»I would prefer not to«: Courage & Disobedience

On Courage & Hope
With Eva Stollreiter
Kaminzimmer

The Junges Literaturhaus Berlin is the base for the successful educational programme ‘Gedankenflieger’, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this autumn! Drawing on picture book stories and supported by a magazine designed specifically for ‘Gedankenflieger’, the programme encourages age-appropriate philosophical reflection. In between, there are opportunities for craft, painting and writing. The workshops encourage children to develop, express and discuss their own thoughts without judgement, and this time the focus is on courage and hope! (For Years 1–4)

With Amani Padda
Exclusively for school classes, recommended from Year 8 onwards
Registration: ericke@literaturhaus-berlin.de

Piesnitz, Saxony, is a place where standing out makes you a target. Dilly and Heer are both seventeen and the children of rival Indian immigrant families; their parents run the only Indian takeaways and live directly across the street from one another in Wittstock-Ost – a district of Piesnitz – yet the two have never exchanged a word. However, plans to build a large shopping mall suddenly find Dilly and Heer on the same side. Together with many other activists from the group »Peacenitz«, they pull out all the stops to block the construction project, strengthen the community, and champion a diverse, open-minded Piesnitz. Amidst right-wing violence, everyday racism, and family conflicts, they discover what solidarity and standing firm really mean — and that »home« is more than just a place defined for you by others.

Young author Amani Padda has roots stretching from Scotland and Germany to India; she grew up in Saxony and studied law in Leipzig, specializing in human rights. She has been politically active since her school days, volunteering for projects that promote diversity and youth participation. Her second novel for young adults is a moving, multi-layered coming-of-age story about migration and racism, about friendship, queer identity, and the courage to be visible and true to oneself. We talk to her about her book, the question of whether daily life in rural areas requires more courage, and why the dilemma of »leaving or staying« remains so central.

Amani Padda, »Bevor der Himmel reißt«, Arctis Verlag 2026

With the Radikalen Töchtern
registration: info@literaturhaus-berlin.de
limited to 25 participants

The world needs new, radical ideas and measures if it is to solve its challenges and problems. Above all, however, it needs one thing: more courage! That is why, in our workshops, we work together to strengthen our ‘courage muscle’. We teach approaches to action art and artistic activism. We talk about actions, our methods of performance art, and our visions; we form groups and inspire participants to take action themselves. Using our performance art methods, participants then immerse themselves in a creative process. They learn how to transform their own political anger into courage and performance art as a form of emotional competence. A political, creative and energising workshop designed to inspire participants to develop their own stance.

On Writing Under Autocracy and in Exile
With Irina Scherbakova, Marko Vidojković, Stella Gaitano and Can Dündar.
Moderated by Paul-Henri Campbell. Interpreted from English by Lilian Astrid Geese and Patricia Izomoh
In English with simultaneous German interpretation

In free societies, artists, writers and journalists, along with their work, enjoy the protection afforded by freedom of expression, artistic freedom and freedom of the press. But what if this protection is called into question – or never existed in the first place? What does it mean to have to write in the face of a regime’s resistance – aesthetically, politically and personally? Four authors from Russia, Serbia, Turkey and Sudan recount their experiences and offer insights into what it means to research, write and publish under the pressure of oppression.

Panel debate & audience discussion with Daniel-Dylan Böhmer and Frauke Rostalski & the audience.
Moderated by Thea Dorn

In democracies, the people are sovereign – this, or something similar, is stated in all constitutions and other declarations of democratic principles. However, a problem arises when the sovereign elects political parties that flout the supreme principle of liberal democracy – namely, that human dignity is equally inherent in all people. What should be done if there is reason to fear that these parties will, moreover, attack fundamental democratic principles such as the separation of powers as soon as they have the opportunity to do so? Must liberal democracy then not be defended against the will of the electorate – for instance, by banning extremist parties? But how democratic can a democracy be if the final say no longer lies with the electorate, but with an institution such as the Federal Constitutional Court?

An evening in collaboration with PEN Berlin

With Schilf and Valentin Rohrer & Marek Gabler

Just picture a school band, not quite professional, maybe a little wound up at times, but always devoted to the song.

»Schilf« is a new band project by Sören Neun that picks up and spins forward various currents of German-language music. Echoes of the Hamburger Schule and singer-songwriter tradition are welcome here, as are traces of experimental projects like »Brannten Schnüre« and »Einstürzende Neubauten«, though Schilf doesn’t see itself as a nostalgia act! It moves forward. The lyrics often seem vague and allusive at first, but then turn out to be something solid after all, they usually build the picture slowly, and never quite finish it. Clattering percussion from Gustav Kemps, Steve Reich-like piano playing from Lilian Bennett-Schaar, and freak-folk guitar from Valentin Rohrer cook up a new soup, rather than simply reheating the old one.