Report from the "Congress of Care" at Berlin's HAU theatre on 11 May 2022

On Wednesday, 11.5.2022, the "CONGRESS OF CONCERN" took place in Berlin as a networking day for labour struggles and feminist initiatives at the Hebbel am Ufer Theatre (link: www.hebbel-am-ufer.de).

Together, we wanted to continue the discussion, feminist networking, solidarity and industrial action. On the occasion of Care Day on 12 May and as a follow-up to the joint rally "Think about care - unite struggles, end overwork!"(https://care-revolution.org/aktuelles/raus-zum-8-maerz-2022-in-berlin/) on 8 March this year, many Berlin care activists came together at HAU in the afternoon. The event was initiated by Luise Meier and Sarah Waterfeld from the artists' collective "Staub zu Glitzer"(https://mastodon.social/@Staub_zu_Glitzer ) and featured a diverse cultural and political programme:

Outside in front of the building, various initiatives lined up from 4 pm, a utopian cosy corner invited people to dream creatively and two representatives of the Berlin Care Revolution group also took part in the initiative speed dating. Inside the HAU, workshops entitled "Forms of action in the health sector beyond strikes, petitions and participatory rallies" (by IL/AG Gesundheit) and "Maintenance as Resistance" (by Elke Krasny and Joulia Strauss) took place, as well as a fishbowl discussion on care work between everyday life and resistance.

After a few speeches and musical performances by Esels Alptraum, Rosa Kollektiv and S.K.E.T. (https://www.jungewelt.de/artikel/427740.politisches-theater-ihr-arbeitskampf-war-sicherlich-richtungsweisend.html), most of us moved into the main hall of HAU2 to attend the panels. The great film on the Berlin hospital movement (to be seen at: https://www.rosalux.de/mediathek/media/element/1729) and host Jacky-Oh Weinhaus led into the evening programme.

In the first panel on "Health instead of profits - flat rates per case leave no room for care", the Health not Profits alliance discussed the contradiction between economisation and care and how we can change this with employees from various areas of the hospital. The subsequent second panel on "Care work from below" unfortunately ran out of time. At least the Berlin Fem*streik group, the Sleepingplace Orga, the RuT-Frauenkultur&Wohnen/Lesbenwohnprojekt, Carolin Wiedemann (author of "Zart und frei") and Barbara Fried (Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung) were able to briefly introduce themselves and their work and perspectives. Barbara Fried, who is also active in the Care Revolution network, gave insights into what class-political feminism could look like in the sense of a "caring city" (read more here: https://zeitschrift-luxemburg.de/artikel/sorgende-staedte/).

The evening ended with a concert by Roim und Stroifahrzoige and Ostberlin Androgyn in the main hall and drinks and snacks outside after the rain had subsided.

Also present were: F_AJOC, Queer durch Berlin, FAU Sektion Sexwork, No Border Assembly, Berliner Obdachlosenhilfe, Gesundheit statt Profite, Berliner Krankenhausbewegung, Flinta*Stadt, IL / AG Gesundheit, Initiative Equal Care Day, AK Mutterschaft und Feminismus, Sleepingplace Orga, Feministischer Streik Berlin, Feminist Dialogues, Care Revolution Berlin, ROSA international feminists, Staub zu Glitzer, S.K.E.T., Mieterpartei, RuT-Frauenkultur&Wohnen/Lesbenwohnprojekt, Freie Träger - faire Löhne, Wohnungslosenparlament in Gründung, DW&Co enteignen

Programme see HAU website: https://www.hebbel-am-ufer.de/programm/pdetail/kongress-der-sorge/