Open Campus Against Closed Borders
Open Campus Against Closed Borders sought to welcome to BCB campus refugees, migrants, and asylum-seekers interested in the resources and community that a university has to offer, but without the status and means to enroll in one.
The project hosted bi-monthly salons on campus in which students and refugee participants could gather to partake in sessions of discussion on topics that they found relevant. The salon planned to be concerned with translating the political and philosophical studies we do in liberal arts into conversation and action that is accessible, relevant, and co-constituted by and for our participants; together we hoped to share what is at stake in the things we study abstractly, and respond by developing concrete projects that would reach beyond the boundaries of the classroom. Another goal of the salon discussions was also to practice English and we provided individual tutor sessions for English and German language practice.
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Student Coordinators
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Student coordinator: Isabella LeeUSA, BA in Humanities, the Arts, and Social Thought
Born and raised in Las Vegas, I left high school early to attend Bard College at Simon’s Rock. There, through two years of studying politics with a focus on feminist and decolonial theory, I realized the imperative that the privilege of my education be mobilized and redirected toward political activism.
Working with the refugee community in Berlin has been a formative aspect of my time in Europe, and at Bard College Berlin I hoped to share the education in politics and ethics we receive with members of that community, for whom what we study in the classroom can have immediate and material importance. -
Student coordinator: Marta VukovićSerbia, BA in Economics, Politics, and Social Thought
Coming from Belgrade, Serbia, I am studying Economics, Politics, and Social Thought at Bard College Berlin. During my time in high school I was involved in several initiatives such as a project on bribery and corruption, an initiative on inclusive education in Serbia that was presented at a Council of Europe conference, or a UNICEF project focusing on reducing childhood poverty in the Balkans that particularly sparked my interest in social justice. I was interested in doing this project in particular because it focuses on providing equal opportunities for conversation and access to education. In Serbia I had the experience of becoming friends with children of migrants and realizing that we all share the same values. This realization is something I hoped to share with others through this project.
The Pankow Theater Company
The Pankow Theater Company ran from 2015-2016 and provided weekly theater workshops in English for German high school students in the local community of Pankow. The theater workshops took place in collaboration with the Pankow Youth Club JUP. The aim of the sessions was to create a comfortable environment for the students to practice their English through theater. Theater is an effective means to not only explore a language but also to build an identity and gain self-confidence. The project concluded with a final presentation in which the project participants presented for parents, relatives and students. Each session was co-lead by volunteers from BCB providing an opportunity for BCB students to get involved with an independent student-run project and with the Pankow community.
Student Coordinator
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Clara Canales GutierrezI have been involved in theatre throughout my teenage years, participating in several productions and helping direct smaller productions at my previous schools… Theatre was very important to me growing up, as an emotional outlet and in helping build my self-confidence... I would like to offer this possibility to others. At the same time, I believe it is a great way for BCB to become involved in the Pankow community, utilizing the artistic and diverse nature of our student body.
Tell Your (Hi)Story
Tell Your (Hi)Story is a project that ran from 2016 to 2017 with the aim of strengthening the understanding of other people’s cultures and views. It saw that our knowledge and understanding about political or historic events of other parts of the world often depend on our own social, political, and geographical background. As part of an international community at Bard College Berlin and the multicultural city of Berlin, the project provided a platform and a safe space for the campus and the college’s surrounding community to share aspects of their cultures, to represent their heritage, or to tackle controversies about their history or politics that they felt had been misrepresented or not addressed. Through the medium of storytelling and discussion, “Tell your (Hi)Story” strove to help recognize the diversity of the student body on a level deeper than simply knowing the number of countries they came from.
Student Coordinator:
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Irina BunčićOver the course of last three years I have learned how to go beyond the obvious and inspect things from many different angles. The interdisciplinary approach has taught me how to connect different ideas and reach (not always expected) great conclusions. However, I believe I have learned equally important lessons through my interactions with other students - realizing how many different people, stories, cultures exist in the world, and how there is an entire universe of things I was not aware of. This is precisely why this project came into existence - from a strong determination to expand my knowledge and understanding of the world around me in its entirety.
Bard Berlin Goes Green!
Bard Berlin Goes GREEN! was an initiative established in the academic year 2015-2016 to make us all aware of what can be done to live in a more environmentally sustainable way and to encourage the BCB community to change small habits to become more eco-friendly. We all come from different countries and cultures and it is natural for us all to have different levels of environmental education. Now that we all belong to the same community of Berlin and Bard College Berlin, it is time to get on the same page. When referring to the environment, we sometimes relate to the issue of recycling only but there is so much more we can do! Turning the lights off when you go out of your dorm, unplugging a device that permanently consumes energy, or using the other side of your printed page – these are only some examples. Changing small things not only makes the campus more environmentally friendly, it also allows us to live in a cleaner and more organized space.
Student Coordinator:
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Paula PintoBorn and raised in the capital of the beautiful country of Ecuador, I lead my life with the philosophy of a nomad. I am a believer of learning through traveling -- by observing, listening and getting to know new cultures, people and places. This philosophy led me to jump the puddle and I found myself in Europe. I had the opportunity of being an Exchange Student in Belgium and after a short trip to Berlin, I decided I wanted to live there. A few months later, here I am, happily installed and looking forward to what is yet to come.
