Refugees as guides on Berlin's Museum Island Staatliche Museen zu Berlin der Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz and Deutsches Historisches Museum launch "Multaka: Treffpunkt Museum" pilot project
Press release from 12/10/2015
A total of 19 refugees from Syria and Iraq are being trained as museum guides so that they can lead compatriots through the Pergamon Museum, the Bode Museum and the German Historical Museum in their native language. The title of the project is programmatic: "Multaka" means "meeting point" in Arabic and stands for the exchange of different cultural and historical experiences. But it is also about similarities between Germany, Syria and Iraq. The Museum of Islamic Art, the Museum of the Ancient Near East, the Sculpture Collection and the Museum of Byzantine Art as well as the German Historical Museum are interested in a great cultural-historical and epoch-spanning narrative that offers the opportunity to find connecting lines between the countries of origin of the refugees and the host country. The museums want to help refugees find social and cultural points of contact so that they can arrive in Germany.
The project was developed by the Museum of Islamic Art of the National Museums in Berlin. It is funded by the federal programme "Live Democracy!" of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. Support also comes from the Ernst Schering Foundation, the Friends of the Museum of Islamic Art and the Syrian Heritage Archive Project.
The new guides will initially take part in content and didactic training. From December, they will offer regular exhibition talks in their native language in the museums, in which they will reflect their personal attitude and perspective on the works exhibited in Berlin. During the one-hour tours, the guides will focus on the cultural history of their country of origin, but also on Christian iconography and the cornerstones of German history.
The President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, Hermann Parzinger, called the project exemplary for the German museum landscape: "The refugees guide visitors through their own and other people's history. We are not saying that we have invented the ultimate recipe for integration, but refugees experience strength through education and by recognising their cultural identity, which means a lot to us. And they learn about our culture, our path through the centuries. In the best-case scenario, this can lead to tolerance and the courage to communicate."
Michael Eissenhauer, Director General of the National Museums in Berlin, says: "The Multaka project is a special opportunity to experience the diversity of artefacts on the Museum Island in associated conversations. The focus is not on the classic museum tour, but on an exchange between people with similar backgrounds. Multaka is therefore an opportunity to explore new ways of understanding and acceptance in a heterogeneous and ethnically diverse society." From January 2016, the local audience will also be included in the project.
The Syrian and Iraqi cultural artefacts on display in the Museum of Islamic Art and the Museum of the Ancient Near East are outstanding testimonies to the history of mankind. The refugees should learn how much these cultural treasures from their old homeland are valued by Berlin's museums. The guided tours of the Sculpture Collection and Museum of Byzantine Art emphasise the cross-religious roots and common origins of the three world religions Islam, Judaism and Christianity. Over the centuries, cultures in the eastern Mediterranean were characterised by religiously and ethnically plural societies, which are now in danger. Museums are places of remembrance of a common past.
The German Historical Museum , on the other hand, wants to enable refugees to come closer to German culture and history, including its crises and renewal movements. The period after the Second World War, with the subsequent reconstruction, is at the centre of the guided tours: a glimmer of hope that history does not end with the destruction in Iraq and Syria. "The German Historical Museum is an open house for everyone. With this ambitious project, we now have the opportunity to expand our existing programmes for refugees in a meaningful and targeted way. We are therefore delighted that so many Syrian and Iraqi refugees have decided to take part in the training programme at the German Historical Museum, which will enable us to teach refugees about German history, Germany and the Germans," says Alexander Koch, President of the German Historical Museum Foundation.
Further free workshops for refugee children and families as well as guided tours for refugee groups are offered as part of the "Welcome Programme" of the National Museums in Berlin. Information can be obtained from the Education, Mediation and Visitor Services Department by email. As recipients of transfer payments, refugees receive free admission to the National Museums in Berlin.
The Deutsches Historisches Museum also offers refugees free admission and a specially developed guided tour programme in German, English and French, which can also be booked by email.
"Multaka: Treffpunkt Museum" takes place every Wednesday at 3 pm in the following museums
- Pergamonmuseum - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (for talks in the Museum für Islamische Kunst and the Vorderasiatisches Museum), Bodestraße, 10117 Berlin
- Bode-Museum (for talks in the Sculpture Collection and Museum of Byzantine Art), Monbijoubrücke, 10117 Berlin
- German Historical Museum, Unter den Linden 2, 10117 Berlin
Meeting points are the ticket offices/information desks of the museums. Participation is free of charge, registration is not required.
Further information on the project
National Museums in Berlin
Phone: +49 (0)30 266-42-4242 (Mon - Fri, 9.00 - 16.00)