On 22 March, a large number of people from different backgrounds came together in the Family Meeting Centre (FBZ) Altglienicke to celebrate the Nouruz Festival together with lots of poetry, music, children's activities and tasty food. It was a festival of intercultural encounters, open to all neighbours. The celebration took place in the middle of the Altglienicker family meeting centre. The event was sponsored by the Federal Government, Berlin Develops New Neighbourhoods (BENN) on behalf of the Senate Department for Urban Development and Housing, the Treptow-Köpenick District Office, the Stephanus Foundation, Waslala (Fipp e.V.) the welcome office InteraXion and the Integration Guides' project (both offensiv'91 e.V.).

The Persian New Year festival Nouruz (also called "Noruz" or "Newroz", literally translated "new day") is one of the oldest festivals of mankind. The New Year festival is also a spring festival. For about 3000 years the beginning of spring has been celebrated with colourful clothes and sumptuous food. It is celebrated above all in Iran and in the Kurdish areas of Turkey and Northern Iraq, but also in the Balkans, around the Black Sea, in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Every year more than 300 million people take part in the 13-day festivities, including Kurds, Iranians, Afghans, Azerbaijanis and many other nations. Its high point is the beginning of spring depending on the sun position on March 20 or 21. In 2009, UNESCO added the Nouruz Day to the list of masterpieces of humanity's oral and immaterial heritage.

The custom of the equinox of the day and night is also deeply anchored in Indo-European culture outside this region, because it also corresponds to our Easter, which as a festival of resurrection is also based on a pre-Christian tradition. People eat and celebrate together, on the tables at Nouroz as well as at Easter you can find colorfully painted eggs. Like spring, eggs embody fertility and life. In the days around the Nouruz Festival, relatives and friends visit each other to settle old disputes and get closer to each other while eating together. They also dance on the streets in colourful dresses. Therefore this festival is well suited for an intercultural encounter.

How was it celebrated at the FBZ? In the end, the Nouruz festival in Altglienicke was of great interest. At times it became quite cramped in the rooms at the Besenbinderstraße. Altogether it was a great celebration, which one could experience thanks to the commitment of many volonteers. The musician project "Einheit" provided entertainment with traditional music. In another room there were activities for children and then it was possible to dance diligently. An extensive buffet with regional specialities from the oriental kitchen, like Kufta, Falafel, Baba Ghanush and Hummus as well as self-cooked food during the faestival were another highlight. All participants had their joy on this Friday.

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The BENN team as part of the "Quartiersmanagement" in Kosmosviertel stands for:

• A strong neighbourhood in and around Quittenweg
• Active volunteers and their support
• Networking and the development of cooperations

What does that mean for me? Say what you miss in your "kiez"! Get in touch if you want to get involved! Share your experiences! Talk to the team around Ishtar Al-Jabiri and Christian Kübler if community is important for you!

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
030 773 201 95

Office address: Schönefelder Chaussee 237, 12524 Berlin

https://www.kosmosviertel.de/benn/team/

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Photo: offensiv'91 e.V.

Further impressions of the festival: https://www.facebook.com/pg/interaxiontk/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1240332489453133