Political stance & practical solidarity

Awareness

Awareness concepts are based on many years of work and the exchange of experiences of those affected.

Awareness means establishing and maintaining a considerate, responsible and solidary way of dealing with each other. The aim is to create spaces that strengthen the self-determination of different communities - in a spirit of partnership and solidarity. With awareness work, we learn together to respect the boundaries of all and to counter discrimination and violence. And we learn how to support people who (have to) go through discriminatory experiences.

Our projects

Here you can find an overview of our projects. Some of them are carried out by ourselves, others have been developed in partnership with other awareness groups.


We offer awareness workshops for venues, advise on developing our own awareness concepts, organise expert conferences and round tables to exchange ideas, learn from and with each other and communicate on current developments.

Duration: 2021-2024
Location: Nationwide

Funding:

  • Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Women, Senior Citizens and Youth
  • Heidehof Foundation
  • City of Leipzig (2021)


In cooperation with:

  • Rave Awareness
  • Ann Wiesental

The project Saxony support f(x) - Saxon interface for awareness has been running at the Initiative Awareness since March 2022. With this project, we want to sustainably support and strengthen awareness groups and organisers in Saxony.

Duration: 2022
Location: Saxony

Funding:

  • Saxon Ministry of Justice and for Democracy, Equality and Europe


past projects

conference

FREE SPACES - SAFE SPACES
Awareness Intersectional - Antidiscrimination work in the event context

8. - 10. November 2019, Leipzig

Programme and documentation
Strong together: networking, making visible, joining forces
Networking, making visible, joining forces

Contact points

Overview map of awareness groups, educational offers, venues and their awareness concepts and networks

In the meantime, there is a multitude of initiatives, groups and venues that deal with awareness in the context of events and beyond. Who has which educational offers? Which location-independent awareness teams exist and how do I reach them? Where are there self-advocacy organisations? Who else is involved in making events safer?

On this map, everyone can add their own name by creating a microsite, or add their name to our curated list by completing a questionnaire.

Support on site

Contact points and organisations

Help in finding a suitable counselling centre.

We have developed a map to make local support and counselling services visible. Here you can find a selection of services for dealing with cross-border experiences, people who use violence or right-wing violence. You are not alone.

Do you know a good contact point or can you support others with your skills? Then register with us, or discover already registered contact points in your area.
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Political stance and practical solidarity

How to

In this how-to, we try to give a clear summary of important basics that we have worked out over the last few years based on our experience.

When it comes to awareness, everyone has different situations in mind. Some think mainly of sexualised violence, others of racist attacks and entry controls, or remember countless situations of emotional, structural/infrastructural, linguistic and economic obstacles on the (mental) way to an event. This refers to all situations of discrimination and (sexualised) violence - intentional or accidental, direct or indirect, regardless of the extent. It can play a role that (traumatic) previous experiences are triggered and mix with the current situation.

The approach we often hear "better awareness than no awareness" does not work in our opinion. An uninformed awareness can be additionally discriminatory and violent. It is necessary to be aware of one's own role and position of power in contact with affected persons and also discriminating/violent persons. It is also important to reflect on one's own privileges and to accept that one cannot be a trustworthy contact person for every person affected. Mistakes can and will happen, but it is possible to learn from them.

learn more in our brochure
Partisan, intersectional & affected-centred

Minimum standards

Ensure fair and collective treatment.

Thanks to the diverse social struggles of affected communities, concepts aimed at minimizing discrimination and violence in the context of events are now also a topic of discussion among broader social strata. Support f(x) and the Awareness Initiative have set themselves the goal of working together with awareness and support groups, self-advocacy organizations, event organizers and safer clubbing projects to develop an awareness code for a safe nightlife and event life.

Inform, educate & raise awareness

materials

A collection of our own materials and publication on our focus topics.
Here you can find materials and publications we have published on the topic of awareness and anti-discrimination work in the context of events and beyond. You can order all our materials here.
Inform, educate & raise awareness

Resources

A collection of various media and materials on our focus topics.

Here you will find a selection of different media and materials published by various authors and collectives. The content revolves around the topic of awareness, discrimination-sensitive organising and dealing with violence: from info posters for your party, podcasts and detailed introductory literature, such as "Antisexist Awareness" by Ann Wiesental, to a guide to transformative work with people who use violence by the RESPONS collective. Browse our selection and feel free to send us your recommendations to keep the list growing. The motto: Share knowledge and strengthen the community.

Team & Attitude

who we are

We are the association "Initiative Awareness e.V." and the office team of the funded projects (11 people spread over Leipzig and Berlin). Together we do not want to accept the state of inequality, oppression and exclusion and the resulting forms of discrimination and violence. Our aim is, with an intersectional view, to jointly sensitise the general public, to intervene and to dissolve organised power structures. Discrimination and power-sensitive spaces should be made accessible in order to minimise violence and establish a practice of solidarity.

A central building block for us is networking. As a supra-regional interface, we want to support the community in its self-organisation in the long term. The focus is on the exchange and sharing of resources and knowledge.

As individuals, however, we have different approaches and understandings of awareness. Here is a brief introduction to each member of the team.

Alina
she | her
Public Relations

Alina has been with the Awareness initiative since 2022 and is responsible for public relations - i.e. for the website, social media channels, but also for the creation and editing of print materials such as the zine. In the field of awareness, she is particularly interested in intersectional perspectives as well as the uncovering, deconstruction and reappraisal of unequal power relations. Alina works in the Leipzig office.

Flo
they | them
Saxony, Train the Trainers, Education

Flo has been part of the Initiative Awareness association since 2019 and has been involved in the support f(x)- Schnittstelle für Sachsen project since 2022, and enjoys giving a lot of workshops. For Flo, awareness means practical anti-discrimination work in the form of concrete support and wide-ranging sensitization. In the long term, Flo hopes to spread the idea of collective responsibility and discrimination-sensitive interaction beyond nightlife events.

Ida
she | her
Education, Workshop Coordination, Train the Trainers

Ida likes to focus on what groups need in order to function well together in the long term. In addition to awareness as an attitude, for her this also includes participation and spaces that are critical of hierarchy.

Initiative Awareness e.V.
The association

In 2018, the association formed the Initiative Awareness in Leipzig. This group consists of organisers, artists, guests and employees. Everyone has different experiences with discriminatory behaviour, whether as a person affected or as a performer. Together they want to pool their experiences and pass them on.

Jella
she | her
Public Relations

Jella has been working in the public relations team for the Leipzig office since 2023. For Jella, awareness means reflecting on one's own behavior and enabling solidarity with one another, in which everyone can feel valued and safer. She enjoys engaging with current feminist and anti-racist discourses.

Nadine
she | her
Financial management of projects, personnel matters, planning of internal measures

Nadine came to the Initiative Awareness and the project "support f(x) - schnittstelle für awareness" through a call for proposals and so far she has little experience with practical awareness work. Therefore, she sees her tasks first and foremost in strengthening the framework that the initiative Awareness needs to be able to implement projects.

Nazanin
she | her
Education, Workshop Coordination, Train the Trainers

Nazanin has been with the Awareness initiative since 2021 and works in the field of education. There, she coordinates the training and consulting services and also gives workshops herself from time to time. In addition to her work with the initiative, she deals a lot with the topics of anti-discrimination, racism criticism and social inequality.

Pauline
she | her
Saxony, Networking, Education

Pauline has been part of the "Initiative Awareness e.V." since 2018. For her, awareness always means an intersectional perspective and continuous learning in the fight against discrimination and violence and for the establishment of a solidary and responsible coexistence. It is important to Pauline to get out of the bubble and also to work in the public space. She sometimes has problems with the concept of awareness.

Shirin
she | her
Education, Workshop Coordination, Train the Trainers

Sim
none | they
Administration

Sim would like to gain an insight into association structures and organization as part of his voluntary service. Awareness work (without always calling it that) has long been part of Sim's life, which is why he would now like to support the structures in the background of the Awareness Initiative and acquire knowledge for future association work.

Thimo
he
Project Coordination

Thimo lives in Berlin and has been organizing music, cultural and political events since 2009. It was here that a shocking awareness of various forms of discrimination and violence emerged. Through the constant debate, mutual sensitization and educational work, the topic of discrimination-sensitive events became a matter close to his heart. For him, awareness and anti-discrimination work means first and foremost practical solidarity and the potential for change.

Toschka
t | no pronouns
Saxony, project coordination

Since 2022, Toschka has been active in Intitative Awareness, with a particular focus on supporting and networking awareness activists in Saxony. In addition, Toschka is engaged in thinking concepts further and applying them to new contexts. In the rapid development of awareness in public discourse, t sees opportunities for sustainable development, but also risks in practice.

Solidarity network for self-determined spaces

structure & community

partner:inside

Our partners support individual projects in strategic questions and with their expertise and stand by us as a think tank.

Awarenetz

After a workshop of the Awareness Initiative, the Awarenetz Leipzig was founded under the auspices of the Livekommbinat Leipzig. Almost every month, activists from nightlife and awareness come together here to discuss current cases or give informative lectures on current challenges. The Awarenetz is coordinated by Cocny from the Livekommbinat.

Awareness Institute

The Awareness Institute is a grassroots network of collectives and individuals involved in awareness work. Together they form a network that defines fundamental aspects of awareness work. The platform is both a space for exchange and a common voice.

Write email

Message of the Night & Night Council

In future, the "Message of the Night" will help to balance the different interests and address issues of Leipzig's night culture. Experts ofthe night, civil society organisations, representatives ofthe city's cultural and economic development departments and the police department bring current night-time issues to the table and work together to find solutions and innovative ideas.

We are a founding member of the Leipzig Embassy of the Night and the Night Council. Since 2019, we have been developing a concept together with various stakeholders of the Leipzig nights, from which the Embassy of the Night and the position of the Night Culture Officer emerged.

As written in the guiding principles of the Message of the Night, we set out to reduce (sexualised) violence and health risks in nightlife. This is done by providing information and sensitising various actors to anti-discrimination work, violence prevention, education and risk minimisation in the health sector as well as developing recommendations for third parties. In addition, the transfer and establishment of awareness and mindfulness work in the public and in the night culture scene is to take place, as well as the creation of a situation picture of risks and already existing safety measures.

The following people were involved in the development of the concept:

overall concept
What is planned where by whom?

Event calendar

Our event calendar keeps you up to date on our round tables, network meetings, expert conferences, collegial exchange rooms and open workshops. You can also enter and view your own events in the community area.

ally and network

Contact options

Select contact option

Here you can get in direct contact with the office and find answers about the project, funding and much, much more.

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Über folgendes Formular könnt ihr Schulungen, Workshops, Beratungen, Vorträge, Prozessbegleitungen und Konzeptarbeit anfragen.


You have a problem and don't know where to turn? Maybe we can help you or refer you to people in our network. We also offer supervision and are happy to accompany you as far as we can. You are also welcome to take a look at our awareness platform and the swarm can help you in word and deed.

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Are you interested in networking? Are you part of our community forum or do you want to become one? Questions, disturbances, opinions, praise and problems belong right here.

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newsletter

Here you can stay up to date on our activities, events, new information materials and other publications. You will also find out everything that is happening in the project "support f(x) - interface for awareness" and in the initiative Awareness. You will receive no more than 2 mails per month and you can unsubscribe at any time with 2 clicks.

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