What do you do at polyspektiv?
I am involved in various projects and am particularly interested in the Middle East, interfaith issues, media and gamification. I am also responsible for the polyspektiven podcast.
How did you come to polyspektiv?
I know Frank and Heidi from Lebanon, where I worked in the regional office of a German party foundation. Back then, we asked polyspektiv for help with a project. After that, we kept in touch and when I moved to Berlin, they offered me a job.
What do you enjoy most about polyspektiv?
I always find it very exciting to find new ways of transferring political knowledge into a playful context. From my point of view, polyspektiv is always about packaging content that is often perceived as “dry” – political problems, contexts and processes – in a way that makes it fun to learn.
Why are you involved in political education at all?
I have been interested in how people live together for a very long time, including politics. I want to encourage people to participate in society and help shape it. Especially those who are not yet motivated or do not dare to do so. I first co-founded a university group at Kiel University and later had the opportunity to work full-time for a political foundation in Lebanon. My other professional positions have also always been about political and social issues, be it in the prevention of extremism, in political youth work or in a development policy research project at Humboldt University. With my work at polyspektiv, I can now continue to work in this direction and learn a lot of new methods in the process.
What do you do when you’re not working for polyspektiv?
After studying Protestant and Islamic theology I am now finishing a masters program in Religion and Culture, which takes up a lot of my time. The rest of the time I like to go to museums and to political and cultural events such as discussions and concerts – so I enjoy the cultural life in the capital.
Why did you study theology in the Protestant and Islamic versions?
Studying very similar phenomena from two very different perspectives that have far-reaching social implications was very exciting. Not only because the Berlin Institute for Islamic Theology is completely new and a fascinating contrast to Protestant theology, which is often the oldest faculty at German universities.
And what does someone as thirsty for knowledge as you do to compensate?
I love taking photos and find a creative balance, especially with abstract black and white photography.