Berlin (as well as Soldiner Kiez) has a lot of old industrial buildings.

This is an artist's installation near the river Panke

Assibi Wartenberg from Togo is running an african restaurant in Soldiner Kiez

English Summary of www.MadeBySoldinerKiez.de

www.MadeBySoldinerKiez.de presents small companies and freelancers in Soldiner Kiez (1). Soldiner Kiez is an area with special need for development in central Berlin with a high rate of unemployment. People from over 60 nations are living here. A majority among the migrants have Turkish nationality or Turkish roots. Despite public image the area in fact has positive qualities: Cheap rent in solid old buildings, a surprising amount of greens, playgrounds, parks and even a small river (Panke) is running right through Soldiner Kiez.

We do have a lot of potential for the development of local multiethnic economy and we are busily working on it. Since January 2006 we had a few small projects with public funding in order to

• develop networking among small companies and freelancers,
• encourage professional use of the Internet,
• support marketing and
• provide coaching, consulting and other services
• to companies and entrepreneurs in this area of Berlin.

The range of industries, trades and areas of business situated here is wide. So far networking activities were most successful among members of social economy, artists and companies dealing with culture and companies related to electronic business.
Reliable contact to members of other industries has been established but still needs some kind of project management and facilitating to make use of the network.

Project manager of these activities has been Brigitte Lüdecke, a freelancer/ sociologist/ business assistant experienced in adult education, networking activities, facilitating. She has been living in Soldiner Kiez and next to it for 26 years by now. See "26 years of life in Berlin-Wedding – what is left?" for details of living here.

Project management in the field of local economy in Soldiner Kiez today

• has a positive and well known image,
• is a reliable partner for all kinds of economic activities,
• is initiator and consultant for various kinds of entrepreneurship and
• is broker of useful business contacts.

This success is based on reliable cooperation with the following institutions:

Soldiner Kiez e. V. non-profit organisation actively networking institutions, project managers, private companies and citizens for the benefit of Soldiner Kiez. Most of the social and cultural institutions plus quite a few public institutions and many individuals in this area are members of the association.

"QM-Büro", which is an office for area management, located in Soldiner Kiez to support and strengthen the neighbourhood. Visit the The Intercultural Map to get a very clear description on the area and on strategys and practice of "area management" in Berlin and in Soldiner Kiez,

Business promotion office which is part of the Local Authority Berlin-Mitte in the role of superviser,

numerous freelancers and small companies out of the target group, some of which successfully generated quite a few new customers  ... as a result of the project activities.

Further Links on Soldiner Kiez

There is not so much material in English available, there is more to be written in near future ;-)

• The area has been subject to scientific research frequently. In 2001 the Local Socio-economic profile for "Soldiner Kiez" was published by Technische Universität Berlin.
• Kolonie Wedding (scroll down to find the English description of the project) is a network of artists and galleries located in Soldiner Kiez and well-known far beyond the area.
  
• Art laboratory Berlin is a non-commercial art-space in the center of Soldiner Kiez.
• May be you are interested in the biography of Jovan Balov? Since 2007 he is owner of the award "Rigas Charta", which he received in Athen, Greece and – of course – he is living and working in Soldiner Kiez and member of Soldiner Kiez e. V.
• A site on housing in Berlin gives details on Berlin Wedding and Soldiner Kiez from another perspective. The area is close to the new train station Lehrter Bahnhof which "has the biggest developing potential beside Alexanderplatz".

(1) The term "Kiez" should better not be translated, even in Germany the usage of the term is not unique. Berliners tend to identify with their neighbourhood even more than with the district or the city. A Kiez is a geographical and a social neighbourhood. Professional translators identify "something casual, street-wise, lower class, perhaps even oppositional" in the term, see http://www.malcolmread.co.uk/conscise/body/4f.pdf page 5.

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