Radical Empathy

Gast in diesem Monat: Madi Awadalla — writer, educator at the intersection of sexual health

Hot and Honest Conversations about HIV

Have you ever had an HIV-related conflict—whether you’re living with HIV, dating someone who is, supporting a partner or friend, or navigating the fears, assumptions, and silences that still surround it? What happens when HIV becomes part of sex, dating, or intimacy—especially when people don’t share the same status—and disclosure comes with the risk of stigma, rejection, or discrimination?
In this session, Madi Awadalla invites participants to explore the lived realities of HIV with a focus on conflict, misunderstanding, disclosure, and trust. Together, we’ll reflect on how these situations are navigated—and practice building more honest, grounded ways of communicating.

About Radical Empathy

Radical Empathy – Tools for Togetherness builds on Radical Empathy – Queer Storytelling for Connection (2025) and further develops the format: from collective storytelling to 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.

Madi Awadalla is a writer, educator, and transdisciplinary artist whose work explores the intersections of sexual health, radical care, and embodied knowledge. Grounded in community practice in Egypt and Germany, their work centres those excluded from dominant narratives. Awadalla is the founder of Decolonising Sexual Health, a workshop series that invites reflection on power, pleasure, and healing beyond institutional frameworks. Their practice spans film, performance, and critical writing, and has been featured in festivals, exhibitions, and activist spaces across Europe and beyond.

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.

Hinweise

Audience: This event is for people living with HIV, as well as their friends, partners, and allies.
Language: This event is either in english or a mix between english and german.
Cost: Free with registration