Resilience Lab
for queer migrant activists, artists and community organisers in Berlin
Resilience Lab is a one-day participatory workshop, which explores how resilience can be built and sustained through the body, using trauma-informed movement, reflection and breathing practices to strengthen awareness and mutual support.
Schedule/
Registration
Together, participants will look at how experiences of oppression, belonging and care are carried and expressed physically — and how body-based practices can contribute to social change and collective wellbeing. Each participant will also receive a printed mini-zine featuring four key tools from the Lab: Centering, Body Poem, Relationship Repair and Embodied Breath Awareness.
Dates
29 November 2025
11:00–17:00 CET
OFFLINE
Resilience Lab
for queer migrant activists,
artists and community organisers
Programme
Morning – Grounding & Connection
Somatic Practices for Social Justice: Centering & Safety
Arrival through body awareness, grounding and simple regulation tools. Establish shared agreements of consent and collective care.
Body Poem
Guided somatic exploration and witnessing in pairs, culminating in short embodied “poems” expressed through movement or words.
Relationship Repair Practice
Working in pairs and small groups, participants explore boundaries, trust, rupture and repair through somatic dialogue and presence practices.
Afternoon – Breath, Integration & Collective Harvest
Embodied Breath & Awareness
A conscious connected breath session inviting emotional release, embodied insight and self-regulation through gentle rhythm and allowing.
Collective Reflection & Resource Sharing
Dialogue and mapping of key practices for resilience in activism and daily life.
Closing Circle
Movement and gratitude ritual. Participants receive a printed micro-zine summarising the four somatic tools experienced during the day.
Take-aways:
Four repeatable somatic tools for resilience and co-regulation
Strengthened cross-community connections
Printed mini-zine featuring four key tools from the Lab: Centering, Body Poem, Relationship Repair and Embodied Breath Awareness
Other events
For many human rights defenders (HRDs) and human rights organisations threatened by war and persecution, Germany, and Berlin in particular, has long been a safe haven where they can continue their work and regain their strength. The city’s history offers hope and inspiration, and its many diaspora communities can provide a sense of home.
Today, however, that promise is under strain. As the political debate increasingly focuses on restricting migration, it is becoming harder for human rights defenders to come to Berlin and build a life here. Humanitarian concerns have moved down the federal government’s agenda, with significant cuts to humanitarian aid and reduced admission programmes for people at risk. Bureaucratic hurdles remain high, and even those granted asylum often see no long-term prospect of continuing their human rights work.
As part of our Berlin Hub for Human Rights Defenders programme, join us to discuss the following questions with both parliamentarians and civil society: How can civil society help HRDs in exile find safety and stability in Berlin, especially at a time when political support is shrinking? And how does our society benefit when we listen to them and support their integration?
Jian Omar, Member of the Berlin House of Representatives for the Green Party, will be joining us for the discussion with human rights defenders in exile. The event has been supported by Brot für die Welt. Make sure to register.
