Case Study: The Multaka project (Berlin, Germany)

The Multaka project was initiated in 2015 and supports newcomers from Arabic countries to help them integrate into German society. This project was carried out by four museums in Berlin that housed Arabic tours given by Arabic newcomers, making this a perfect example of a sustainable ‘by, with and for refugees’ project.

Background

In 2015 there was a European migrant crisis due to the war in Syria. Many of them fled across Europe and stranded in Germany. That same year, some refugees opted for work in the Syrian Heritage Archive of the Museum of Islamic Art. The request inspired the director to take action and engage Arabic speakers as guides in their museums to also prevent Islamophobia, a phenomenon that was strongly present in German society as Europe coped with terroristic attempts by Islamic people that same year.

The four museums affiliated to this project were the following:

  • the German Historical Museum
  • the Bode Museum
  • the Museum of the Ancient Near East
  • the Museum of Islamic Art

Description

The Multaka project was initiated to promote a ‘welcome culture’ for people that fled from the war in Syria. Arabic speaking guides showed these newcomers in the German society around in either one or more of the four museums, whereafter these people were given a chance to guide other Arabic speaking newcomers in one of the museums. Guides varied from age, education, professional experience, religion, resident status or reason for coming to Germany. Twice a week all four museums housed these Arabic tours. Therefore, this project was ‘with, by and for’ Arabic speaking people that wished to integrate more in German society. The name Multaka is Arabic for meeting point.

The project aimed to generate a different perspective on the museum collections than the ones produced by curators or heritage ‘experts. Using a more personal approach to help newcomers feel included and have more belonging towards German society.

Impact

As the project evolved, it became clear that naming and labeling people as migrant or refugee was not contributing to them feeling welcome, as they did not choose to flee their own country. Therefore ‘newcomers’ was used to describe the target group of this project. This alone gave a much broader perspective on how to approach people in similar situations. As the guides focused more on their interpretation of the collection, rather than outlining the historical context, they acted as mediators between the objects and visitors. This way the project was able to show how cultures from the Middle East are represented and valued and creates better understanding among the public for this topic. In addition, the ‘by, for, with’ method ensures sustainability as there is a continuity and variability of people contributing to the tours. Not only does this give the newcomers more empowerment, but it also gives them ownership of narrating the Middle- East culture in a German society.

The combination of participants showed that the demand for Arabic-language tours in museums was much greater than assumed and enables the power of language to create more interest and a broader understanding within the heritage sector. Much of the collections were generated from Arabic countries, that not only raised questions of rightful belonging but also on how to interpret these collections throughout the perspectives of the so-called newcomers.

The outcome of this project has been described and has been published in joint ethnographic research about doing diversity in museums and heritage. Throughout publicity, the four museums wanted to convey the message that museums should be seen as contact zones. Meaning there is a center and a periphery between where artifacts are kept and the place where they are collected. And that both places give a different perspective and outcome on how heritage is valued.

Relevance/Usability

In terms of terminology the Multaka project showed that the use of ‘newcomer’ is more appreciated and contributes to a welcome feeling. The ‘by- with and for’ method can be used in the Winsome project to ensure a sustainable approach that also feels more personal as the project aims to welcome human beings that have been displaced. Seeing school museum as contact zones creates a more dimensional perspective on the objects and not only helps the target group feel more included, but also

References

  • Gram, Rikke, 2022, ‘’Wilkommen im Museum, Making and Unmaking refugees in the Multaka project’’. In Doing Diversity in Museums and Heritage, A Berlin Ethnography, ed. MacDonald, Sharon, 247 -260. Berlin: Transcript, Independent Academic Publishing.

Author

  • Elize Hautvast, Quiosq (NL)

Header photo by Faruk Kaymak on Unsplash