Project "Migration, Work and Identity"
in Berlin
1. The Berlin Project partners
The association Neighbourhood Museum, founded in
1991, operates in the tradition of the "New Museology".
It promotes and initiates projects which deal with historical questions
and contemporary problems and which involve cooperation between
museums and the local population. It initiated the Berlin project
and has contributed to its overall concept. It has set up lines
of communication between the museums and migrants and their communities,
participated in the activities of the individual museums and co-ordinates
for the Berlin museums with the EU-Project.
The Museum of European Cultures - Berlin State
Museums, which opened in 1999, has as its aim in the identification of European cultural
phenomena and their specific ethnic, regional and national aspects, in order to make
clear in its exhibitions, publications and events the cultural unity and diversity
of Europe.
In 2002 it organized the exhibition "Heimat Berlin? Photographic
impressions" and in 2003 the exhibition "Migration(Hi)stories
in Berlin".
The German Museum of Technology Berlin is a museum
of the cultural history of technology. It presents the different
influences on and consequences of technological activity within
differing cultural contexts. In 2002 and 2003 it organized intercultural
workshops and "intercultural open days".
The Berlin Museum Service is an institute attached
to the Department of Science and Culture of the Berlin Senate. As
a central institute it supports and promotes museum educational
activities in Berlin's public museums. It provided a basis and realised
some of the activities of the project.
2. The Berlin Platform
The idea and its realization
The Berlin Platform has been set up by the above named four museums'
institutions as a part of the European Project "Migration,
work and identity". It has as its goal the long-term establishment
of the EU-project in Berlin. It aims above all to promote understanding
and tolerance between the various groups of different cultural origin
in Berlin through the communication of information about the historical
background of the migrant groups. The aim of the Berlin partners
is to motivate migrants to collaborate with the museums on the basis
of their cultural heritage. Aspects of their history and their contemporary
situation will be represented in the museums to become the basis
for a dialogue between different cultures and generations. The long
term aim is to attract migrants, their descendants and organizations
to visit the museums regularly and to work as active partners.
In this context, exchanges with representatives from different
cultures took place at the beginning of the project. These contacts
were made via cultural establishments, migrant organizations, etc.
and institutions from the fields of education, business and labour.
The Berlin partners wanted to find out how their interests could
be linked to those of the museums and in what way cooperation could
be established. This formed the basis and a framework for further
cooperation, providing important input to the concept of two exhibitions
and accompanying activities in the Museum of European Cultures and
intercultural workshops / "open days" in the German Technical
Museum in the years 2002 and 2003. Two workshops for museums specialists
were held at Berlin in 2001 and 2002, to find further partners and
to disseminate the ideas of the project and the lessons learnt so
far.
3. The activities of the Berlin partners:
The exhibition "Heimat Berlin? Photographic Impressions"
(July - Nov. 2002). For the Museum of European Culture this was
the first exhibition dedicated to the theme: "Migration in
Berlin". The photographers, all of differing lands of origin,
who live and work in Berlin, were the protagonists of the exhibition.
They grappled with the idea of a multi-cultural Berlin, illustrating
both its public and private aspects. They chose their subjects from
the areas of work, leisure, family and religion, always asking the
question: how do we see ourselves and how do we see others.
A programme of events accompanied the exhibition: guided tours
of the exhibition by the photographers and discussion evenings with
them, where they talked about their view of life in Berlin and what
they themselves had experienced in the city and showed further examples
of their work. Readings by non-German authors and a multi-cultural
"Berlin Breakfast" also took place in the museum.
"Migrations(Hi)stories in Berlin" (July
2003 - February 2004)
Berlin is a "cultural patchwork". Migrants have always
decisively shaped the face of the city. The exhibition shows why
and how they manage(d) this through eight objects and their contexts.
These are expressions of the migration processes in Berlin from
the last third of the 19th century to the present. The digital work
by Cida de Aragon, entitled "Migration is a creative situation"
serves as an atmospheric introduction. Next to aspects of the history
of migration, histories of the central objects have also been displayed.
Last but not least, the biographical details of the people associated
with these objects are included as is an audio presentation.
A programme of events accompanies the exhibition: storytelling by
migrants of the "first generation of guest workers", presentations
of the work of migrant organizations, readings by authors from different
cultures about the Berlin they live in, a Russian-Brazilian discotheque,
guided tours through the exhibition and talks to school classes
by first generation guest workers, the organization of an intercultural
day, guided tours through the exhibition and talks to school classes
by first generation guest workers. At an "Intercultural Day"
seventeen migrant organisations presented their work, ideas and
initiatives and discussed these with Berlins Ombudsman for
Integration and Migrants and with the initiators of the Berlin Platform.
Last but not least: an intercultural family day at the museum with
guided tours through the exhibition, accompanied by readings.
Intercultural workshops und public events in the German
Museum of Technology
Within the project the German Museum of Technology has concentrated
on the aspects of Work and Identity. It asked the question as to
how far the museum can become a place of identification and value
for migrants. Answers were discussed in several workshops and at
two public events. Migrant organizations and those that have worked
with migrants for many years provided the groups of visitors. With
their help, meetings were held and the public events organized.
The first aim of the workshops was to introduce the museum to Berliners
of the 1st to the 3rd generation above all from Turkey but also
from other lands of origin. They were encouraged to spend time closely
examining individual technical exhibits. The guided tours offered
the opportunity to discuss the technological and cultural history
of their lands of origin and to compare this with the museums
presentation of a predominately European view of the development
of Technology.
It became clear that technical exhibits by reason of their relationship
to everyday life were particularly useful in determining and discussing
differences and communality in the use of technology, both within
cultural traditions and as personal experience. The participants
talked about their personal connection to various objects, through
their work either in their land of origin or in Berlin. Having lived
and worked in Germany for many years, the participants were able
to consider the museums presentation of the technological
history of Berlin as part of their own history.
The idea emerged from the workshops for participants from Turkey
to become guides not only for their own community but also for all
other visitors. An intercultural weekend in the German Museum of
Technology on 5th and 6th October 2002 provided an opportunity for
this. To integrate the new guides, teams were set up with them and
with the regular museum guides, who worked together on this weekend
to inform visitors. For the museum this cooperation led to a new
quality of service for the visitors. Through the direct discussion
about technical objects, it was even possible to overcome language
barriers. The objects were the occasion for communication: people
began to talk to one another about themselves and their cultures.
This type of event was repeated during the International Day of
Museums on May 18th 2003, which had as its motto: "Cultural
contacts, intercultural encounters in the Museum of Technology".
The teams of guides were extended to include people from other lands
of origin. Together they chose individual technical exhibits to
present to visitors. By comparing European machines and handicraft
techniques from Turkey, Jordan and the Ivory Coast, there developed
fascinating points of contact and informative discussions both for
the guides and for visitors.
These events initiated an exchange between different cultures in
which more than 5000 visitors took part and showed that an
intercultural exchange and a discussion about differing forms of
technology could be very successfully combined. The participants
talked about an increase in self-confidence through their work as
guides. And those who had never before visited the Museum of Technology
have started to publicize its work within their community, a role
which they can imagine continuing to fulfil. The cooperation has
led to a new quality of service for visitors and a new set of visitors.
All those involved are hopeful that this will become the norm for
the future of the museum.
Berlin, 2nd September 2003
Published in the documentation of the Terrassa-conference October
2003 in Spain,
Museu de la Ciencia I de la Tècnica de Catalunya/Museum of Science
and Technology in Catalonia
Links:
www.smb.spk-berlin.de
www.dtmb.de
www.md-berlin.de/www.kulturprojekte-berlin.de
www.migration-identity.org
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