What we do
At Über den Tellerrand, we create opportunities for people of different cultures to meet and get to know each other, based on shared interests. Founded in Berlin in 2013, our diverse activities, mentoring programs, cookbooks and cooking courses now bring people together in over 35 cities across Germany and around the world.
Why we do it
We want to live in a society founded on social cohesion, mutual respect and inclusiveness, and in which all people are treated as equals. That’s why we’re committed to enabling people of different backgrounds to come together as peers. We work to advance and spread our vision of an open and tolerant society to enable intercultural coexistence across Germany and Europe for the long term.
how we do it
We bring together people as equals, creating opportunities for personal exchange and friendship between those with refugee experience and without. At culinary, creative, and sporting events, people from different cultures regularly interact with and get to know and appreciate each other. This sustainable, worldwide, network contributes to the creation of a more open and tolerant society.
choose your location
Über den Tellerrand is active in over 35 cities in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Colombia, and the USA. Come and join us!
beyond the plate
Founded in Berlin, Über den Tellerrand facilitates encounters and exchanges between cultures. Our network has grown to include intercultural communities in over 30 cities which we call ’satellites‘. In Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Colombia and the USA, Über den Tellerrand communities bring together people of different cultures (in culinary, creative and sporting events) and promote sustainable friendship building. In doing so, we actively promote the emergence of an open and tolerant society in which all people are treated as equals.
Satellite-Toolbox
the über den tellerrand toolbox for satellites
Wherever you are, you can organise your own Über den Tellerrand projects, too. We provide support from Berlin and a multimedia toolbox with free info materials, tips and guidelines to help you set up, run events, network with other satellites and together, make our world that tiny bit better! We organise regular regional meetings to exchange ideas and experiences, and once a year invite all volunteers to our satellite congress in Berlin. Join us – and #maketheworldabetterplate!
What is in the toolbox?
- Concepts (proposals/applications, text samples/modules, forms)
- Templates for print materials (business cards, flyers etc)
- Best practice approaches for events
- Cookbooks ‘A pinch of home’ and ‘Recipes for a better us’
- Apron ‘I cook good in this’
- Flyers and brochures
- etc.*
* Subject to change
join us
Do you want to help us #maketheworldabetterplate? Pick your location and come along to one of our free events. We look forward to meeting you!
When you have more than you need, build a longer table, not a higher fence
Kitchen on the Run
Kitchen on the Run is the mobile version of Über den Tellerrand e.V. With a kitchen built into a shipping container, we’ve been travelling around Germany and Europe since 2016, promoting personal exchange between refugees and locals. We organize cooking evenings and other activities where people come together and get to know each other, sharing stories and starting friendships. We stay in each location for seven weeks and while we’re there, work to develop a new Über den Tellerrand community that can be integrated into our network after our departure.
MUNICH’S CULINARY MEETING POINT
Our Über den Tellerrand cafe in the foyer of an adult education center in Munich is a culinary meeting point. Here, people of different backgrounds come together over pretzels, baklava, hummus and obatzda. Everyone is welcome – students and teachers of the education center, Munich residents and tourists alike. The cafe offers people with refugee experience job prospects in gastronomy: Our 18-person team, made up of people with and without refugee experience, conjures up a daily changing lunch menu and homemade cakes that can be enjoyed on our sunny terrace. Come and visit!
Einsteinstraße 28, 81675 München
Mo – Sa von 8:30 – 22.00 Uhr
08989081965
info@ueberdentellerrand.cafe
WHAT IF CHANGE STARTED WITH FOOD?
‚Food has this unique power to connect us all, and the table is that magic field where we can look to each other, (at) eye level, no matter our backgrounds, and allow the magic of dialogue to happen – Social gastronomy is all about this.‘ (Gastromotiva, SGM)
Über den Tellerrand has been a part of the Social Gastronomy Movement since last year. The global movement tackles social challenges like social inequality, developing sustainable food systems, reducing food waste and creating new jobs. Organisations from Malmö, Zürich, London, Phnom Penh, Santiago, Miami, Minneapolis, Amazonia, Rio de Janeiro and Berlin have come together as local representatives of the movement to create a central place for people and organisations to identify problems and find solutions. With our Kitchen Hub in Berlin, we’re happy to be a part of the movement and to realize its goals in line with our mission. Because we believe that food has a universal power to bring people together and promote integration.
our recipes of success
COOKING AND EATING ARE A WAY TO REACH PEOPLE
Cooking and eating together form an integral part of every culture. The idea is simple, but not banal: Everyone feels spoken to, everyone is welcome, and the highlight of every cooking event is the experience of community and the shared enjoyment of delicious food around one table.
NEUTRAL MEETING PLACES
We create neutral spaces which are free of stereotypes or attributions to a particular group. We are politically independent and interdenominational. At the same time, we make sure our meeting places are warm and inviting so that nothing stands in the way of getting to know each other.
A sense of community
At the start of each event, we create a sense of community. Everyone receives a name badge and so becomes a part of the group. We facilitate introductions that help to overcome any fear of contact and organise event conclusions that invite participants to come back. In between, people can approach each other and gain an insight into others‘ ways of living.
DIVERSE NETWORKS AND EXPERTISE
We’re not alone! Our work is characterized by frequent exchange with local stakeholders, organisations and experts. Our board constantly provides impetus for further development, access to different networks and visibility at various levels.
part of a whole
We welcome new groups of people almost every day. Everyone becomes part of a larger story, sees the mark of those who came before them, and can leave their own mark – whether in Berlin, the kitchen container or our satellite towns. We unite people across borders and create a sense of community that goes beyond those present.
PARTICIPATION AND COMMON INTERESTS
People come into conversation with each other more easily through joint activities, and the transition from ‚wanting‘ to ‚doing‘ is small when an appropriate framework is created. We encourage each person to be a part of the community but leave it up to participants to decide how they want to be involved.
encounters at eye level
Even without a common language, we can come together. Joint action connects, bridges moments of silence and makes it easier to approach each other. At the end of each event, there is always a mutual success to enjoy, whether it’s a delicious meal, a freshly planted vegetable or a tournament won. The principle of meeting each other at eye-level is not only the basis of our events, it’s also reflected in our organizational structure: Our team culture is defined by flat hierarchies, shared responsibility and self-determination.
communication
Through media reports, cookbooks and social media, we inspire people and communities worldwide to adopt our approach and take the first step towards creating personal encounters where they are.
everyone is welcome
We address as many different people as possible. We reach some via social media, others through personal contact or local media, flyers or posters. We thereby create diversity in terms of the age and backgrounds of our community and make sure we have a mix of people with and without refugee experience. And those who come, come voluntarily.
We are passionate about what we do
We approach our tasks with a healthy dose of openness, great trust in our environment, a lot of joy, energy and zest for life. As passionate hosts, we facilitate every event with appreciation, commitment and curiosity.
contacts
Join us! Whether in Berlin, our blue kitchen container or one of our satellite locations, the journey towards an open, tolerant and diverse society starts on your doorstep.
Über den Tellerrand e.V.
Roßbachstraße 6
10829 Berlin-Schöneberg
team@ueberdentellerrand.org
how to reach us by public transport
S1, Bus 104, Bus 106, Bus 204, N42
Station: Julius-Leber-Brücke
Plan your journey by public transport (BVG)
