Radical Empathy

What happens when substance use becomes part of sex, intimacy, or community? How can we reduce risks without shame—and make informed choices for ourselves and others?

About Radical Empathy

Radical Empathy – Tools for Togetherness moves from collective storytelling toward collective practice. The workshop series strengthens queer solidarity in all its diversity and asks: How can we stay connected, especially when things get tough?

Hosted by Neo Seefried, the series combines collective storytelling with somatic, communicative, and creative tools to remain capable of acting in queer contexts when faced with conflicts, emotions, and differences—without avoiding or escalating them, but rather with greater clarity, care, and relational competence.

Each session has its own thematic focus (including grief & death, relationships, migration, HIV/AIDS, club culture & substances, trans/inter/non-binary) and is complemented by a guest who explores the respective topic in depth. At the center is the Resonance Circle: a space for shared stories, mindful listening, and resonance—empathy as a practice that we train together and carry into our daily lives.

neo seefried (*1995) is a freelance cultural mediator, curator, artist and author with a focus on queer realities, club culture and social participation. Living and working in Berlin, neo combines educational formats such as workshops, podcasts and exhibitions with an activist, intersectional practice. Neo studied Art Education (University of Leipzig) and Curatorial Studies (ZHdK) and has worked for the Schwules Museum, Schloss Biesdorf, Kunstmuseum Basel, Universität der Künste Berlin, TU Berlin, HFBK Hamburg, Haus für Poesie Berlin, Tanzquartier Wien and independent art spaces such as Parat, Clubbüro, Baby Angel and Last Tango in Zurich.

Basti Vellguth (he/him) is a community outreach worker at sidekicks.berlin and studied education at the University of Koblenz. Originally from Cologne, Basti has been living in Berlin for nearly 9 years. During this time, he has worked in various roles in the social sector. He then went on to specialize in harm reduction and risk management related to substance use and sex. He also leads workshops and training sessions on the topic of chemsex. It is important to him to recognize the needs of the queer community and to tailor his work accordingly….

Sarah Courville (she/none) is a community outreach worker at sidekicks.berlin and has a professional and academic background in social work, human rights, and public health. Sarah is originally from South Carolina in the U.S. She worked for a long time at a needle exchange program on the Lower East Side of NYC, where she researched the differences between needle exchange programs in NYC and Berlin. After completing her public health studies, Sarah moved to Berlin to pursue a master’s degree in social work and human rights at Alice Salomon University, where she focused on queer harm reduction. Sarah’s areas of focus include disability rights and public health communication….

With the support of the Senate Department for the Interior and Sport – Berlin State Commission against Violence, we have developed the program “Conflicts as a Starting Point – Resilience as a Community Experience.” The project opens respectful, dialogical spaces for queer people in Berlin. It makes differences visible, invites individuals to endure them, and creates opportunities to address them productively and creatively. The aim is to overcome social fragmentation within queer communities and to strengthen new forms of exchange, cohesion, and mutual participation.

General information
This event will NOT take place at we are village, but at the AWO Community Center, located Adalbertstraße 23A, 10997 Berlin, as part of Queer Action Week 2026.
Language: This event is either in english or a mix between english and german.
Cost: Free with registration.