"Think along" campaign in Berlin

On 2 March, activists from Paula Panke e.V., together with two people from Care Revolution Berlin, redecorated Gerhard Thieme's monumental sculpture 'Bauarbeiter' in Berlin-Mitte in conjunction with a care-political rally.

Here you can find excerpts from the report on the campaign on the Paula Panke e.V. website. We thank you!

On 2 March, around Equal Care Day, we addressed a male monument in public space with a care strike flash mob - in the context of the Caring Men campaign.

Our message to the stone heroes:
Think along.

Care is work.
Role models are not set in stone.

With posters and a speech, we have symbolically inscribed care work into history - where male heroic narratives have dominated up to now.

What does care work actually mean?

Care work - or care labour - means providing for other people, both physically and emotionally:

• Nursing, care, housework, raising children

• Volunteering

• Listening, comforting, emotional support

• Mental load: Planning, organising, thinking ahead

This work costs time and energy.
It holds our society together.
And most of it is unpaid.

Most people with caring responsibilities are FLINTA* - with structural consequences:

• lower income

• lower pensions

• less political participation

• less time and self-determination