not only take home their trophies but also the latest issue of Tush as well as goodies by sponsors Bumble BFF, Weekday and The Moxy.
If you want to learn more about all the different categories and rules of Balls you should check out the recent Ballroom guide that we photographed with some members from the House of Angels. Below you’ll find our photos and GIFs from the Ocean Ball. Enjoy!
If you’re wondering when the next Ball is taking place check out our Events page and look out for the Black Magic Ball at Gorki.
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by Frank | Party, Photos
photos: Vismante Ruzgaite.
I have been a sports enthusiast and “urban” active for almost my entire life. But it’s only until I moved to Berlin that I got more interested in running and really found a passion for it.
During my first few days in Berlin, I stumbled upon a friend of mine who invited me to join her running group on a Wednesday morning before work. At first, I was skeptical, why would I run with people? I had always seen running as a personal experience, almost like a meditative moment to clear your head out. But moving into a new city, you want to meet new people right? So I decided I would join their run. This was my first time running in a group and I immediately liked it. In just an hour, I had met a lot of new people and got to learn a lot about the city, its different neighborhoods, its history. It was a revealing experience! I discovered the benefits of running in a community and being part of a group made me realize that running can also be an activity to connect, socialize, laugh and share.
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by Guest Author | Stories
Political activism made easy: Sassy YouTuber and witty digital activist Tarik Tesfu picks five social projects against racism and xenophobia that need your financial support right now.
Tarik has been bopping around the web since 2015. As a self-proclaimed “gender-messiah” and “do-gooder” the young Berliner vlogs about gender equality, LGBTQI*rights and racism in Germany in weekly shamelessly spot on and self-ironic videos. As a German gay man of color his politically incorrect, razor-blade lingo served with a charming smile on top does, however, not only gain him fans.
Let’s just say, the comments on his YouTube-channel can get pretty ugly. Apparently, it’s: love Tarik or hate Tarik and nothing in between. Take the hate and turn it into a “Weil wir dich haten, Tarik-Heul-Mimimi-Hymne” (the “Because we hate you Tarik-Whine-Mimimi-Anthem”), is Tarik’s response to that. Even if you don’t understand German, that’s pretty hilarious.
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by Andy | People
photo: Cucula
The living situation in many countries is bad, dangerous and daily life becomes a struggle for survival. For many, fleeing to Germany and coming to Berlin is the only way, to get a chance of a new life in safety and peace. But arriving here isn’t always easy. The journey is often a very traumatic experience for most refugees, who not only leave behind their homes, but often family members, friends and everything that they are used to without knowing what to expect. Also fleeing a country is often extremely dangerous which is why projects like Jugend Rettet e.V. have been created. This project is sending volunteers to regions where many refugees are crossing the sea. Patrolling on boats and rescuing people from open waters is the kind of intense help that is needed.
Help for refugees has many different faces in diverse Berlin. In the past year we came across projects that amazed us with their positive attitude, their empowering ideas and practical ways of integrating and assisting refugees. We want to share our excitement about some of those projects with you, which is why we have collected a small number of them here.
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by Guest Author | People, Stories
Berlin has a lot of queues. Refugees waiting in front of LaGeSo to get registered, party folks waiting in front of a nightclub hoping to be on a guest list, tech-nerds camping in front of the Apple store before the release of a new product, homeless queuing at a salvation army food dispatcher and fashionistas waiting in front of a fashion week location. They all might look quite similar from an airplane far above the city. But actually there is a big difference we should never forget. Even if there are maybe just a few kilometers between the mentioned groups waiting, there is an abyss of injustice going on. For some of us waiting in line is just an annoyance we could actually easily avoid by choosing another activity to pursue. For others standing in the cold snow and waiting is a life-necessity they have no choice to make.
Especially on days like today where the temperature goes way below the sufferable I wonder how it is even possible to survive as a homeless in this city. Last year’s campaign Was heißt frieren? did an amazing job in creating a strong image of the topic of living as a homeless in Berlin. Several subway stations were renamed with Photoshop remembering real homeless people living on the streets. Since it is still a painfully up-to-date issue we post this in hopes you might support the Kältebus NPO with a donation, as they are the ones taking care of those who might freeze to death in the streets. After the jumps there is also a short guide what to do if you see a homeless person in need for help out there in the streets.
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by Claudio | Stories
photo: Oh Sophia
It’s Christmas time, a good chance to be thoughtful, thankful and helpful. Especially with thousands of refugees arriving in Berlin this year, giving back to people in need becomes an even bigger issue and responsibility for our community. We’re living in a time were we need to reach out to each other, face our global challenges and help together. After visiting some Charity Christmas Markets and donating some money to our Blogfabrik Project #HelpDontHate, we want to look at some other alternatives to help in Berlin. So what do you think about eating and drinking for a good cause?
We found some wonderful and delicious events happening this month that we want to share with you after the jump…
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by Kate | Events, Food
Working together with different people coming from different places and backgrounds is a wonderful present we enjoy every day at our office. Even more amazing is the chance to work with people with a good heart capable to move the world around just with their power of will. Some of our colleagues at Blogfabrik like Jule from im gegenteil were active volunteers during the refugee crisis that started this Summer. But as the situation got worse and worse we felt that we had a chance (and duty) to do something as a community.
This is why we connected our brainpower and creativity to create an interactive donation campaign called #HelpDontHate for all our social media channels. Showing our faces and and standing strong against hate towards refugees and foreigners we want to give a clear signal. We all realized that even the smallest helping gesture already changes so much so we want to empower more people to do so.
With the campagin #HelpDontHate not only the whole team of iHeartBerlin but all the people from the Blogfabrik network are showing their support to the people leaving countries in war for a better future. Find out which organizations our donations will go to and how to be part of our campaign after the jump.
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by Claudio | People
Surprise! If you thought that we wouldn’t have anything special for you this Christmas: Think again! After several X-mas specials and events we also prepared something unique for you guys this year. We teamed up with sustainable fashion label ARMEDANGELS to create a very special collection of T-shirts called Cross Mountain. And the best thing is: After our scarves and leggings it is finally something for the boys! More about it and how to win the shirts after the jump.
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by Frank | Fashion, Kreuzberg
This coming Sunday we can all do something for a good cause by doing what we are going to do this month anyway: Shopping! It’s Christmas and all of your friends and family are in need of a present. But imagine with your shopping you would automatically help the victims of the catastrophy in the Philippines or save a homeless person in Berlin from freeze to death in the cold Winter.
Yes, this is not a theory: If you shop at the Charity Fleamarket that takes place on Sunday December 8th at Where is Jesus at Wrangelstr. 57 ALL of your money spent will be donated to the Kälte Nothilfe and to an first aid organization in the Philippines. This is organized by a group of girls who all volunteer to gather and sell donated products for this event and 100% of the proceeds will be used for charity. A lot of agencies, labels and people (including myself) have donated vintage fashion and brand new products for the market. So there is something for everyone! Go and shop from 12-19h. The flyer with more details and a video from last year’s Charity Fleamarket after the jump.
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by Frank | Fashion, Kreuzberg
