Symposium – 2025

---

Speaker

 

Joe Chialo (Berlin)

CDU politician and since 2023 Senator for Culture and Social Cohesion of the State of Berlin.
🔗 Profil

---

Steven M. Looney (New York, USA)

Steve Looney is a financial expert and partner at Peale Davies & Co. Inc., a consulting firm focused on strategic investments. He previously held a senior position at Saratoga Investment Corp. In addition to his work in the financial sector, he is committed to social and cultural projects with an international focus. He supports the B.L.O. Ateliers as a model project for sustainable, self-organized creative spaces. Looney sees in such places not only cultural but also economic opportunities for urban development.
🔗 Profil

---

Dr. Gesine Lötzsch (Berlin)

Berlin-based politician (The Left), member of the German Bundestag from 2002–2025, including in the Budget Committee.
Board member of the Friends of B.L.O. Ateliers e.V.
Member of: Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, Friends of THEATER AN DER PARKAUE Berlin e.V., and the Association for the Nature Conservation Station Malchow e.V.
🔗 Website

---

Christian Goiny (Berlin)

CDU politician, member of the Berlin House of Representatives.
Media policy spokesperson of the CDU parliamentary group, member of the Committee on Federal and European Affairs, Media.
Member of the rbb Broadcasting Council, board member of the Friends of B.L.O. Ateliers e.V.
🔗 Profil

---

Prof. Joseph Hoppe (Berlin)

Head of the Berlin Center for Industrial Culture (bzi) – a competence center for urban history, development, and tourism.
Former Deputy Director of the German Museum of Technology in Berlin.
Numerous publications and lectures on Berlin industrial heritage, media history, and museum practice.
🔗 Website

---

Sarah Polzer-Storek (Eberswalde)

Owner of the Rofin Park in Eberswalde – a commercial and cultural district in the ROFIN industrial heritage site.
Since 2009, she has developed the site into a creative location with around 80 tenants from trades, culture, and the social economy.
🔗 Website

---

Bernhard Hummel (Berlin)

Architect, member of the ExRotaprint planning team.
Project developer for self-managed initiatives.
Regional coordinator for the Mietshäuser Syndikat in Berlin and Brandenburg.
🔗 Website

---

Manuel Ehlers (Berlin)

Team leader for sustainable real estate development at Triodos Bank.
Finances projects in the context of post-growth, common good, and speculation-free urban development.
🔗 Website

---

Holger Bergmann (Berlin)

Curator, mentor, and managing director of the Performing Arts Fund (DAKU).
Founding member and artistic director of Ringlokschuppen Ruhr (2002–2014), founder and chair of DIE VIELEN (since 2017).
Member of the Council for the Performing Arts and Dance, and of the Cultural Policy Society.
Directed the federal funding program NEUSTART KULTUR in 2020/21.
🔗 DAKU

---

Amelie Deuflhard (Hamburg)

Artistic director of the International Cultural Factory Kampnagel.
Previous positions: Sophiensæle Berlin, temporary cultural use of the Palace of the Republic (with Philipp Oswalt).
Broad engagement in cultural policy, publications, teaching, and juries.
2022: Recipient of the Berlin Theater Prize.
🔗 Pressemitteilung

---

Prof. Dr. Hans-Joachim Wagner (Nürnberg)

Head of the Department for the Former Nazi Party Rally Grounds, City of Nuremberg.
Professor of musicology, led Nuremberg’s bid for European Capital of Culture 2025.
Research focus: Italian opera.
🔗 Artikel

---

Katrin Budde (Magdeburg)

SPD politician.
1990–2017 member of the state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt (including parliamentary group chair and Minister of Economic Affairs), 2017–2025 member of the Bundestag.
Chair of the Committee on Culture and Media (from 2018), chair of the jury for the Center for German Unity and European Transformation.
🔗 Wikipedia

---

Frank Fischer (Berlin)

Head of the Department for Culture and Creative Industries, German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.
🔗Website

---

Sarah Barth (Basel, Schweiz)

Architect MSc ETH, founder of the Atelier for Architektologie and Gundeldinger Feld.
Board member and co-owner of Kantensprung AG.
Founding member of Countdown 2030.
Member of the Monument Council of Basel-Stadt, the board of Wohnraum Basel and SKKG.
Jury member in expert committees.
🔗 Teamprofil

---

Mario Husten

Mario Husten is a media executive, cultural entrepreneur, and long-standing contributor to cooperative urban development projects. After a career in the international media sector with Gruner + Jahr, where he helped establish markets in Eastern Europe, he returned to Berlin in 2010. There, he played a key role in developing the Holzmarkt project, a cooperative model for creative, sustainable urban development that gained international attention. He was managing director of Holzmarkt 25 eG until 2024 and is co-founder of the association Berlin WorX. Today, he advises journalistic initiatives against disinformation, including within The Good Media Network.
🔗Website

---

Andreas Krüger (Berlin)

Urban planner, founding managing director of Belius GmbH.
Specialized in community-oriented project and district development (e.g. Haus der Statistik, Tegel Airport redevelopment).
🔗 Website

---

Michael Grunst

Michael Grunst is the former district mayor of Berlin-Lichtenberg (2016–2023) and a long-time supporter of the B.L.O. Ateliers. Previously, he served as district councilor and head of the public order office in the Treptow-Köpenick district. Grunst is known as a committed advocate for culture, with a special focus on strengthening local infrastructure and civil society projects. In January 2025, he switched from the Left Party (Die Linke) to the SPD. He currently serves as president of the football club SV Lichtenberg 47 and remains active in local political and cultural networks.

---

Jacob Bilabel (Berlin)

Jacob Bilabel is a sustainability expert in the cultural sector and heads the Action Network Sustainability in Culture and Media. He is the founder of the Green Music Initiative and has served as an advisor to the European Commission. Bilabel supports cultural institutions, festivals, and media organizations in implementing ecological standards. His goal is to strengthen culture as an active driver of social transformation. He stands for the intersection of creativity and climate justice.
🔗 Website

---

Marc Wohlrabe (Berlin/Potsdam)

Marc Wohlrabe is a cultural policy expert, club operator, and co-founder of the Clubcommission Berlin as well as the “Stadt nach Acht” network. He advocates for the recognition of club culture as a key element of urban development. Wohlrabe advises municipalities and cities on nighttime economy and urban cultural space policy. He is committed to pragmatic solutions that enable the coexistence of culture, urban life, and residential needs. His work focuses on mediating between cultural scenes and politics.
🔗 Website

---

Silke Voigt-Heucke (Berlin) (angefragt)

Silke Voigt-Heucke heads the Citizen Science Unit at the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin. She develops formats that allow citizens to participate in scientific research. Her focus lies on urban ecology, biodiversity, and science communication. Voigt-Heucke stands for open science and the societal co-creation of knowledge. She is active in numerous transdisciplinary projects.
🔗 Website

---

Martin Schaefer (Berlin)

Martin Schaefer has been the district mayor of Berlin-Lichtenberg since 2023. Previously, he was a pastor, education officer, and managing director of a social youth project in Berlin-Fennpfuhl. A member of the CDU, he has been active in local politics for many years. He is committed to cultural participation and social justice in the district. He is especially engaged in connecting culture, education, and urban development.
🔗 Website

---

Vertreter*innen Lockkunst e.V.

• Christiane Wiegand (Dramaturge, director) 🔗 Website

• Peter Tietz (Board, Artist) 🔗 Website

• 🔗 blo-ateliers.de

---

Moderation: Anna Ramskogler-Witt

Studied art history.
2006: Impact producer at POOOL Filmverleih (AT).
Later: Head of production at the Vienna Human Rights Film Festival “This Human World.”
2019–2024: Director of the Human Rights Film Festival Berlin.
Since 2024: Director and co-founder of The Good Media Network.

🔗 Website