Intercultural Weeks in Chemnitz - "Live together, stick together"
Kick-off with a festival of cultures at the market on 21 September 2019
The Intercultural Weeks will take place in Chemnitz from 21 September to 6 October. Under the nationwide motto "Living together, keeping together", numerous events on various topics will take place at different locations. Mayor Barbara Ludwig will open the Intercultural Weeks with the Festival of Cultures on Saturday, 21 September 2019 at 12 noon on the market square. Superintendent Frank Manneschmidt will also deliver the churches' greetings. Every year, the Chemnitz Peace Prize is awarded on the stage of the Intercultural Weeks by jury member Egmont Elschner.
The organisers of the project "A Song for Chemnitz" - a kind of flash mob in which choirs, bands, amateur musicians and committed citizens can take part - will join forces with the international choir "Unity" to invite people to perform the song "This is me" by Keala Settle.
Visitors to the Festival of Cultures will also be able to find out about eight themed areas and indulge in culinary delights. The themed areas were developed and organised by the city together with the associations. Cookery skills from other countries will be demonstrated in an open kitchen. Specialities from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran, Kenya, Poland, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine, Hungary and other countries can be tasted on site. Turkish-born Ebru artist Arzu Adak from Berlin will be producing artistic paintings on site. The traditional soccer tournament with children and young people will once again create a competitive atmosphere on site. During the breaks, children can let off steam in the Don Bosco House's hands-on circus or on a bouncy castle, play table tennis or chess. The "longest fair coffee table" campaign with fair coffee ensures a relaxed break on site. And while you enjoy the fair-trade coffee and a slice from the hopefully numerous donated cakes, "Die Beschützerinnen" invite you to have a chat. Those who are more interested in quieter offerings can visit the exhibition "Migrant Traces in Chemnitz" in the St Jakobi city church or indulge in literary delights in the "Vokabularium" area.
Traditional songs and dances from around the globe will be presented on stage from 1 pm. The opening day will be crowned with a performance by the Sher-e-Punjab dance group from Dresden at around 7 pm. The dance ensemble, consisting of four to six dancers, will perform traditional folk dances from the North Indian region to the famous Punjabi music.
The Intercultural Weeks are organised by the City of Chemnitz, under the leadership of the Migration Officer, in cooperation with the City of Chemnitz offices, the Lila Villa Women's Centre in the akCente e. V. association, the AGIUA e. V. association and other partners.
The programme of the event series can be found here.
This year's Intercultural Weeks are being financed by the City of Chemnitz with funding from the Cultural Office, with funds from the Local Action Plan and with sponsorship from the utility company eins energie. The Rosa Luxemburg Foundation also contributes 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.