Opening program in Berlin June 1-6

FRIDAY: SIGHTSEEING IN BERLIN
We met very, very early in Copenhagen airport Friday morning, and arrived only a little delayed in Berlin. We walked around in the neighbourhood of Prenzlauerberg, East Berlin, including Mauer-Park (park where there's a remaining part of the berlin wall). Afterwards we had lunch, and then we went to the studio of the two Danish artists: Sixten and Martin, the founders of Wooloo-productions and famous for their project: Defending Denmark. After having a coffee, we arrived rather late at the Wansee-Forum (got on the wrong buss...), where we were welcomed by the sad leftovers from a probably nice dinner? Later there was a welcome speech - by Cornelia Schmalz-Jacobsen, the German chair of HIA, and then the trip to the "gazolinastation", and social networking in the garden.

SATURDAY: we went to Sachsenhausen, to get a guided tour in the concentration camp. We were divided into two groups - the guides were "good" and they left us in a very emotional and thoughtful state of mind. In the afternoon we had the honour of meeting Mr. Arno Lustiger, who is the survivor of 6 concentration camps, and he told us his life-story, ending up with a discussion. When we arrived at Wannsee-Forum, the Americans had arrived and the rest of the night was spend in the garden - talking and enjoying the goods from another excursion to the dear "gasolinastation".

MONDAY: SIMULATION GAME
What better way to understand people who oppose human and minority rights than to actually become them - at least for a day? That's what some fellows did when they took part in a number of simulation games about terrorism and the making of a constitution in a fictitious country. Some played roles close to their usual ones as human and minority rights activists - others played political extremists, even terrorists - and all learned from it.

TUESDAY: IMMIGRATION/INTEGRATION IN EUROPE

One of Europe's biggest paradoxes was on the agenda: Why are Western European countries so reluctant towards immigration, when a bigger work force is exactly what these countries will need in the coming years? The discussion offered various suggestions - most of them related to integration - along with a reminder that integration means putting pieces together as a whole, not making them all the same.

TUESDAY: PUNDIK ON THE MIDDLE EAST
Being an optimist isn't easy when you live in the Middle East. Allthough co-founder of Humanity in Action Herbert Pundik describes himself as an optimist, he doesn't have much hope for his region. On the contrary, Pundik said, after invasion of Iraq, the ballwork between Iran and the Arab world has been removed - fuelling Iran's ambitions to become a regional superpower and creating an anti-Western alliance between Iran and Palestine.

Mads and Marie