OPEN SPACES FOR GIRLS – INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS
Girls in Motion Workshop, Berlin

girls move

As part of the girls project of the BAUFACHFRAU (Women in the Building Trade) Association and the girls’ sport center Pia Olymp, temporary open spaces for movement and creativity are being developed by, and with, girls. These spaces are in Berlin’s Lichtenberg, a "shrinking" district with numerous brownfields and many inhabitants with low household incomes. In several workshops guided by the interdisciplinary team the girls developed skateboard ramps and rockers for inline skating, a raft and a mini-gulf luggage set. These are built in series by the building trade women and will be out in the city starting from 2007. They can be borrowed from various rental outlets for mobile use around Lichtenberg. Juvenile girls thus receive the opportunity to move around their residential neighbourhoods.

The girls’ self-assurance is boosted in fields related to crafts and sports, in which many girls are not very active. The workshops support co-operation within the group, in the workshop and when teamwork is needed for learning new movements. Mutual support and trust are important for success.

Their new mobility lets the girls choose their exercise venues, to tackle new sports challenges undisturbed, and publicly to demonstrate their own abilities. Older girls can train to be Skating Instructors and then even lead courses themselves.