CITYMAKERS

Decolonising our minds. Uncovering traces of German colonialism in China in today’s Berlin. An inquiry of different locations on Kiautschou street and Pekinger Platz. A film by Kollektiv Raumstation.

Das “Chinesenviertel” – Hamburgs forgotten Chinatown. Adopting the role of the archivist, the filmmakers combing through Hamburg’s urban fabric for traces of the hidden history of Hamburgs displaced Chinese community. A film by Lina Martin-Chan and Jöran Mandik.

This video-walk focuses on the theme of walls and hutong communities from the Forbidden City to Beijing’s Qianmen (前门) during the summer of 2020 when the corona epidemic has not yet ended. A film by Li Xin.

Investigation of the topic of “boundary” in the city, corona time. A film by Wang Keyao and Fang Kong.

Walking through Stuttgart on the “Stäffele” and along the vineyards. A film by Eve Nagel and Oliver Radtke.

How does the culture of walking is influencing urban planning in Netherlands and Asia and urban design ‘adaptation’? A film by Prisca Arosia.

Shanghai and Berlin have change a lot in the last three decades due to gentrification but even more with speculation. How do cities transform over time in Shanghai and Berlin? What does that look like very practically? Who drives the urban transformation? A film by Fanny Hoffmann-Loss, Annette Erpenstein, Mickey Xu.

Stefanie Schweiger and Angela Köckritz trace the history of Chinese living in Berlin. From the first Chinese arriving in 1822 to be displayed as an exotic curiosity. Up to the very diverse Chinese community residing in Berlin at present. A film by Stefanie Schweiger and Angela Köckritz.

A river makes a city alive and brings culture — so is Yangtze river to Wuhan and Spree to Berlin. A film by Tian Gao and De Santis.

How do urban spaces like Tang Ba Jie influence single children in China? A film by Kam, Jaap and Kun.

How do people renovate industrial heritage with creativity, art and culture in the city in order to give them a new function? How to make them a part of the city’s creative economy and let the city be sustainable and livable? A film by Jing SU.

A cinematic learning journey through the city of Berlin, investigating places and people active in the field of ‚Learning Cities‘. A film by Kika Yang and Randolfe Camarotto.

Is there a wisdom about how a people or a society can find happiness? What is needed in order to lead a fortunate and contended life? A film by Susanne Elgeti and Annette Mehlhorn.

When we think of France, images of Paris come to our mind: the Eiffel tower, the Champs Elysées, walking carefree, basking in on the culture and the atmosphere. How does this image hold up for international students in the middle of a global pandemic? How does it hold up for other French cities? A film by Edna Peza.

Twin towns Duisburg and Wuhan: Commonalities of different cities? Similar cities with differences? Exploring traces of history and the connections to China in the former steel city. A film by Sonja Broy and Silvan Hagenbrock.

5 years of project funding by CITYMAKERS co-initiator, the Robert Bosch Foundation, are coming to an end this autumn.  Better than ‘singing the blues’ we decided to happily celebrated a rich ‘harvest’ of results, true to the motto of ‘Keep Talking, Keep Walking, Keep Thinking.’ –  Watch the 5-Year-Special-Video, get the CITYMAKERS Global Village Postcard, read the special interview-series, and have a look of how lucky we were to celebrate life in Berlin.

The CITYMAKERS China-Europe program – as of Sept 2020 – has evolved from a project consisting of two initiating partners to a network constellation of diverse actors on various levels with several sub-projects. Be inspired by the long list knowledgeable, prestigious, creative, dedicated, committed, wise, diverse, trusting, kind and unique partners we had the pleasure to work with!

Meet Katja, the “mastermind” behind the CITYMAKERS network, who loves designing models of creative interaction that have both thematic depth and a human touch.

Social Entrepreneurship meets City-Making: How to move from idea to reality? From project to long-term sustainable business models?  Key questions for those who want to really MAKE a difference and create impact. One line of activities within the CITYMAKERS Program was built around  social entrepreneurship capacity building. Read here about our learning journey in this field, and on the 4 project cases  by peers from the CITYMAKERS community.

Meet Yimeng Wu, communication designer and founder of Studio Wu 無, who is the artistic soul behind CITYMAKERS’ visual identity. Yimeng Wu likes to discover the different historical and social layers of a city through artistic discovery. She strongly believes in the importance of making our cities more green and more resilient with regard to climate change.