Friday, 31 July 2026
Kiel Democracy Festival

At the first Kiel Democracy Festival at the boat harbour, we’d like to invite you to take part in a wide range of hands-on activities:

• Drawing with Habib: Here you can learn to draw and create simple pencil portraits.
• Learn German with Lutz: Lutz is offering open German lessons in the open air.
• ‘Back to the Books’ project: Children can take turns reading aloud to one another and draw pictures based on the stories they’ve heard.
• Face painting with Aziza: Aziza will be creating colourful, creative faces with her face-painting session.
• ‘Remask’ project (ZEIK Green Creative Workshop): Here you can make masks out of papier-mâché or paper.
• Button-making machine: You can make your own lovely button using our button-making machine.
• Crochet group: There’s also a crochet group where you can crochet and have a natter together.

We’re showing you the film “I’m Here – Everyday Life of Children in a Refugee Accommodation Centre”, produced by the State Commissioner for Immigration.

In this film, three child reporters from Kiel visit three siblings who live in a shared accommodation centre. They learn a great deal about the everyday lives of the three children, who are growing up in the same city under conditions that are sometimes similar, but often very different.

Afterwards, children can write their own messages or draw pictures – as a gesture of solidarity with children living in accommodation centres.

There will also be activities organised by “Don’t forget Afghanistan” and “Women Move”.

Here you can:

• Discover books: Exciting stories about your rights and living together. You can browse through our books at your leisure in our chill-out corner.
• Read aloud together: We read together and talk about what we’ve read.
• Do some crafts: We’ll make cool bookmarks.
• Wishing tree: Draw or write down your wishes for children and hang them on our wishing tree.

Anyone interested can also browse our current selection of materials and literature on political education. Come and be inspired!

We provide information about our alliance. Among other things, we champion democracy, human rights and children’s rights.

Children’s rights also include the rights of children who have fled war, terror, persecution and hunger, and some of whom are now at risk of deportation or exclusion here.

At the Democracy Festival at the boat harbour, we look forward to playing old-fashioned games – ‘grandma’s games’ – with all the children, doing crafts, painting, reading aloud and getting to know one another.

We are organising a hands-on activity called “Mee(h)r Kinderrechte!” – through which children and families can send a clear message in support of children’s rights. Using blue paint, a long strip of white fabric is transformed into a vast “sea of children’s rights”, created collaboratively by nursery children.

Handmade paper boats carry the wishes, thoughts and messages of the children and their families, highlighting what young people need to grow up in a good and fair environment. Parents are also invited to write down their concerns and hopes on message cards.

In this way, many small contributions come together to form a collective work of art that puts the voices of children and families centre stage and powerfully highlights the importance of children’s rights.

We are showcasing the German-Ukrainian Regional Association of Schleswig-Holstein e. V. and the work of our members through information materials.

In addition, our teenagers and young adults are planning a workshop on the topic of Ukraine for children. This will involve doing some crafts together. There may also be a spontaneous short theatre performance.

Democracy needs civic engagement! How can we help shape our society? Civic engagement offers many opportunities to get involved and make a difference. Whether it’s helping out in the neighbourhood, getting involved in clubs and societies, or putting your own ideas and initiatives into practice – everyone can contribute to the common good in different ways. We’d like to discuss this with you.

We’ll also be bringing along the Mitwirk-O-Mat – a digital matching tool that helps you discover suitable volunteering and community engagement opportunities in Kiel. You’ll be able to try out the Mitwirk-O-Mat for yourself at the event.

A collaboration with the Science and Democracy Foundation (SWUD)

Democracy is more than just a political system – it is part of everyday life. This workshop invites participants to discover and capture this everyday reality through the lens of a camera. The focus is on seeking out moments and places where democratic values such as participation, diversity, freedom and solidarity become visible.

The photographic walk through Kiel combines history, politics and personal perspectives. Key sites of democracy will be explored and captured on camera, with a focus on how democratic values are reflected in the cityscape.

The photography workshop is led by Betti Bogya, a graphic designer and lecturer from Kiel.

Starts at 2.30 pm – meeting point: the Pagoda of the Partnership for Democracy Kiel at the boat harbour. From 3 pm, the event continues in the seminar room of the Foundation for Science and Democracy (SWUD), Am Wall 40

Ends at around 8.00 pm. Please bring your own camera!

Please register by emailing Annette Wiese-Krukowska at awk (at) zbbs-sh.de with your contact details