Cohesion
A Film Director’s Ode to the Roma Women of Her City
Film director Lara Izagirre engages with Roma women in a documentary blurring the line between realism and entertainment as part of a broader mission for social change
BILBAO, SPAIN
Cohesion
Europe
Cohesion
Coffee With a Jew
While anti-Semitism permeates social networks, Munich Jews “ask people to talk to us, not about us” at daylight to dispel prejudice about Jewish life
MUNICH, GERMANY
Cohesion
German Jews Return to Their Berliner Homes
Claudia Saam and Wolf-Rüdiger Baumann extensively researched their building’s former residents, most of them German Jews, and found their descendants abroad.
BERLIN, GERMANY
Cohesion
The Universal Language of Chess
Chess activist Kineke Mulder shows us in Vienna how playing chess could help stem the tide of individualism and polarization in other cities too
VIENNA, AUSTRIA
Cohesion
Italian Rapper Gets ‘Real’ on ‘Baby Gangs’
Italian rapper ‘Real’ sings about what some Italians don’t really want to hear – and that’s part of the problem
NAPLES, ITALY
Cohesion
A Migrant’s Journey to Founding Cologne’s First Black Library
Guyanese Glenda Obermuller’s personal story led to the founding of the first Black Library in Cologne, Germany, the land of her great-grandfather
COLOGNE, GERMANY
Cohesion
Berlin’s Israeli-Palestinian Restaurant Kanaan Serves Food for Thought
In Berlin, the Israeli-Palestinian restaurant Kanaan achieves what currently seems impossible in its owners’ disputed homeland
BERLIN, GERMANY
Cohesion
How Afro Brunch Took Over Barcelona — and Is Still Unraveling in Spain
Born in Barcelona, Afro Brunch is filling venues with Afrobeats while elevating African culture with a new identity pride of a diverse society in Spain
BARCELONA, SPAIN
Cohesion
Unity Through Sound: Community Radio Stations in Amsterdam
Independent, online radio stations are finding ways to strengthen creative communities and promote unity from the grassroots in Amsterdam and in other Dutch cities.
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
Cohesion
Older Viennese Reveal Their Baking Secrets to Combat Isolation
‘Vollpension’ is a particular coffee shop in Vienna that weaves together older and younger generations through baking. It provides an insight into the situation of the elderly in the city.
VIENNA, AUSTRIA
Cohesion
‘Human Hotel’ Offers Non-Profit Homesharing for Remarkable Encounters
In Glasgow locals are opening their houses to non-profit for activists, scientists, or policymakers. The hosting platform called Human Hotel is expanding homesharing to unite people in cities for meaningful causes.
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
Cohesion
New Neighbours: Ulme35 Lays the Foundation for Belonging in Berlin
Ulme35 is a space of encounters between refugees and locals, powered by a welcoming culture in their neighbourhood to be envied in Berlin. A new Integration Hub will ensue.
BERLIN, GERMANY
Cohesion
Cafes Spur Anonymous Kindness in the City of Munich as Part of Daily Life
The initiative ‘hey’ at cafes in Munich encourages people in need to participate in the daily life of the city through free coffee and meals. In Covid-19 time cafes are getting the support back by an attempt to increase their sales.
MUNICH, GERMANY
Cohesion
J.E.W.S Weaves a Network of Solidarity to Counter Anti-Semitism
Via ‘kippa parties’ and ‘tolerance encounters’, a Munich-based association weaves a network of enthusiasm and participation – one strong enough to defuse Jewish fears of anti-Semitism.
MUNICH, GERMANY
Climate
Urban Gardens Undergird a Network of Trust in Budapest
Kisdiófa Kert is an urban garden in Erzsébetváros neighbourhood, where citizens connect to each other building trust and supportive relationships in Budapest.
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
Cohesion
Citizens Face Up Holocaust Remembrance in Weimar
A remembrance photo project at public space in Weimar (Germany) confronts citizens with the city's history and invites them to pause and reflect.
WEIMAR, GERMANY
Cohesion
A Diverse Local Community Finds a Consensus to Assert Power
The K-Buurt or K-neighbourhood is located around Amsterdam-Zuidoost’s Kraaiennest subway station. This community in the suburbs of Amsterdam has demanded recognition from the city since they founded Hart voor de K-Buurt (Heart for the K-Neighbourhood), a local multicultural community network of neighbours who are finding consensus language to assert power over the future of its ...
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
Cohesion
Ask a Muslim, a Jew or a Christian: Answers at Public Space
A group of students with different faiths have come together on the streets of Munich. They have seduced passersby with free hummus ice cream to start an open conversation and answer questions about their faiths at public space. There are three tables with signs, which read: ask a Muslim, a Jew or a Christian. The ...
MUNICH, GERMANY
Cohesion
Hip Hop Culture Fights Hate With Graffiti in Berlin – #Paintback
Hip Hop is not just a musical genre, but a cultural movement which originated in the Bronx district of the city of New York in the 1970s and came with the Americans to Berlin. Ibo Omari, a citizen of Berlin, is a firm advocator of the Hip Hop culture, which he embraces in all social ...
BERLIN, GERMANY
Cohesion
Refugees Home in the City Centre to Address Urban Migration
What started as saving a sports ground, became one of the most inspiring projects to welcome refugees in the city centre of Munich. It is a great example of how to address the challenge of urban migration and how integration can actually work. Munich has been welcoming a significant number of refugees since the Syria ...
MUNICH, GERMANY
Cohesion
Neighbours Keep Jewish History Alive in Berlin – Denk Mal Am Ort
Marie Rolshoven, a cultural scientist, lives in Berlin in Schöneberg neighbourhood, which was once home to Jewish artists and intellectuals such as Albert Einstein. Moved by the fact that, twenty three former Jewish residents of her whole building were deported during the Nazi era, she wanted to keep the history of her neighbours alive. Inspired by the ...
BERLIN, GERMANY
US
Cohesion
Creating “Families” That Transform a Neighborhood – With Thread
American society is in trouble – from school failure to an opioid crisis to gun violence. We need horizontal solutions like Thread to mend our fragile neighborhoods
BALTIMORE, MD, USA
Cohesion
Emma’s Torch Café Lights Hope for Refugees in New York
Founder Kerry Brodie on running cafés to train asylees culinary skills — and why creating opportunities is crucial in the midst of a migrant crisis in New York
NEW YORK, NY, USA
Cohesion
Fit for Purpose, a Successful Unscientific Experiment in Boston
Not far from Harvard, where a study on economic mobility suggests the rich and poor should socialise more, an unconventional gym is a living proof
BOSTON, MA, USA
Cohesion
Guarding the Art: Baltimore Museum Gives a Voice to Its Community
A revolutionary show, curated by security staff, spotlights the commitment of the museum to be more representative of the community it serves.
BALTIMORE, MD, USA
Cohesion
Artist Lee Mingwei Creates Moments of Change in Cities
Lee Mingwei has transgressed the walls of museums. His participatory art provokes human connectedness among strangers. These moments of change are evidence of how museums could embrace new approaches to advance social value.
NEW YORK, NY, USA
Cohesion
It’s Deeper Than Tomatoes: Peacemaking in New York’s Urban Gardens
Peacebuilders Skye Roper-Moses and Michelle V. Jackson recognized the unique position that community gardens have to flourish deeply rooted urban conflicts in neighbourhoods. They support community gardener efforts by using their training in conflict resolution.
NEW YORK, NY, USA
Cohesion
Holding New York Together. A Social Club Sparks Talks in the Subway
The idea of a Social Club in New York’s subway recognises the mass transit system as much more of a comfortable public space rather than as a means of transport. A holistic approach can make passengers return.
NEW YORK, NY, USA
Cohesion
Friends of Morningside Park in Harlem Epitomize the Fight at the Local Scale to Invest in Communities
Residents, local organizations and public spaces like Morningside park play a central role in creating a common ground for strong communities to reduce violence.
NEW YORK, NY, USA
world
Cohesion
A Bookshop “To Keep People’s Sanity” in East Jerusalem
Bookshop owner, Mahmoud Muna, on creating a safe place of discomfort invested in Palestinian culture as a way to define a new future in East Jerusalem
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL
Cohesion
Who Is Banu Pekol? Championing Heritage in Urban Development for Peacebuilding in Istanbul
Banu Pekol’s devotion to peacebuilding takes a nontraditional approach: the safeguarding of multicultural heritage to mend historical wounds among urban communities. She believes the lack of respect towards heritage in urban development reveals the cities’ approach to individual freedoms.
İSTANBUL, TURKEY
Cohesion
Punk and Fresh Cooking for a Resilient City: Food not Bombs
‘The Rebel Riot’ is not just a local punk band with politically charged songs, dealing with human right violations. Expressing themselves through music is not enough. This band mobilizes a whole punk community to cook fresh food and distribute it to homeless people every week in Yangon (Myanmar), a movement called ‘Food Not Bombs’. They ...
YANGON, MYANMAR (BURMA)