Cultural Participation and Volunteering as Keys to Integration for People with Refugee Backgrounds and Disabilities
Hotel Aquino – Conference Center of the Catholic Academy
Hannoversche Str. 5, 10115 Berlin-Mitte
Foreword
Cultural participation and volunteering create spaces for encounters and exchange between people with and without refugee or migration backgrounds. They strengthen belonging, foster self-efficacy, and open up new perspectives for joint creative opportunities. In light of growing societal challenges, it is more important than ever to bring science, practice, and politics into an open dialogue about ways of living together, participation, and social cohesion.
For 15 years, KulturLeben Berlin – Schlüssel zur Kultur e. V. has been committed to enabling cultural participation for people with low incomes. Since 2016, our association has established a central coordination and networking hub for refugees and migrants and has since launched numerous projects to promote engagement and inclusion.
Our current project Engaged Instead of Isolated (funded by BAMF and co-funded by the European Union) builds on these experiences. With this project, we open new paths to cultural participation and active involvement in volunteering for people with refugee and migration backgrounds as well as disabilities – sending a strong signal for an inclusive society.
As part of the project and the events marking our 15th anniversary, KulturLeben Berlin – Schlüssel zur Kultur e. V. will host the conference “Engaged. Inclusive. Arriving: Cultural Participation and Volunteering as Keys to Integration for People with Refugee Backgrounds and Disabilities” from December 5–7, 2025, at Hotel Aquino – Conference Center of the Catholic Academy in Berlin-Mitte.
With this conference, we aim to bring together stakeholders from academia, politics, culture, the social sector, civil society, and self-advocacy groups to jointly develop perspectives on how cultural and social participation as well as volunteering for people with refugee and migration backgrounds can be sustainably strengthened.
A key topic of the conference is the equal participation of people with refugee and migration backgrounds and disabilities.
The program will be available on this page shortly.
Registration Process
Due to limited space, the number of participants is restricted. To ensure that as many different organizations and institutions as possible are represented, we kindly ask you to limit registration to one person per organization.
- Participation in the conference is free of charge.
- Participants cover their own travel and accommodation expenses.
- We are happy to assist you in finding suitable accommodation and travel options.
International & Accessible
- The conference has an international focus and invites both local and international institutions to engage in open dialogue.
- The entire event is fully accessible for people with disabilities.
- Simultaneous interpretation into English and real-time captioning will be provided.
Team and Contact
Majd Kashkash
Project Lead, Project “Engaged Instead of Isolated: Pathways to Volunteering for Third-Country Nationals with and without Disabilities”
Email: kashkash@kulturleben-berlin.de
Mariia Kara
Project Assistant, Project “Engaged Instead of Isolated: Pathways to Volunteering for Third-Country Nationals with and without Disabilities”
Email: m.kara@kulturleben-berlin.de
Organizer
The conference is organized by KulturLeben Berlin – Schlüssel zur Kultur e.V. as part of the project “Engaged Instead of Isolated: Pathways to Volunteering for Third-Country Nationals with and without Disabilities.” The project is funded by BAMF and co-funded by the European Union.
