conflict & resilience

Queer Perspectives on Conflict, Resilience, and Connection

Conflicts are part of our lives – within ourselves, in relationships, at work, and in our communities. All too often, they are seen as failure or rupture. But we ask: How can we live conflicts differently? How can tensions be transformed into creativity, connection, and solidarity? With the project “Conflicts as a Starting Point – Resilience as a Collective Experience” we aim to create spaces where conflicts are not avoided, but instead reimagined together. At the center are three interconnected sub-projects:

*Radical Empathy – Queer Storytelling for Connection

Five-part workshop series with Neo Seefried & guests

In a closed group of up to 30 queer participants, we will explore how storytelling can transform conflicts – both personally and collectively. We will create a safe space where queer voices meet, differences remain visible, and new forms of connection can emerge.

📅 Dates: 21.09.25 – 19.10.25 – 30.11.25 – 23.01.26 – 13.02.26
📍 Village Berlin

What we explore:

How can we live conflicts differently?
What does queer experience teach us about the art of arguing and the joy of irritation?
How can radical empathy help us endure contradictions and turn them into something productive?

Practices:

Storytelling in a fishbowl format
Embodied listening – perceiving differences through the body
Mindfulness and circle practices
Visioning: queer futures beyond consensus, yet grounded in vulnerability and care

Our Guest Facilitators:

Sunday, 21. September 2025: Mark Pertuis – Queer Mama e.V.
Sunday, 19. October 2025: Mati Klitgård – Gay Consent Lab
Sunday, 30. November 2025: Pansy – Let’s talk about sex and drugs (tbc)
Friday, 23. January 2026: Merten Legatz – Lecturer at TU, specialized in Queer Worldmaking
Friday, 13. February 2026: Olympia Bukkakis – Drag-Performer*in und Aktivist*in

Participation is only possible with prior registration – spots are limited. If you miss a session, you’re still very welcome to join the following ones.

*Online Story Archive

Not in Berlin? Your story still matters.

To allow people outside of Berlin to take part in the project, a digital story archive is being created. Through the online form, queer individuals can submit their personal stories – anonymously or with their name. This collection will become a living archive of queer memory, resilience, and contradictions. It demonstrates the diversity of conflict experiences and invites us to understand them not as rupture, but as a source of strength and community.

Here you can share your story:

*Working Group: Conflicts as Opportunity

Three sessions for professional exchange on the topic of conflicts as opportunity

📅 Dates: 20. October | 10. November | 1. December

In dieser Arbeitsgruppe bringen wir Engagierte aus unterschiedlichen Organisationen und Communities zusammen. Moderiert von Rashin Rejaei Mardakhi (Mediatorin, Coach, Supervisorin) und Jan Großer (Psychiater & Psychotherapeut) befassen sich die Teilnehmenden mit Strategien, wie Konflikte konstruktiv genutzt werden können – als Motor für Empowerment, Resilienz und kollektives Handeln. Die Arbeitsgruppe richtet sich an Personen, die ihre Organisation oder Initiative vertreten und an allen drei Terminen teilnehmen können. Die Teilnahme ist kostenlos, die Plätze sind begrenzt.

Thematische Schwerpunkte:

Session 1: Monday, October 20, 1:30–5:30 PM
Focus: Orientation and Strategies for Handling Conflicts

Session 2: Monday, November 10, 1:30–5:30 PM
Focus: Individual and Collective Conflict Resolution Strategies

Session 3: Monday, December 1, 1:30–5:30 PM
Focus: Reframing Conflicts to Make Them Productive

Please register until 30. September via email: info@wearevillage.org

For questions, comments, or feedback regarding the working group, you can use this contact form:

*Final Event

At the conclusion of the project, the results will be presented on December 6, 2025 in a public live event at Village Berlin – a space for meeting, exchange, and celebrating queer conflict cultures.

Concept by Kai Ehrhardt & Neo Seefried

Hosted by we are village | queer matters gGmbH

Supported by the Senate Department for the Interior and Sport – Berlin State Commission against Violence