February 2025
WINTER CREATIVE CAMP AT TXL
our second extended program at the Tegel refugee accommodation center during the winter holidays
context
- The program took place at Willkommensschule TXL, a school created for children living in the Tegel refugee accommodation center.
- We welcomed children currently living there, along with past participants whose families have since moved elsewhere in Berlin.
- Forty-five children from Ukraine — including 30% who had attended our previous camp — joined us for five days of collective creation, reflection, and play.
what we did
five-day camp featuring four creative clubs that children could freely choose from. Each day began with a morning community meeting and continued with games, workshops, and supported free time for spontaneous play. In the afternoons, children gathered in their clubs for focused activities and daily reflection. The camp concluded with a collective exhibition and presentations, celebrating everything they had created together
financial & logistical support
- JetBrains — financial partner
- IKEA — materials support
- Willkommenschule TXL — hosting & collaboration
- and hundreds of individuals who donated to make this real 💛
framework
- 🌞we wanted to bring cozyness and put attention to how we change, grow, adapt. We used the metaphor of a Winter Garden, which the children «cultivated» each day
- 🌱the space changed with us — by the final day, the garden had grown into a collective installation representing what was learned and created
workshops
- 👀 «Who’s in the Shadow?» — shadow theatre
- 🏃 «Soft Rakes» — drawing frenzy
- 🪲 «Dance Greenhouse» — movement and photography
- 🌿 «List-Kompost» — building enormous papier-mâché heads
outcomes
- ⭐️ 45 children engaged over 5 days
- 🖼 Final celebratory presentation of children’s projects
- ❄️ Continuity of experience in an unstable environment
- 🤝 Foundation for long-term engagement with the same community
