Step right in and join our circus

CABUWAZI

About us

We are CABUWAZI, the chaotic, colourful travelling circus

CABUWAZI – a magical place and a small world of its own, where you can forget your everyday life and be yourself. It´s a place full of movement and variety. A place for making friends, discovering circus together and developing your own creative ideas. A place for learning new things, performing in the ring in front of an audience, and of course: a place for having fun!
You can find us in six locations in Berlin: CABUWAZI Kreuzberg, CABUWAZI Tempelhof, CABUWAZI Treptow, CABUWAZI Altglienicke, CABUWAZI Lichtenberg and CABUWAZI Marzahn. We offer afternoon training, school and holiday project weeks as well as great shows at all our locations.

For 29 years we have been doing our best for children and young people in Berlin

10000
Children and teenagers train with us every year
29
Years of circus experience
6
Locations in Berlin
100
Employeers work for CABUWAZI

What we do

CABUWAZI makes children and young people strong and Berlin colourful.

An overview

We believe that circus connects, teaches tolerance and dissolves prejudices from an early age.

CABUWAZI is a space for circus, dance, theatre, music and language. In the afternoon courses, school project weeks and holiday workshops we promote individual forms of expression, social skills and creative abilities for children and young people between the ages of 4 and 19. In a joint artistic and social process, the CABUWAZI artists regularly create performances in the CABUWAZI tents and for outdoor venues. Our circusses shape the cultural life of the neighbourhoods they are based in – through shows, guest performances and many other events.

CABUWAZI stands for a lively, cosmopolitan Berlin and is committed to supporting a dedicated, tolerant youth community. Therefore CABUWAZI works actively in the prevention of violence and addiction and sees itself as a place for social integration, cultural education and the promotion of individual health.

CABUWAZI has six locations in five districts of Berlin. All locations offer various circus programs like afternoon training sessions for children and young people, holiday workshops as well as shows and events. In addition, weekly school and day care projects are held in our tents and we regularly cooperate with refugee and emergency shelters throughout Berlin. Particularly, CABUWAZI Beyond Borders is involved in comprehensive projects, working with refugee children and young people with a mobile team. The Kita-Mobil complements our mobile offerings.


To ensure that this kind of circus has a future, we are conducting training in circus pedagogy at the CABUWAZI Circus Academy Berlin. Further training for young people as well as for teachers and educators is also part of the academy’s program.

Besides workshops, training courses and our commitment to social circus, the circus tents are also rented out as event locations and are available for celebrations of all kinds.

Our locations

Kreuzberg

CABUWAZI
Kreuzberg

Wiener Straße 59H
10999 Berlin
Tel +49 (0)30 / 54 46 90-96
Telefonzeiten Monday to Friday von 13 - 17 Uhr
More about us

CABUWAZI Kreuzberg – a gem on the edge of Görlitzer Park

CABUWAZI Kreuzberg, located on the edge of Görlitzer Park in the middle of Kreuzberg is a cozy Kiez-circus. Children and young people from the neighbourhood as well as the prospective circus educators of the CABUWAZI Circus Academy enjoy being embedded in this multicultural environment of Kreuzberg.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at any time or just drop by. We are looking forward to seeing you!

 

Jessy Meden
Site management Kreuzberg
+49 (0)30 / 54 46 90-94
Chadra El-Saadi
Site management Kreuzberg
+49 (0)30 / 54 46 90-95
Tess Heit
Coordination afternoon training
+49 (0)30 / 54 46 90-96
Kreuzberg

CABUWAZI
Kreuzberg

Wiener Straße 59H
10999 Berlin
Tel +49 (0)30 / 54 46 90-96
Telefonzeiten Monday to Friday von 13 - 17 Uhr
More about us

CABUWAZI Kreuzberg – a gem on the edge of Görlitzer Park

CABUWAZI Kreuzberg, located on the edge of Görlitzer Park in the middle of Kreuzberg is a cozy Kiez-circus. Children and young people from the neighbourhood as well as the prospective circus educators of the CABUWAZI Circus Academy enjoy being embedded in this multicultural environment of Kreuzberg.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at any time or just drop by. We are looking forward to seeing you!

 

Jessy Meden
Site management Kreuzberg
+49 (0)30 / 54 46 90-94
Chadra El-Saadi
Site management Kreuzberg
+49 (0)30 / 54 46 90-95
Tess Heit
Coordination afternoon training
+49 (0)30 / 54 46 90-96
Tempelhof

CABUWAZI
Tempelhof

Columbiadamm 84
10965 Berlin
Tel +49 (0)157 / 83026377
Telefonzeiten Monday to Friday von 13 - 18 Uhr
More about us

Plenty of space and freedom for socializing, culture and circus at CABUWAZI Tempelhof

In the heart of the capital, far horizons and plenty of space: at the former Tempelhof Airport, our tents are located as a hub of cultural education! CABUWAZI Tempelhof – The Cultural Airport is a circus adventure for young and old. Three large circus tents and many circus wagons, our own workshops and a costume fundus offer space and opportunities for circus, theatre, dance and music.

Shows, spectacles, theatre and music at the Kulturflughafen:
Various cultural events regularly take place in the tents of CABUWAZI Tempelhof. Whether it’s a circus performance or theatre for children and young people, a clown festival or a concert: we cordially invite you to our circus site!

The Tempelhofer Feld is also home to the CABUWAZI Beyond Borders project. For several years we have been running circus courses and project weeks in many Berlin accommodation facilities for refugees. Our mobile team is on the road and across districts daily. With our new location in the immediate vicinity of the Tempohomes and the emergency accommodation at Tempelhof Airport, we invite Berliners young and old to join us in creating a shared cultural site.

Ylva Queisser
Site management
+49 (0)157 / 822 179 16
Johanna Richter
Coordination School Project Weeks and Holiday Circus
+49 (0)157 / 855 239 18
Beyond Borders
Event coordination
+49 (0)30 / 95 999 48-92
Nina Radtke
Vertrauensperson
+49 (0)157 / 822 179 26
Veranstaltungen Tempelhof
Koordination
Treptow

CABUWAZI
Treptow

Bouchéstr. 74
12435 Berlin
Tel +49 (0)30 / 544 90 15-13
Fax +49 (0)30 / 937205-90
Telefonzeiten Tuesday + Thursday von 12 - 18 Uhr Friday von 09 - 14 Uhr
More about us

Circus on the former wall strip - CABUWAZI Treptow, a place of encounter

CABUWAZI Treptow is a beautiful circus site situated on the former wall strip. A cozy café and open spaces create a picturesque atmosphere for various activities.
Treptows costume and stage design of the elaborately produced shows, in which socially critical themes are addressed in a participatory and inclusive way, is legendary.

In addition to ongoing circus activities, a new kind of circus therapy for adolescents with for example ADHD, depression, anxiety and eating disorders is developed at CABUWAZI Treptow in cooperation with clinical therapists: a new, urgently needed extra-clinical treatment concept that is to be used nationwide in the future.

Daja Moos
Site management Treptow
Debora Bleichner
Site management Treptow
Marzahn

CABUWAZI
Marzahn

Otto-Rosenberg-Straße 2
12681 Berlin
Tel +49 (0)30 / 32 66 97-50
Telefonzeiten Monday to Friday (Schoolprojects) von 10 - 13 Uhr Monday to Friday (Afternoonclasses) von 15 - 19 Uhr
More about us

Our tent at CABUWAZI Marzahn offers a colourful contrast to the “Plattenbau”-architecture that surrounds us.

In the middle of the up-and-coming district of Marzahn, right next to the “Raoul-Wallenberg-Straße” S-Bahn station, shines the yellow-red dome tent of CABUWAZI circus. A large number of various training disciplines with a very high skill level, many sold-out performances and a multitude of prizes won are characteristic for this CABUWAZI location.

 

Marzahn

CABUWAZI
Marzahn

Otto-Rosenberg-Straße 2
12681 Berlin
Tel +49 (0)30 / 32 66 97-50
Telefonzeiten Monday to Friday (Schoolprojects) von 10 - 13 Uhr Monday to Friday (Afternoonclasses) von 15 - 19 Uhr
More about us

Our tent at CABUWAZI Marzahn offers a colourful contrast to the “Plattenbau”-architecture that surrounds us.

In the middle of the up-and-coming district of Marzahn, right next to the “Raoul-Wallenberg-Straße” S-Bahn station, shines the yellow-red dome tent of CABUWAZI circus. A large number of various training disciplines with a very high skill level, many sold-out performances and a multitude of prizes won are characteristic for this CABUWAZI location.

 

Hohenschönhausen

CABUWAZI
Hohenschön- hausen

Wartenberger Straße 175
13053 Berlin
More about us

Our sixth location will soon open its doors!

As you may have heard, we are working on opening a sixth CABUWAZI location in the north-east of Berlin.The tent is already up and we hope to open our doors for you soon. Until then, we will introduce ourselves to the neighbourhood through various mobile services. Stop by, everyone is welcome!

Torsten Schmidt
Site management
+49 (0)176 / 52697486

Under CABUWAZIs roof

Circus Akademie Berlin & Alegria – Institute for Circus Therapy

GrenzKultur gGmbH also runs the Circus Akademie Berlin and Alegria – Institute for Circus Therapy, both of which emerged from the work at CABUWAZI.

Circus Akademie Berlin

The Circus Academy Berlin (CAB) offers professional training of the highest standards to become a circus trainer. Individual workshops can also be attended by those interested.

The 11-month part-time advanced training – one of the few advanced training courses for circus trainers in Germany – was developed together with the Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Zirkuspädagogik (BAG) and other circus institutions. Since then, more than 80 circus educators have been trained.

The CAB actively promotes the professionalisation of circus pedagogy and is a key advocate for uniform training and quality standards so that the title “circus pedagogue” will soon lead to a nationally recognised qualification.

The CAB is part of CABUWAZI, under the sponsorship of Grenzkultur gGmbH.

Alegria - Institute for Circus Therapy

The Institute for Circus Therapy offers resource-oriented, therapeutic services for children and adolescents to deal with difficult feelings and teaches techniques for self-regulation.

Circus therapy combines two essential focal points: Body and Mind!

Instruction of body-based and movement exercises, circus disciplines and entertaining, mindful relaxation opportunities. Psychotherapeutic methods from behavioural therapy, which, as help for self-help, promote the development of individual coping strategies. Circus therapy develops important resources that offer inner support on the difficult path of finding one’s identity.

The circus therapy approach uses the circus atmosphere of circus tent, adventure and creativity to arouse children’s and young people’s interest and encourage their motivation to try out new skills and behaviours.

Versatile, regular group offers as well as individual therapy invite children and young people to develop a changed view of themselves, take on new roles, learn self-regulation techniques, experience self-efficacy, discover extraordinary skills and positive body perceptions. The creative work enables them to find access to themselves, the athletic movements make it easier to let go of pent-up emotions and helpe to calm down.

Our Employees

Verwaltung

Anne Kirschneck
Management
Kathleen Schmidt
Referee to the Management
Angelika Gathmann
Administrative Management | Project Coordination | Human Resources Management
+49 (0)30 / 544 90 15-20
Elisabeth Thom
Secretariat and Project Accounting
+49 (0)30 / 544 90 15-10
Johanna Walther
Financial accounting
+49 (0)30 / 544 90 15-23
Anika Michaelis
Project Accounting
+49 (0)30 / 544 90 15-27
Elisabeth Thom
Project Accounting and Funding Agencies
+49 (0)30 / 544 90 15-10
Sara Krines
Press and public relations
+49 (0)30 / 544 90 15-14
Katharina Geiger
Ticketing and public relations
+49 (0)157 / 822 179 05
Chadra El-Saadi
Coordination School Project Weeks
+49 (0)30 / 544 690 95

Kreuzberg

Tess Heit
Coordination afternoon training
+49 (0)30 / 54 46 90-96

Tempelhof

Büro Tempelhof
Circus site office
+49 (0)157 / 83026377
Ylva Queisser
Site Management | CABUWAZI Beyond Borders Management
+49 (0)157 / 822 179 16
Beyond Borders
Project coordination Beyond Borders
+49 (0)30 / 95 999 48-92
Johanna Richter
Coordination of school and holiday project weeks
+49 (0)157 / 855 239 18

Treptow

Daja Moos
Site Management and Coordination School Project Weeks
Debora Bleichner
Site Management Treptow

Marzahn

Hohenschönhausen

Marie-Sophie Nickel
Office coordination
+49 (0)157 / 822 102 00
Mija Bowtromiuk
Coordination of school and daycare project weeks | theater | dressmaking
Janis Stahl
Coordination Circus Mobile
+49 (0)157 / 822 102 03

Circus Akademie Berlin

Simonn Kölliker
Academy Director
+49 (0)157 / 822 178 90

Alegria - Institut für Zirkustherapie

Britta Niehaus
Site Management and Therapeutic Management Circus Therapy
+49 (0)30 / 60 96 95-62

Our Mission Statement

Our vision

CABUWAZI – your circus to join in,
empowers children and young people and makes Berlin colorful!

According to this guiding principle, we want to design CABUWAZI as attractive places of cultural education, social inclusion and holistic health promotion. With our offers we want to realise a meeting space for all children and young people, strengthen them in their mental and physical development and give impulses for a long-term healthy lifestyle. The starting and fixing point of our work should always be the interests and needs of the children and young people themselves.

Our mission

CABUWAZI is advocating for an engaged, open-minded youth and stands for a vibrant, diverse Berlin. The focus of our artistic-pedagogical work is on children and young people as well as families regardless of their gender, nationality, ethnic and social origin, religion/belief, disability, age and sexual orientation and identity.

Our educational work combines social, artistic and athletic approaches. The diversity of the circus provides the ideal framework for this: With its numerous, different disciplines, genres and artistic trends, every child and adolescent can pursue their personal interests and discover their own strengths.

As a place where circus is communicated as an art form, we are committed to the preservation and further development of the circus and understand our circus locations as vital cultural venues.

Circus training (location-based, mobile and outreaching)

We offer children, teenagers and young adults as well as families a diverse range of training opportunities and circus disciplines, such as afternoon training sessions, school and holiday project weeks as well as activities in public spaces.

Shows and events

We accompany creative formative processes of children and adolescents in the development of circus shows and outdoor performances. In the process, we also encourage them to engage in practical and artisanal activities in our workshops. Our circus sites are also venues for interdisciplinary cultural events.

 

Early childhood development

We support children from the age of 4 through movement, creativity and imagination in their pre-school development in an age-appropriate way.

Circus therapy

We use circus therapy to support the mental and physical health of children and young people with mental illness. This creative approach combines body and physical orientation from circus education with cognitive therapeutic interventions.

Any questions?

Britta Niehaus
Site Management and Therapeutic Management Circus Therapy
+49 (0)30 / 60 96 95-62

Circus training in the context of flight and migration

We connect new people arriving and people who have been living in Berlin for a long time. Among other things, we offer mobile circus courses in shelters for people with refugee experience.

Education and further training

In our training institute “Circus Akademie Berlin” we teach the fundamentals of circus education. We offer further training for our staff and external professionals.

Volunteering and participation

We activate volunteering through the involvement of various volunteer programmes and parent initiatives.
We offer opportunities for career orientation, first work experience and a strength-oriented environment for inclusion.

Our values

CABUWAZI operates out of conviction according to the following principles: 

Child Protection
We are conscientious about the welfare and protection of the children and young people entrusted to our care.

Empowerment
We promote the empowerment and self-efficacy of children, young people and staff. Our work strengthens the demand for participation and the attainment of autonomy.

Participation
We encourage, support and accompany our children and teenagers to implement their own ideas and self-organised projects. Participation in the design of our services and transparency of our processes are the basis of our work.

Diversity
We are committed to ensuring that every child and young person can develop their own personality and individual potential.
To this end, we reflect on social power relations and advocate for a diversity-sensitive organisational structure.

Equal opportunities
We are committed to a society based on solidarity and see ourselves as part of the social sphere. Many of our courses are free of charge, and if not we often provide free social spots.

Sustainability
We take on ecological and social responsibility by implementing sustainability standards on our circus sites, by publicly promoting environmental and climate protection and by sensitising our children and young people to this issue.

Economic efficiency (in the sense of ethical behaviour)
We use resources and funding carefully and ensure a high level of transparency in our use of funds.

Child Protection

The protection of our training children is pivotal!

We do our best to protect the children and young people entrusted to us.

That’s why we have implemented a new child protection concept at all our sites since 2019. We provide an insight into the central documents here.

Our history

How it all began

In 1992 a group of children discovered the fun of unicycling in a Berlin backyard. The “Kreuzberg Einradchaos “, as the group called itself, soon started to show their skills at school and street festivals – inspiring other children to join. So just one year after the founding, co-founder Karl Köckenberger and a parent’s initiative expanded by adding other artistic disciplines and organised their first holiday program. Quickly their backyard became too small for all the activities and a new place was needed.

The first CABUWAZI tent offered enough space for acrobatics and for people to meet, exchange and communicate. It was erected in 1994 in Treptow and is located on the former border strip between East and West Berlin – connecting people from the very beginning.

The second tent in Kreuzberg followed in the same year in July.

 

CABUWAZI is born

Former youth senator Thomas Krüger ceremoniously baptised the children’s and youth circus with the name CABUWAZI (ChAotisch BUnter WAnderZIrkus – chaotic colourful travelling circus). In the same year the supporting association for our circus was founded.
And CABUWAZI continues to grow: in 1996 the training group in Altglienicke received a tent, in 1997 the circus Springling in Marzahn, founded in 1992, joined CABUWAZI. In 2004 the Kreuzberg team got a second location, the “Treasure Island” (now part of the Vuesch club) and in 2010 the location Shake! at Ostbahnhof opened. Since 2010 CABUWAZI has been under the sponsorship of GrenzKultur gGmbH. Since 2013 the Kinder- und Jugendzirkus Berlin e.V. initiates projects under the name CABUWAZI.

CABUWAZI today

2014
CABUWAZI celebrates its twentieth birthday and it is decided that all the sites will bear the same name: CABUWAZI Altglienicke, CABUWAZI Friedrichshain, CABUWAZI Kreuzberg, CABUWAZI Marzahn and CABUWAZI Treptow.

2017
The location in Friedrichshain has to move and finds a new home at the Tempelhofer Feld. CABUWAZI Tempelhof – the cultural airport is ceremonially opened.

2019
CABUWAZI turns 25 – in addition to our social circus work, we are expanding the range of our offerings. CABUWAZI, as an integral part of each individual neighbourhood, becomes an event location for all people looking for a unique spots for birthdays and parties of all kinds.

2021
CABUWAZI opens its sixth location in Berlin Lichtenberg-Hohenschönhausen!

Our networks

National und international

Even after many years of circus work, we still want to continue our education and a huge part of it is being in close contact with other educational and artistic children’s and youth circuses. Therefore we are part of various national and international circus networks. Here you can find an overview of networks we are part of.

BAG Zirkuspädagogik e.V.
The Bundesverband Zirkuspädagogik was founded in 2005 and is an association of children and youth circus groups and circus pedagogues in Germany. Among other things the BAG develops quality standards for the training of circus educators with a corresponding recognition procedure and promotes the development of circus education through further training and exchange.

Paritätischer Wohlfahrtsverband Berlin
The Paritätische Wohlfahrtsverband Berlin, as the umbrella organisation of the independent welfare sector, represents over 760 independent non-profit organisations and self-help groups, which it advises on legal, business and social issues. It advocates the rights of people in need of help and the promotion of civil society.

Landesvereinigung Kulturelle Jugendbildung Berlin e.V.
The LKJ Berlin is a professional umbrella organisation of 43 member organisations with about 400 facilities for child and youth cultural work in various fields. It represents the interests of its members at state level. For this purpose, the InfoPoint is the contact point for all questions concerning the financing and promotion of projects.

Educircation
The international network aims to improve the training quality of trainers in social and youth circus projects. As part of the CIRCE project, professional circus trainers are trained in workshops, training sessions and meetings. Educircation is supported by the EU programme ERASMUS.

Caravan
Founded in 2008, the international network for the social and youth circus comprises 30 circus facilities in Europe, Africa, Asia, America and the Middle East. Its aim is to use circus art to promote personal and social skills and to promote social change.

Zirkus macht stark
The association “Zirkus macht stark – Zirkus für alle e.V.”, founded in 2012, is a nationwide association dedicated to supporting and promoting socially and educationally disadvantaged children and young people with the means of circus education. The association is partner of the support programme “Kultur macht stark. Bündnisse für Bildung” of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and passes the funds on to local alliances that implement circus projects for this target group.

Our projects

Every year we realise a great number of various projects at all of our CABUWAZI locations.

  

We place particular emphasis on working with refugees, facilitating international encounters and exchange among children, youth and young adults. That is why we are not only part of the European Voluntary Service EDF, but also bring people together in our project CABUWAZI Beyond Borders and further international encounters: for fostering solidarity,

You can find more information about current projects in our blog.

CABUWAZI Beyond Borders

Since 2015, the team of CABUWAZI Beyond Borders has been conducting circus project weeks, workshops and ongoing circus courses directly in refugee accommodation and at our CABUWAZI Tempelhof location. Learn more about this extraordinary project here.

The project

We live diversity: Circus connects cultures!

In our CABUWAZI Beyond Borders project, refugee children, teenagers and young adults have the opportunity to gain an insight into circus artistry and discover personal strengths, experience social interaction in a community and create positive connections with their new surroundings. Since 2015 the team of CABUWAZI Beyond Borders has been conducting project weeks, workshops and ongoing circus courses directly in refugee accommodations.

In addition to that, CABUWAZI Beyond Borders is on the road throughout Berlin, working in first aid facilities, clearing houses, emergency and community shelters for refugees, thus building up a Berlin-wide network.

Since spring 2017, the project has had a permanent place at CABUWAZI Tempelhof. On the circus grounds, children and young people from Berlin accommodation facilities can take part in inclusive circus weeks, attend open training sessions, courses for beginners and advanced students and present their new skills to an audience in a final circus show together with other children and young people. Since then, the three circus tents on Tempelhofer Feld have also regularly hosted inclusive project weeks with “welcome-classes” from all over Berlin as well as holiday schools with German language support.

 

What we want to achieve

With CABUWAZI Beyond Borders we want to offer a safe place to children and young people who have lost their homes. The circus training should be fun, enjoyable and allow for first positive experiences with their new environment. Circus training works with very little to no German language skills and allows the attendees to "be children" again.

We do not strive for top artistic performance in our activities, but rather create a playful space in which self-confidence can develop and children, teenagers and young adults are enabled to actively shape their needs.

A special focus of our circus training for refugee children and young people is the promotion of German language skills: Our circus language concept – a playful form of language teaching – enables both the acquisition of initial knowledge of the German language and the deepening of already existing knowledge.

The main aim of these lessons is to enable the participants to feel comfortable and express their needs and feelings through the unbiased use of German language. We want to awaken in them the desire to get involved with the German language. In order to achieve this, we do not use the usual form of teaching, but adapt the language teaching to the special challenges and helpful vocabulary of the training.

Our courses

Courses on the site include regular circus training in individual disciplines, open training as well as school project weeks with the welcome classes and holiday workshops.

The programme results from combination of the mobile projects in the facilities for refugees and the circus educational offer on site.

Our mobile team carries out its outreach work in the accommodation facilities (currently in Spandau, Charlottenburg and Marienfelde). The team initially offers movement games and circus courses on site to give the children and young people a positive start in their new surroundings.

The courses on the site include regular circus training in each discipline, open trainings, school project weeks with the welcome classes and holiday workshops.

In inclusive groups children with refugee status and local children train together, which helps to normalise common, partnership-based experiences. In addition to the artistic skills, playful concepts and interacting with the local children facilitates and supports their access to and practice of the new language.


Through the “CABUWAZI Welcome Circus” (EU-funded programme) and “CABUWAZI Circus of Life” (federal funding by BAMF and BMFSJ) projects, we provide circus education in residential facilities for refugees and on the Tempelhof Circus grounds, in order to enable the children, teenagers and young adults to have their first positive contact with their new surroundings and the German language. Furthermore they benefit from a comprehensive personal, social and linguistic skill development and experience a sense of participation in the social normality or beyond their isolating residential facilities.

Open workshops and weekly courses

In a group of around 15 children and teenagers, the participants train in different disciplines such as trapeze, trampoline, acrobatics, clowning, juggling or various balance disciplines. The regular training takes place on the circus ground of CABUWAZI Tempelhof. It is important that the groups are mixed: Children and teenagers from refugee families train with local children from the surrounding social environment.

In addition, we offer daily open trainings for children and young people (from Monday to Friday). The workshops, courses and project weeks are conducted by qualified circus educators and pedagogically experienced artists.

Holiday school

Holiday school at CABUWAZI gives children from accommodation facilities the possibility to learn German in a playful way and to grow as a person through artistry.
A holiday school lasts 10 days, i.e. two weeks from Monday to Friday, and is run for 12-15 participants by two circus trainers and a language trainer.
Our language acquisition aims to enable the children and young people to introduce themselves, express their needs and actively participate in circus and social life.
In the subsequent circus training, the students can directly apply their new knowledge while they get to know and experience different artistic disciplines (juggling, acrobatics, trapeze, balance etc.) and artistic genres (music, dance, acting).
At the end of those two weeks, they present their acquired skills and artistic talent in a final show for parents, neighbours and staff – either in their accommodation or the circus tent on our site.

Many thanks to the German Children and Youth Foundation for financing the holiday programme for refugee children.

Contact

Ylva Queisser
Site Management | CABUWAZI Beyond Borders Management
+49 (0)157 / 822 179 16
Beyond Borders
Project coordination Beyond Borders
+49 (0)30 / 95 999 48-92

Unterstützer

Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge – Europa fördert
Asyl,- Migrations und Integrationsfonds
Senatsverwaltung für Bildung, Jugend und Familie
Einsteigen – Verbund für neue Wege in die Stadt

International Youth Exchange

International exchange and various youth meetings have always been a firm and important part of CABUWAZI’s work!

Circus knows no borders and is an intercultural place where people from different cultures and social backgrounds meet and work together. International exchange and various youth meetings have always been a solid and important part of CABUWAZI’s work. Through diverse musical, creative and movement-oriented activities, young people can discover new roles and develop artistic, acrobatic, music and clowning skills. They improve their perception, coordination and tactile sensitivity. In addition to that, teamwork is encouraged. Furthermore, we encourage teamwork, because working together towards one goal or a good result activates the participants not just in an artistic field, but also areas like planning, organisation and event management – useful professional skills. During rehearsals for performances they also learn to take responsibility for themselves and their group and causally develop cognitive and motor skills, learning competence, initiative and entrepreneurial skills, cultural awareness and cultural expression. By discovering their own strengths, weaknesses, abilities and inclinations, the learning process is stimulated, promoting the development of key competencies.

Mirtos – Berlin

A central goal of our cooperation with the Greek partner Youthnet Hellas, which has existed since 2014, is the reduction of intolerance and right-wing ideas. Many of the young people are confronted with other cultures and mindsets for the first time and learn to deal critically with their own prejudices. This exchange programme particularly addresses young people who have no access to further education. What both groups, Greek and German, have in common is their lack of prospects, threatening or existing unemployment and resignation.

Molcad – Berlin

“Wir schenken uns ein Lachen” („We give each other a smile“) is an international youth exchange between CABUWAZI and young people from the village of Molcad in Belarus. Since 2015 the participants regularly slip into new roles and work on their own shows, applying the means of circus and theatre education to incorporate a variety of artistic elements. We use the creative methods of dance, theatre and circus pedagogy to work with young people on topics such as recycling and upcycling.

Circus overcomes borders

For many years, international youth encounters have played a major role at CABUWAZI Altglienicke. Within the initiative “Circus overcomes borders” we have opened our circus on several occasions to children and young people from many countries and, in return, have been guests at youth encounters, for example in Israel and Palestine. Furthermore we are in close contact with groups from Costa Rica (Circo FantazzTico), Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Belgium, England, France, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Poland and others. These interchanges broaden young people‘s horizons by showing them other perspectives, other stories, cultures, arts and disciplines through people with the same interests and the language of circus. This in turn allows them to better understand political and religious issues.

An enriching experience not only for the children but also for the circus educators – on a professional and personal level.

Israel – Berlin

The best way to learn about the world is to cultivate friendships around the globe. With this in mind, CABUWAZI Marzahn conducts regular exchanges and visits with the Israel Circus School. The same basic conviction also led to a cooperation with the Albert and Friends Instant Circus, through which we were part of the cultural programme of the 2012 Olympics in England. And our participation in international competitions – for example, at festivals of the European Circus Schools at the Honnelles Circus School in Belgium – is also based on this idea.

EVS: Volunteers Crew

Cooperation between the EVS and CABUWAZI

The European Voluntary Service (EVS), as part of the Erasmus+ programme, gives young people between 17 and 30 the opportunity to work in non-profit projects in another country for a certain period of time. Usually an EVS lasts between two and twelve months. Before, during and after the exchange, the volunteers receive pedagogical support. Apart from age restrictions, there are no further access restrictions. Specific educational qualification or language skills are not required.

CABUWAZI has been active in the EVS programme for more than 15 years and has already given the opportunity for a life-shaping and inspiring experience in one of CABUWAZI’s five locations to more than 100 young people. The EVS volunteers at CABUWAZI make an important contribution in the daily circus educational work with our children and young people and enrich the interpersonal interactions through their cultural diversity.

The goals

The basis for the successful implementation of EVS projects at CABUWAZI are solid and long-term partnerships with partner organisations from all over Europe, which are maintained and expanded within networks and strategic cooperations.

At the moment we have ten young people as European volunteers at CABUWAZI, in addition to federal volunteers from Germany – all working together with a lot of energy and motivation.. They present current impressions and experiences from their everyday life on our blog: evscabuwazi.tumblr.com

CABUWAZI is also a sending organisation for young people from Berlin who would like to do a long-term European voluntary service.

The European Voluntary Service offers participants the opportunity to develop personally and professionally. In our projects the volunteers gain new ideas and experiences, get to know other perspectives and points of view – while developing personal strengths and job-specific skills.

Erasmus+

Contact

Network & Supporters

Many thanks to

Senatsverwaltung für Bildung, Jugend und Familie
Asyl,- Migrations und Integrationsfonds
Bezirksamt Lichtenberg
Bezirksamt Marzahn-Hellersdorf
Bezirksamt Tempelhof-Schöneberg
Bezirksamt Treptow-Köpenick
Bezirksamt Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg
Erasmus+
Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge
Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge – Europa fördert
Bundesvereinigung kulturelle Kinder- und Jugendbildung
Der Paritätische Berlin
Der paritätische Gesamtverband
Europäischer Fonds für regionale Entwicklung
Zukunftsinitiative Stadtteil – Senatsverwaltung für Stadtentwicklung und Wohnen
Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg
Berlin gegen Nazis
Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend
Europäisches Solidaritätskorp
Werner Coenen Stiftung
Deutsche Postcode Lotterie
Spreequell
Stark gemacht
Berliner Sparkasse
Stiftung Berliner Sparkasse
Jugend- und Familienstiftung des Landes Berlin
Bundesverband Soziokultur e.V.
Die Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien
Aktion Mensch
Zirkus macht stark
Zirkus gestaltet Vielfalt