Installation "Lost and Found Bureau", part of a broader HOMEING project, invites visitors to reflect and contribute to the digital archive of collective memory. This archive serves as a repository for memories of individuals who have either lost or left their homes. Participants can access and contribute to the archive through a QR code, responding to a series of questions – ranging from materials, lighting, colours, and smells, to perceptions, activities, and the significance of architectural details – associated with homes. My project is a safe space for critical reflection and collective experience integrating vulnerable population groups at times of mass migration, forced displacement, and radical uncertainty.


Join an intimate 15 minutes discussion about left homes with Maria Kremer at 12:15 and 19:00. Losing a home can be tough, especially if you had to leave unexpectedly and can not return or visit your home for different reasons. In a small group setting, we will talk about whether it's important to keep memories of our former homes, share the experiences of dreaming about the spaces we left, and explore what artefacts from abandoned homes we can bring into our new living spaces.

When people are forced to move to another country, they don't always get to choose where to live. Characteristics of the city they end up in and how easy it is to get around (in terms of transportation) play a big role in how quickly and smoothly immigrants can adjust to the new environment. Germany is one of the top countries in Europe when it comes to accepting refugees and issuing humanitarian visas. But what does life look like for those who move into the country? Can they integrate well into German society even if they end up living in a small town? How does the accessibility of transportation affect their ability to become part of the local community? And what steps do the new immigrants take towards overcoming the obstacles and achieving better integration? Join our fishbowl discussion that brings together researchers in anthropology and urban studies, along with volunteers from organizations helping to obtain humanitarian visas, as well as humanitarian visa recipients who have firsthand experience of living in small German towns.

Placemaking (for) Mobility has double meaning: (a) mobility of the placemaking as an approach, concept; (b) placemaking for mobility's sake, for mobility improvement or changing. We will introduce the procedural form of spatial justice, where placemaking concept and co-creation tools will be given as context based on from comparative research and pilot testing in 6 European countries. The interactive workshop will invite audience to explore more about placemaking and its role as inclusive planning tool, where we will also test one of the tools and present the process in on of the case study.

ZABEIKA is a movement of tactical resistance to city borders. We reframe the fence - denouncing and symbolically deconstructing its function as a boundary with the help of a «ZABEIKA» - a DIY and mobile bench-top (ZABEIKA = rus. ZABOR (fence) + rus. SKAMEIKA (bench)). ZABEYKA-s move freely across the cities through a series of random encounters. We believe that such an action at the intersection of performative sociology, theatrical urbanism and situationist protest is capable of provoking new forms of interaction with borders and in the end destroying them. At URBANCONFEST in Berlin, we will place ZABEIKA-s in a new context - it is unlikely that there will be fences but there will definitely be boundaries. ZABEYKA-s will have to adapt - which means looking for a new form of themselves and new ways of reacting to the space around them.

A space-specific Performance Installation by Welcome Home / dance_Lab27 is an international Berlin-based performance collective that accesses urban and societal processes from different perspectives and initiates a dialogue on physical and artistic levels. They see dance and movement actions as a way to respond to social challenges, initiate a dialogue and contribute to the development of co-creative and inclusive environments in the cities. The physical-emotional presence of the globally international members of the collective reflects their individual experiences and embodies the search for a "Home". Welcome Home places the question of home in the multifaceted Berlin context, where many perspectives come together. Performance will be followed by open Talk. WHK / danceLab_27 is a project of S27 are funded by the Senatsveerwaltung für Bildung, Jugend und Familie; Initiated interations in HDS, Teufelsberg, Expedition Metropolis, ACUD, Falscher Fischs27, ZKU, Europacity & S27 Actions with Feminista, MRL, RAZAM.

What do cemeteries and mobility have in common? Modern cemeteries serve as mirrors reflecting dynamic changes in urban planning, cultural practices, religion, and environment. In this walk&talk format, we explore the current transformation of cemeteries in Berlin and Oslo and discuss if cemeteries manage to reflect the shifts in how we want to remember and be remembered. WALK The interactive walk on the cemetery at Mehringdamm invites participants to discover and create rituals of remembrance, engaging with the evolving landscape of memory, loss, and commemoration. TALK During the talk, we exchange on how is mobility reflected in cemetery practices and rituals in Berlin and Oslo, presented by Pavel Grabalov, researcher on the topic of urban cemeteries, and Katya Romanova, author of the podcast berlin bones (https://www.instagram.com/berlin_bones/) Berlin: While belonging to the intangible cultural heritage, cemeteries in Berlin are undergoing big transformations: they become social gathering spaces, cultural venues, and even homes to cafes and beehives, as the traditional purpose of a burial place fades away. Is there a line between ethical and unacceptable when it comes to cemetery transformation?

Safety is an often debated and highly instrumentalised concepts by both grassroots communities and top-down political discourse. The practice of safe space by diverse communities are often misunderstood as a form of censorship, despite its nature of being micro-level liberation practices, and its intend of liberating marginalised communities from hierarchical and oppressive structures. On the other hand, political actors often instrumentalize concepts of safety to increase policing and surveillance in the city, which disproportionally impact marginalised communities in the city to fall as victims of to racial profiling, police brutality, and lack of privacy.

In the popular discourse around safety, "the sense of safety" and "safety" were often not clearly distinguished. Whose "sense of safety" are we prioritising over someone else's safety? Whose "sense of safety" were never discussed and cared for? How do we understand safety and sense of safety as a fluid concept, as subjective and personalised? In the practices of safe space, we also often focus on a space with clear boundary, a space that is within our rules and control. How can we craft sense of safety and actual safety for diverse communities beyond a defined space, but in the process of urban mobility and in the fluid and ever changing urban dynamic? These questions are the questions the workshop will try to explore together with the participants.

The idea of the workshop is motivated by the increasing police presence over the past months in Berlin and the impact it has on the residents and citizens of some districts in Berlin. This change urban dynamics heavily influenced the process of urban mobility and the sense of safety of many marginalised communities. Safety is often an excuse for increasing policing, and we are lacking the imaginaries and instruments in crafting safety beyond policing and surveillance, especially in the fluid mobility process and in urban space.

The goal of the workshop is to then encourage both critical reflection around the question of safe urbanity, as well as stimulating political imaginaries on how safe urbanity can be crafted for diverse community in urban mobility contexts.

I always win this game - it is a joyful space for sharing our creative forms of disobedience to control and suppression systems. We will celebrate our experiences of various unnoticed or ridiculous oppositions to such systems. The other side - stories about irrational non-resistance and obedience to the logic of order are also welcome at the party. We will perform all the stories in the form of a stand-up about our relationships with different systems: migration policy, gentrification, language barrier, self-identification, education, market, law enforcement system, systematic violence, etc., - which relates to (un)freedom of (im)mobility. The name of the section itself is quite paradoxical because we will share our stories in which, when considering suppression systems on a large scale, we probably lost because we didn't change the whole system, but we secretly won some space and time for ourselves and our friends at that time. So, in other words - I always win this game - because I am the only one who knows the rules of this game and even the only one who knows about its existence. And, obviously, it seems that you can't win all the time under any circumstances - it's kind of nonsense that helps us embrace our vulnerability and stop constantly craving to become winners.

A short game about pet's transportation, who's owners emigrate to another countries because of war. The pets tell the stories of their transportation by train, car and plane from their perspective. How was it like to fly by plane at the first time, when you are furry or have wings? How is it like when you smell your home no more and everything is so different now? Special thanks to: Oleg Khristoliubskiy as a helper and the people and their pets with their testimoies

Interactive installation "InnerVoice-dot-ru", based on testimonies of people, who stay in Russia, read by those, who left the country. For both parties of the process it is an attempt to build a performative "bridge" in communication to each other, and, in more socially-oriented sense – the way to do these "inner voices" visible outside the country, where they usually are illegal to be spoken outloud

Topics of the URBANCONFEST are connected to the uncertainty and insecurity we experience in the transforming world. We become amorphous and baseless without any understanding of the future. In this kind of situations it is natural for a human to rationalize their experience and look for simple logical answers to questions that can not be actually answered. Turning to academic knowledge becomes one of these simple but sometimes misleading ways to ground oneself. It can be misleading since we tend to use the same apparatus which is not necessarily applicable nowadays. In this sense, academic discussions merely become intellectual exercises. I am looking forward to use tarot as a medium of intellectual communication. Tarot is based on a completely different ontological and epistemological basis than academic knowledge; it is based on the subconscious and chaos. It can be fruitful for generating new insights, it can be provocative and creative in the situation, when the habitual academic modus operandi is useless.

Interactive installation "InnerVoice-dot-ru", based on testimonies of people, who stay in Russia, read by those, who left the country. For both parties of the process it is an attempt to build a performative "bridge" in communication to each other, and, in more socially-oriented sense – the way to do these "inner voices" visible outside the country, where they usually are illegal to be spoken outloud.

A short game about pet's transportation, who's owners emigrate to another countries because of war. The pets tell the stories of their transportation by train, car and plane from their perspective. How was it like to fly by plane at the first time, when you are furry or have wings? How is it like when you smell your home no more and everything is so different now? Special thanks to: Oleg Khristoliubskiy as a helper and the people and their pets with their testimoies

The Kiosk of Solidarity is an urban practice format that intervenes in these contested social fields of Berlin. 11 Berlin initiatives and projects that live/create solidarity practice will used the Kiosk from June to September 2023 at different locations in Berlin for a few days each. In a variety of formats, they brought together neighbors, fellow campaigners and other interested parties and temporarily bring their practice of solidarity into the public urban space. The Kiosk of Solidarity, which wanders through the city and changes over the various uses, became a collective and interventionist archive of solidarity practice in Berlin over the summer months. Results from the actions and events of the participating initiatives was collected and documented in the form of slogans, questions, posters and fanzines on the walls and roof of the kiosk. This collection will accompany the presence of the Kiosk at URBANCONFEST and will be commented in the presentation of the project by TU students and teachers – the project organisers and participants (https://transformingsolidarities.net/en/news/kiosk-of-solidarity/).

Whatever I am now: a street artist, an activist, a Russian citizen, first of all I am a Mother. Whatever I do, whatever events I experience, first and foremost I am food, home and transportation for my small children. I want to resist evil, but my children must be safe. That's why I do it like a mother: quietly and carefully. I'm thinking about going to a safe place. And while we haven't left anywhere, I myself am creating this safe place where we live. I'm scared, I don't see any future, but I don't want my children to be afraid – so I laugh and draw naked colorful people and hope with all my might for a miracle. My project is about how to be a mother during a disaster. When the homeland has failed, when the home is no longer there, the last peaceful refuge remains - maternal love and hugs.

Audio-installation based on excerpts from a short story by Angelina Davydova "Good night, Fuchs! Gespräche in regnerischen Sommer in Berlin, Juli 2023" / "Good night, Fox! Talks in rainy Summer in Berlin, July 2023". It is a kaleidoscope of conversations collected among immigrants' community in Berlin, where the topics of bureaucracy and death easily give way to the best grilled sausage recipes and wine preferences and vice versa. Please, prepare your headphones. You will see QR-codes all over the venue. You can listen to them in any sequence and any timing. At the venue or on your way back home. in cooperaition with Juliane Amberger and Timothy Nutter

During the workshop we will discuss and test the possibilities of board game design as a tool for urban research, social engagement, and artistic method. The participants of the workshop will learn from the history and geography of Berlin's public transport and try to develop the game about it. The prototype of this game titled "Deutschlandticket" has been presented at the exhibition titled "MOVE!" at a Transport Museum of Dresden (Verkehrsmuseum Dresden: https://www.verkehrsmuseum-dresden.de/de/termine/move-verkehr-macht-stadt)

Does a space for the prioritisation of biodiversity exist within the framework of contemporary decision-making processes? What (un)freedom of choices do consumers, producers, governments and especially youth exercise in regards to nature preservation? Who is profiting and who is left behind - let's explore the intricate web of the global value chain, interwoven with the forces of migration and the tapestry of biodiversity loss, in our journey towards defining sustainable urban futures.

The city is a space of interaction between different publics with different interests and needs. Confrontations between different actors are inevitable, but discussion and negotiation between different participants in urban life make urban life vibrant and interesting. We invite you to train your persuasion and negotiation skills! In a slam format, we propose to observe different clashes of urban interests and determine the most convincing position. Two slammers publicly conduct a dialogue on a topic in a battle format. They are given 10 minutes to present their argument. The audience expresses their opinion and votes for the slammer who was the most convincing. The slammer with the most votes from the audience wins. We have 3 pairs of slammers. 1. The first pair of slammers - Arkady Gershman and Egor Muleyev will argue on the topic "Danger or Mobility" - about scooters in the city. 2. The second pair of slammers - Ekaterina Kalinina and Zafar Saydaliev will argue on the topic "A Place for Youth - Planning or Self/Capture?" about whether we should create special places for youth or should we create the potential for them to capture their own spaces? 3. We propose a third topic - "Relocants in the city: opportunities or a burden." If you would like to argue publicly on this topic, or propose your own topic, please text to Natalia Pavlenko about your desire in telegram https://t.me/natalypavlenko - "I want to be a slammer"

Everyone who lives in Berlin knows: there is no housing to rent, and if you find one it takes more than 60% of your monthly income, as salaries in Berlin are among the lowest among all German regions, while unemployment – is one of the highest. There are no places in kitas and schools here, and if you find a place for your child – there will be always a shortage of staff in kita and lack of teachers in a school. You have to wait 5-6 months to get Termin to see a doctor. You will wait 6-8 month to get your Aufenthaltstitel even if you applied for 1 year. If you organize an event – like Urbanconfest, for example, in Berlin – there will be 5 other events at the same day, and you have to struggle for your audience – while, in case you organize this event in another city of Germany – this will be the event and all the audience is yours. Of the 49 cities included in the 2023 Expat cities ranking, the German capital made it in at a hot 45th.

We all know this, and yet – people still move to Berlin, including those who immigrated to Germany recently. Why? What makes it so attractive for new migrants? Is it just the image that turns out to be an illusion when one faces reality of this city, or there's something real staying behind the attractive image? What shall happen to make life in Berlin physically unbearable and what are the alternatives: what can make other regions / cities / towns of Berlin attractive for living? What opportunities do other regions/town offer to the new migrants and how can new migrants benefit form them and make their own input in their development?

It seems like only yesterday that the authorities of the German capital were investing in grassroots cultural initiatives, nightclubs, and bike paths. Today, the city's conservative mayor dreams of hosting the 2036 Olympics, building a new highway, and launching a maglev train. Has Berlin finally become a conventional city? Is it at risk of losing the qualities we loved? Does the city require conservative governance as a counterbalance, ensuring that the visions of its dreamers and idealists remain grounded? Join the hosts of the "Kanzler and Berghain" podcast as they delve into the future of Berlin and engage with questions from the audience.

With the support of the cultural foundation Quarteera e. V. and the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The session suggests the exploration of the complex dynamics between transportation, climate change, spatial justice, and the experiences of persons with different gender and sexual identities during the URBANCONFEST in Berlin in December 2023. The session comprises of a brief theoretical presentation and an interactive activity aimed at fostering understanding, empathy, and action while embracing decolonial and feminist approaches to shared experiences in the built environment. Our objectives include understanding the intricate relationship between feminist and queer mobilities, spatial justice, and resistance. The theoretical presentation defines feminist and queer mobilities and explores their social and psychological dimensions. It delves into spatial justice and real-life examples of intersectionality, rooted in queer theory and feminist epistemology.