cultures interactive e.V.

Berlin, Germany

Founded in 2005, Cultures Interactive is a Berlin-based NGO that works on various projects and networks nationwide and on an international level. The NGO’s goal is to prevent all forms of group hatred and right-wing extremism. CI has developed a variety of strategies and methods for dealing with legacies of aggression, denigration, and violence and for strengthening human rights positions and (self-)respect, in particular among young people. In addition to workshops and training programmes for adolescents, CI provides training for teachers, social workers, and other relevant stakeholders in youth work – and provides counselling for communities and on-the-job coaching for practitioners. 

The methodological basis of our work is a youth culture concept based on combining the principles of human rights. This concept was developed for hands-on and non-formal educational and prevention work with youth from every milieu. The historical foundations, current developments and practices in youth cultures and (social) media are combined with non-formal political education and social learning, comprising aspects such as empowerment, conflict management, anti-racism, gender roles, equality, etc. Moreover, narrative group work in the We Amongst Ourselves Group has become an important addition to CI’s youth culture concept. Narrative group work creates a safe space for young people to freely discuss their personal experiences, to listen, and better get to know one another – and thus to discover first-hand how a person’s biography shapes their attitudes and actions, which has direct consequences for themselves and others.

CI’s work pursues three main objectives:

1. To pilot and implement good practices in prevention and intervention with young people in different settings: CI offers workshops and training programmes for young people from different backgrounds and milieus, including those who are often hard to reach with formal civic education programmes. CI offers a variety of programmes, such as one or two-day projects in schools, youth culture workshops customised for open youth work, and extensive training programmes. These programmes may target mixed groups or be designed for specific target groups.
2. To expand capacities: in order to support professional and effective prevention work, CI offers extensive training for social and youth workers, teachers, probation officers, and other stakeholders in youth work. With its community-oriented approach, CI aims to expand the capacities of local practitioners for promoting human rights and empowering young people and building up resilience against group hatred, right-wing extremism, and violence.
3. To share knowledge and stimulate progress: in order to constantly improve our concepts and to realise our vision for successful human rights-based, cultural youth work on a larger scale, we participate in (inter)national discussions on prevention, regional development and deradicalisation (e.g. RAN, OSCE, Efus, etc.).