With a city-wide campaign, districts, religious communities and civil society actors want to strengthen the solidarity of the people of Hamburg. Under the motto “Diversity makes us stronger”, we want to use numerous events and in different formats to make it clear that the coexistence of different nations and cultures is enriching and to make a clear commitment to diversity, said State Councilor for Equal Opportunities Eva Gümbel and Altona’s district office manager Stefanie von Berg ( both Greens) on Tuesday at the presentation of the campaign in the town hall.
Both emphasized that this was a social and not a party-political initiative. To mark the opening event of the campaign, which was designed as a participatory activity, there will be a big singing event in all seven districts on April 6th in order to raise our voices for a diverse life in Hamburg.
Hamburg’s urban society has always been open and has overcome the challenges of the crises in recent years “with impressive strength,” said Gümbel. “At the same time, we are also experiencing how these pressures are changing our social interactions: the bonding forces are decreasing, the polarization in many questions and attitudes is increasing.”
The demonstrations of hundreds of thousands of people who have taken to the streets in recent weeks against right-wing extremism, anti-Semitism and every form of group-related misanthropy have been encouraging. “Courage that the vast majority stands up and advocates for social cohesion and appreciative coexistence and wants to live in an open, future-oriented, free, democratic state,” said Gümbel.
The campaign is intended to make all Hamburg residents aware of the opportunities and benefits of diversity and to show which actors and where in the city are already committed to this, said von Berg. For example, with diversity weeks, district festivals and cultural festivals, there are already more than 90 projects and formats and community centers, clubs or religious institutions, well over 100 places that deal with the topic of diversity.
“Through new impressions and experiences, through contact with people of other religions, nations and cultures, we expand our own horizons,” said von Berg. Altona has long been a place of diversity, commitment and perspectives for many different people. “To this day, the city coat of arms with the open gate symbolizes our cosmopolitanism.”
Campaign “Diversity makes us stronger”
