Projects at the „Sunflower“

The „Moabit Bridge“, a special series of events, amplifies the programme of the centre: personalities from the fields of politics, science, culture and other groups of society talk about their spheres of activity and take a stand on current issues. In addition, interesting debates and activities with pupils, students and other representatives of the younger generation promote the “dialogue between the generations”.

+ The “Moabit Bridge”
+ The Dialogue Between the Generations

The “Moabit Bridge”

Take an onion and a cucumber and slice them very thinly. Soak a roll in lukewarm water and squeeze it well when taking it out again. Put 300g of minced meat (150g pork, 150g beef) into a bowl, add the bun, onion, cucumber, green pepper and an egg and mix all the ingredients thoroughly. Spice it up with chilli sauce, salt, pepper, mustard and marjoram. Form level-shaped minced meat steaks out of the dough and fry them in a pan with oil. In the meantime, cut another onion and a pepper into rings. Slice some bread rolls open and place them under the grill. Fry the onions in a pan. Spread rémoulade sauce on the lower part of the roll, then place salad leaves, steaks, fried onions and peppers on top. Finally, add a sprinkle of chilly sauce before placing the roll’s upper half on top. Voilà – what you have is the original “Boulette” from Berlin.

At the ARD Buffet, the distinguished chef Rainer Strobel had a faithful community of fans. At the “Sunflower Meeting Point” the visitors can take a peek over his shoulder. The experienced chef who has worked in restaurants with Michelin stars is now the chef of the Abion Waterside, a hotel owned by Ernst Freiberger that is located on Berlin’s Spreebogen. At the “Sunflower Meeting Point” he is happy to chat about his life while creating healthy and delicious dishes of the cuisine légère – all of them are suitable for daily cooking and can be prepared without major effort in a smaller kitchen.

Entertainment and advice on how to live your life are earmarks of the series “Moabit Bridge”. Another key aspect revolves around current and controversial topics. Is genetic engineering decisive for our future? How is it that the Brandenburg Gate has been lasting for so long? Where does cardiac surgery take us, and what can be done when our memory begins to fail us? Questions like these are answered by prominent representatives from the fields of politics, science and society who come to the “Sunflower Meeting Point”. In the past, the interlocutors have included: Dr. Sabine Bergmann-Pohl, the GDR’s last head of state and a specialist for lung diseases, Prof. Dr. Helmut Engel, a Berlin expert for monument preservation, the renowned cardiac specialist Prof. Dr. Roland Hetzer, and Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Steinhagen-Thiessen who is the medical director of the Protestant Centre for Geriatrics at Berlin’s Charité clinic. She ranks among the leading academics for research on geriatrics in Germany.

Impressions

The Dialogue Between the Generations

Sixteen pupils from the Heinrich-von-Stephan secondary school in Moabit and just as many elderly visitors of the “Sunflower Meeting Point” have collected photographs from their childhood. For each of the photos, they have written a very personal story, and twelve of these stories have been published in a carefully designed calendar.
The calendar symbolises the meeting between two generations that apparently couldn’t be more different, since they often know or want to know very little about one another and seem to have nothing to say to each another. This is particularly the case in large cities like Berlin where alienation and lack of social contacts form part of everyday life. Yet, once they decide to overcome the rift, the young and the elderly find common ground in talking to each other. For example, many pupils whose parents or who themselves have immigrated to Germany have experienced war and expulsion. They may miss relatives whom they had to leave behind and they try to find their way in a world that is unfamiliar to their parents. The same goes for ordinary problems, for adolescents these are often quite similar to the issues the older generation had to face when they were young. Thus, initial reservation turns into a lively exchange of experiences, and the wish to understand and learn from the other emerges quite naturally.
The calendar therefore is not only a very good read, but also bears witness to a new understanding evolving across the purported boundaries of age.

Impressions