The “Give Something Back to Berlin” (GSBTB) foundation is a fine example of a civil society initiative that thinks “out of the box” and actively combats negative refugee stereotyping. Launched in 2013 GSBTB aims to bring together more privileged migrants, German locals and more vulnerable migrants such as refugees. It provides the catalyst for diverse projects and innovative collaborations in which refugees play a key role. GSBTB now works with over 700 volunteers from over 50 different countries in over 60 social projects across the city. Activities include language teaching for refugees, refugee buddy programmes, dance, music and creative workshops, homeless centres, mentorship programs for underprivileged youth, working with the elderly or creative work with children.
What is specific to GSBTB is that refugees are not considered as recipients of information and assistance but as partners empowered to create and co-create their own projects to fulfil their needs and start their new lives in Germany. Alex Assali, a Syrian refugee who arrived in Berlin last year, has recently received large media coverage for what he is doing to "give something back to German people." Every Saturday since August last year, Alex Assali has set a food stand outside Alexanderplatz station where he serves warm meals the Berlin’s homeless. He pays for the ingredients with the 120€ he manages to save each month on the € 359 he receives from the German government. Unsurprisingly it was only after his story had gone viral on the Web that the traditional media picked it up.
The project started with a spontaneous Facebook post in 2012. GSBTB’s founder Annamaria Olsson had moved from Sweden to Berlin in 2008 to study and work as a journalist. New in the country, she started thinking a lot about integration and how diverse cities and communities did, could and maybe should work. Her own migrant experience, the growing European xenophobia, as well as what felt like few positive and modern and solution-based ways of dealing with different types of migration, sparked her to write a Facebook-post addressing some of the issues with the appeal for newcomers to “get involved”.
The Facebook post became a snowball and the journey from that post to a full blown project platform was rapid (although it has included tons of hard work and challenges). Becoming the collective brainchild of many, GSBTB grew organically into a huge community, both on and offline.
