“One thing that the Fellowship gave me is the confidence of stepping into a new group with trust, knowing that beautiful thoughts and friendships will come out of it and that you form the best thoughts together with other people.”
Zaza van de Koppel, 2022 European Fellowship in Berlin and Amsterdam
The Berlin Fellowship
Overview
The Humanity in Action journey begins with a rich summer experience of inquiry, debate, and community building rooted in trust and empathy.
- Bosnia & Herzegovina
- Denmark
- Germany
- The Netherlands
- Poland
- USA
- Greece
- ______
- Applications are now closed for 2024 Fellowships. Sign up to be notified when applications open for 2025:
June 3 – 21, 2024 | In-Person Fellowship*
In 2024, our Berlin Fellowship will focus on Populism, Nationalism, and the New Right in Germany’s historical context, while exploring possibilities for resistance and solidarity.
In 2023, the far-right party AfD is claiming unprecedented electoral success, solidifying its position as a major political force. Our society has witnessed an unsettling rise of anti-immigrant rhetoric infiltrating daily life, and anti-Black racism in Germany has significantly increased in the last 5 years. Against this backdrop, the democratic duty to protect minoritized life and combat Antisemitism, racism, Islamophobia and all forms of discrimination within our societies gains even more urgency.
The Berlin Fellowship program will explore the historical roots of right wing nationalist sentiments, the challenges they present to our democracies today, as well as the possibilities for collective action and intersectional solidarity in its wake. The echoes of the German Remembrance slogan, “Never again,” resonate with a renewed significance, urging us to grapple with the pressing question: Has the nationalism of the past truly been reckoned with?
How is the way we remember the past connected with the many challenges our increasingly diverse democratic societies are facing, like Antisemitism, racism, hostility towards Muslims, trans- and homophobia, misogyny and other forms of discrimination? And what can we do to counter group-focused hostility and to foster empathy, dialogue, and social justice?
As a focal point of German colonialism, the Weimar Republic, National Socialism, and the Cold War, Berlin carries enormous historical significance. It also continues to be a pivotal point for contemporary social justice struggles. The German capital hence offers a unique landscape to bridge past and present and to learn for the future.
What to expect?
Around 20 Fellows from different countries will gather in Berlin for an intensive three-week educational program. Past Fellows have described it as a challenging and rewarding journey of personal and collective growth, meaningful connections, and collaboration across difference.
The daily program holds space for guest lectures and workshops, site visits to memorials and museums, group discussions, reflections, and community building – as well as what each individual Fellow brings. You will get the opportunity to learn from eyewitnesses, alumni, activists, political decision-makers, scholars,and your peers in order to develop your own Action Project. The three-week program is a full-time commitment with breaks on the weekends.
After the in-person program, you will be assisted by Humanity in Action’s staff and quarterly online community gatherings to help you finalize your Action Project and give back to your community.
The Structure
- The International Program | June 3 and 4, 2024 (virtual)
We will virtually join the entire international 2024 Human in Action cohort of about 100 Fellows to get to know Humanity in Action and your whole cohort. - Travel to Berlin | June 5, 2024
- The Berlin Fellowship | June 6 – 21, 2024 (in-person in Berlin, Germany)
About 20 Fellows will gather in Berlin for a daily full-time program, to learn from local experts, community members, and each other. Weekends are free. - Action Projects and Community Support Hubs | September 2024 – May 2025 (virtual)
From September 2024 to May 2025, Fellows work on their independent Action Project. They meet virtually for the Community Support Hubs, an online program designed assist Fellows implement their projects and to keep in touch with the community.
Recent Fellowship Speakers
Every day, Berlin Fellows meet and discuss with established activists, artists, community members, and policymakers with diverse perspectives on social justice and human rights.
Inside the Fellowship via Facebook Livestream
After the month in Berlin, Fellows run impactful Action Projects in their own communities.
For 11 months following their time in Berlin, Fellows work on their Action Project: an independent social justice venture in their own communities. Action Projects are as diverse as Humanity in Action Fellows. Fellows apply their new knowledge and perspectives to the communities they impact—in whatever format they find meaningful. Past Action Projects have been documentaries, arts festivals, and new organizations that serve a public good. Planning for the Action Project begins in Berlin.
Our Supporters for the Berlin Fellowship 2023
We thank the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Stiftung for their generous support.
Our Fellowship Supporters in the past included
We thank our supporters and partners, hosts, Senior Fellows and friends of Humanity in Action. Your contributions helped to prepare outstanding students for a lifelong commitment to civic responsibility and social justice.
Become a Fellow
Every year, new Humanity in Action Fellows come together in five cities across Europe and the United States to study how and why people confront intolerance and protect democratic values.