Intercultural Weeks in Chemnitz: "Diversity connects - in history, in the present and in the future"

On Saturday, 22 September, the Intercultural Weeks in Chemnitz will once again be launched on Neumarkt and Düsseldorfer Platz, this time in a refreshed format. Patron Mayor Barbara Ludwig and the Superintendent of the Evangelical Lutheran Church District of Chemnitz, Frank Manneschmidt, will open the Intercultural Weeks at 12 noon on the stage at Neumarkt. Prince singer Sebastian Krumbiegel is also expected to perform a solo programme on the Neumarkt stage at around 2 pm .

Under the motto "Diversity unites - in history, in the present and in the future", eight themed areas await many interested visitors: in the Informarium on Neumarkt, associations and specialist centres will present their offers and concerns to the public at their information stands. In the Kulinarium, visitors are invited on a culinary voyage of discovery with dishes from cultures, living environments and people who are at home in Chemnitz. Sport has always been international and should not be missing at a festival of encounters. In the Sportatrium, children can chase after the ball on a soccer pitch, let off steam on the bouncy castle and test their limits in the "Birikino" children's and youth circus organised by the Don Bosco Youth Centre. Intercultural weeks without a stage? Chemnitz residents with and without a migration background perform traditional dances and folk songs on the Theatrum stage.

On Düsseldorfer Platz, the Legendarium will provide information about the history of migration in the city of Chemnitz. Those who want to get active can not only admire products of international art and handicrafts and watch artists at work in the Artarium. Here you can make various creative things yourself. In the Szenarium, guests can learn traditional dances from other countries and try out instruments in workshops. The Vokabularium area focuses on culture and language as well as international games.

Between Neumarkt and Düsseldorfer Platz, actors on Richard-Möbius-Straße offer space for small activities such as hair braiding, henna painting or wood crafts. You can also try your hand at cup stacking here.

The Stadthallenpark will also be included, where the citizens' initiative Aktion© will be hosting spray-painting activities and other attractive events aimed primarily at a young audience. To link the locations together, there will be a children's rally with questions in all subject areas and great prizes as a reward. Another highlight of the opening day will be a concert with "Caputocliques". The group plays danceable klezmer and Balkan music. The opening event ends at around 8 pm.

The "Intercultural Weeks" series of events runs until 7 October 2018.

Interested parties can find out more about migration, integration and asylum, attend theatre and film performances, dance classes and concerts, country evenings, sporting events, readings and author talks, and find out more at training courses, lectures and workshops. The variety of events on offer reflects the diversity of Chemnitz. The programme also includes events as part of the Intercultural Film Week (organised by AGIUA e. V. Migrationssozial- und Jugendarbeit in cooperation with various organisations) and the WELTKULTUR modern festival (a series of events organised by ensemble 01 and Oscar e. V. in cooperation with Bürgerinitiative Aktion© and the MonOkel bookshop).

The Intercultural Weeks with the ceremonial opening are organised and prepared by the Migration Officer of the City of Chemnitz in cooperation with the Women's Centre Lila Villa in the association akCente e. V. and with the association AGIUA e. V. as well as with other partners.

You can find the programme of the event series HERE

This year's Intercultural Weeks are financed by the City of Chemnitz with funding from the Socio-Cultural Youth Fund, the Chemnitzer Wirtschaftsförderungs- und Entwicklungs GmbH (CWE) and with funds from the Free State of Saxony (Directive on Integrative Measures) as well as sponsorship from eins energie in sachsen GmbH & Co KG. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees and the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation also contribute financially to the organisation of the event series. The participating organisations also make a significant contribution to the successful implementation of the Intercultural Weeks with their own participation as organisers.

For further information, please contact the Migration Officer, Etelka Kobuß, by telephone on 0371 488-5047 or by e-mail: migrationsbeauftragte(at)stadt-chemnitz.de