Building Community in Berlin: Our 2024 Diversity Workshop Abroad

As part of our mission, we have a commitment to the representation and integration of diverse perspectives, cultures, and ideas at every level of our organization. We believe that the work is ongoing and that we’re all better when we are committed to the work of learning and growing together.  

That’s why we hosted our second-annual Diversity Workshop Abroad (DWA), this time at our Berlin Center, during the Spring 2024 semester. The workshop was led by IES Abroad U.S. staff Brittani Smit, Noelle Baldwin, Quinn McMurtrey, and Ruby Shields, along with Berlin Center Director Barbara Finke and Center staff. DWA participants explored the complexities of Berlin’s past and present, incorporating the role of racism, antisemitism, migration, colonialism, and war, allowing these concepts to deepen their understanding of the city.

The workshop is a way to build community with practitioners and start a broader conversation around anti-racism, decolonization, and the interrelated concepts of globalization and migration, and how the IES Abroad community aims to approach this work at our Centers, in our curriculum, and with our students.

Setting Intentions

The group determined a set of “Community Agreements," which outlined how they wanted to work together and the kind of environment they hoped to create. The DWA leaders proposed some agreements to the group and encouraged participants to suggest changes and additions, which increased buy-in and mutual participation. They then referred to these agreements throughout the workshop to remind everyone what their aims and expectations were. While these actions did not guarantee that issues would not arise, they provided a framework for managing them if/when they did to help establish a sense of community. 

DWA participants had an action-packed four days and nights in Berlin:

Sunday, April 14

• Arrival at the hotel and optional activities, including a IES Abroad Berlin Center tour and historic Berlin walking tour.
• Evening: Welcome dinner with Israeli-Mediterranean cuisine.

Monday, April 15

• Morning: Program introduction, intention-setting workshop, and a lecture on Berlin’s history and migration.
• Afternoon: Decolonial-themed walk to Humboldt-Forum and a panel discussion on anti-colonialism and Black Lives Matter.
• Evening: Dinner featuring German cuisine.

Tuesday, April 16

• Morning: Explore Jewish Berlin through a themed walk and discussion on intersectional history.
• Afternoon: Visits to either the Jewish Museum or Documentation Centre.
• Evening: Dinner at an Israeli-Palestinian vegan/vegetarian restaurant.

Wednesday, April 17

• Morning: Lecture on migrant communities shaping Berlin, followed by a themed walk in Kreuzberg and Neukölln.
• Afternoon: Garden-to-table lunch and final program wrap-up.
• Evening: Farewell dinner at a zero-waste, plant-based restaurant.

Thursday, April 18

• Morning: Hotel check-out and departure, with suggested cultural sites for further individual exploration.

Based on participant feedback, these are some of the practices that had the most significant impact:

1. Intentional integration of diverse perspectives 

   One of the first things participants noted about the group was the various types of diversity among the participants. Beyond visible identity traits, there was significant diversity in terms of role, level of experience, cultural heritage, religion, etc. amongst the workshop participants. 

   In one icebreaker they asked “what aspect of your identity is most salient for you as you approach this workshop." In another exercise (adapted from the book Building Cultural Competence: Innovative Activities and Models), participants wrote down a message they’ve heard frequently throughout their lives about working across differences and then shared these “voices from the past” with each other, many of which provided insight into their cultural backgrounds and upbringing. They also created space for identity-conscious reflection in our debriefs and discussions throughout the workshop. This demonstrated that meaningfully incorporating diversity extends beyond a perfunctory checkbox exercise; it requires a continuous openness to and appreciation of what make us unique.     

2. Acknowledge emotions and varying interpretations

   Discussing DEIA topics can be emotionally challenging, particularly for individuals who have experienced discrimination or belong to marginalized groups. Creating a space where people feel comfortable expressing their emotions can help to foster psychological safety and increases the likelihood that participants will engage openly and authentically. In the workshop, the leaders aimed to move beyond the traditional approach of detached, objective analysis and instead humanize the topics by recognizing the importance of personal experiences, emotions, and storytelling in understanding.

   As one example, on the visit to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the guide encouraged participants to walk through the memorial individually, allowing the space to process the emotions of the experiences and engage with it on their own terms without the mediation of a guide’s interpretation. Afterwards, he asked the group what kind of effect the memorial had on them (if any) and what thoughts or emotions the experience brought up. In that moment, they were able to acknowledge how different these kinds of experiences can be for people depending on their personal histories and lived experiences, as well as the multitude of interpretations of a single event within a group.

   They also took time to debrief our experience at the end of the workshop using questions informed by the experiential learning theoretical framework each day of the workshop. Engaging in this exercise enabled everyone to critically reflect on the experience, point out the most impactful aspects, and identify opportunities for future learning and growth. Participants appreciated having a facilitated opportunity to reflect, and they expressed an interest to do so more often and a desire to incorporate more guided reflection into the study abroad experience for their students. 

3. Provide historical context that highlights the strength of marginalized communities

   Providing historical context helps us understand the root causes for contemporary issues and provides a more nuanced understanding of the socio-political, economic, and cultural factors that have shaped systems of discrimination and inequality over time. In addition to providing readings to the participants in advance, the workshop began with a session on the history of Berlin and current perspectives on themes of migration, racism, and colonialism, even though one session can never cover the full history of any location.

   Throughout the workshop, the participants were mindful that their discussions did not solely revolve around narratives of suffering, tragedy, and victimhood. This runs the risk of reducing groups of people to the status of passive victims, stripping them of agency and resilience, and overlooking their capacity for resistance, adaptation, and empowerment even in the face of oppression. A more inclusive approach also highlights their resilience, cultural survival, and resistance movements. A notable example of this is Berlin’s Jewish Museum, where a conscious effort has been made to highlight contemporary Jewish life and the vibrance of the Jewish community in addition to addressing antisemitism and the Holocaust.

   Incorporating these practices into the workshop helped to make the content more culturally relevant and therefore more impactful for each participant. It also highlighted the importance of international collaboration and global citizenship in today’s world.