Our Work

The area of ​​culture and international affairs is the youngest area of ​​the studierendenWERK BERLIN and designed in a participatory manner.

The Culture and International Department team (known externally as “Kulturwerk Berlin”) consists of six employees and a varying number of student assistants and interns. 21 dormitory tutors complement the team.

We also employ numerous people as part of our events Student for a wide variety of tasks, e.g. B. Catering, set-up and dismantling, sound and lighting technology, artistic activities, etc.

You can reach us via kultur@stw.berlin or by telephone via 030 93939 8341

If you would like to work with us at events, please also contact us via kultur@stw.berlin.

What is the cultural work of the StudierendenWERKs BERLIN?

“Promoting creativity”, “giving space” and “living diversity” are the three main principles of the cultural work of the studierendenWERKs BERLIN. They were developed at the beginning of 2015 through co-creative workshops with students. They are an expression of the students' wishes and correspond to the general objectives of promoting motivation, skills, performance and initiatives of students who studierendenWERK BERLIN has enshrined in its statutes.

The studierendenWERK BERLIN sees the challenge of its cultural work against the background of the megatrends of internationalization and globalization of students' living environments, which are particularly strong in Berlin. This makes a clear definition of the concept of culture difficult. “Culture” is therefore continually developed from the discourse with the students and should be understood and researched in different ways. 

The cultural work of studierendenWERKs BERLIN is expressly aimed at all students and is cross-university and cross-faculty. According to the statutes, it also places a focus on intercultural approaches, the promotion of disadvantaged groups, international students, as well as students with a migration background and educationally disadvantaged groups.

Cultural work serves this purpose studierendenWERK BERLIN to achieve the goal of creating a space that is free of discrimination and that is determined by cooperative behavior, respect for human dignity and personality, integration and equal treatment, transparency and open information. Ostensibly political or religiously motivated actions can occur due to the neutral position of the studierendenWERKHowever, it should not be part of cultural work.

The studierendenWERK BERLIN also sees its cultural work as a contribution to the students' individual cultural education. They should have the opportunity to pursue their own cultural interests, develop their creative skills and be able to actively participate in Berlin's cultural life. Because “cultural education strengthens the sensitivity to the fact that cultural diversity and cultural differences between regions, milieus, ethnic groups and genders and also between generations are a valuable development resource for society. (…) Culture is a key to social development.” (Source: Recommendations of the Study Commission of the German Bundestag on culture in Germany)

 

How does the cultural work of studierendenWERKs BERLIN?

The actions, projects and events that result from the cultural work of the studierendenWERKs created should primarily be initiated by students and be oriented towards the needs of the students. Cultural work is seen as participatory and interactive. To this end, the needs of the students are regularly determined and the results are evaluated so that the resources are used in a targeted and sustainable manner.

Where do the activities and events take place?

The studierendenWERK has a variety of rooms and places where students from all universities can come together. These spaces are opened to students so that they can live and experience creativity. A good example are the ongoing projects

 in program "Art space studierendenWERK“, which use a wide variety of locations and develop them as their own “art spaces”. The most prominent example is certainly the Potsdamer Straße art space.

A special role in the cultural work of studierendenWERKs BERLIN is the venue “Free space in the student house” at Hardenbergstrasse 35. This location should primarily be used as an event location for students. The focus is on events and projects that, in accordance with the principles outlined, promote students' creativity and make the Alte Mensa a place where diversity is lived.