by Dominik Schlett
Last Saturday (December 3rd) the young DiEM25 Movement walked a thin line in Berlin. It should have been the first countrywide meeting of the movement in Germany, but due to time bottlenecks the project was threatened with failure. The meeting was announced only a few days prior, and the lack of time made finding a venue, planning the schedule, integrating speakers, and not least finding a content position into a real challenge. Conclusion: we had to think outside of the box!
DiEM from the Rooftops
It wasn’t just the amazing space: a glass Penthouse is already a rarity in the middle of red Wedding.
Warmed with sunlight and inspired by the participants from every part of Germany, the project quickly picked up pace. It could have just as quickly lost its tempo, were it not for the initiative and ideas of the participants that continued to fire the discussion and the united group effort that continued to inspire. And all with a large symbolism.
Thus, DiEM doesn’t need a Reichstag copula in order to cater to alleged transparency. Here questions were answered either directly by Yanis Varoufakis over Skype, or by representatives of the Coordination Collective. The personal proximity among the participants as well as the coziness of the sun drenched room provided a familiar atmosphere. The content was correspondingly even hotter.
The Fart has no Nose
In order to turn the numerous ideas into concrete propositions the brainstorming had to be channeled into concrete work. The list of themes was as follows: best practices in DSCs, new thinking on economy, gender equality, public works, rebellious cities and the inclusion of new DSCs. None of the almost fifty participants wanted to hold back. The mobility between the groups was correspondingly high.
Thus the participants constantly changed theme areas to obtain a higher amount of information exchange. Each person had something to contribute, but never too much. All too familiar are the kind of political speakers who like to overshoot the target. We wanted to avoid that because this day was about quality and not quantity. No one took too much pleasure in smelling themselves.
Green light in the Sunlight
The representatives of the DSCs, as they found themselves in Berlin on December 3rd, had brought with them many questions, a lot of motivation, and great will. They were not disappointed. The conclusion of the closing counsel was thoroughly positive. Further meetings were universally wished for, further ideas were solidified, and further nets were spun. Above all, new acquaintances were forged.
And this is what every movement at the base shows: people want to work together with one another and improve things. Dissatisfied, rejecting the status quo, putting hope in their togetherness, and thus the capacity of changing something, but having already changed something by doing this. The exchange alone had brought at least some light for the participants over the thick, nebulous net of political complexity and recommended itself for further interaction.

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