Das jährliche Treffen der Off University kehrt mit dem zweiten Off Fest zurück.
Jedes Jahr kommen die Mitglieder von Off University zusammen, um das vergangene Jahr zu reflektieren, Zukunftspläne zu besprechen und in der Generalversammlungs des Vereins einen neuen Vorstand zu wählen
In diesem Jahr freuen wir uns darauf, zum 2. Off-Festival einzuladen. Am Wochenende vom 20. und 21. September 2025 bieten wir unterschiedliche Workshops und eine Podiumsdiskussion an.
Wir beginnen am Morgen des 20. September mit einem künstlerischen Programm, das vom renommierten Künstler, Wissenschaftler und Kurator Seçkin Aydın kuratiert wurde. In einer Reihe von Workshops und Präsentationen werden wir uns dann mit Themen wie Community Publishing als Alternative zum „Publish or Perish“-Modell, Friedensforschung und geschlechtersensiblen, kunstinspirierten Methoden in Lehre, Forschung und Bildung befassen. Das Abendprogramm umfasst die Podiumsdiskussion Gemeinsame Kämpfe, ungleiche Bedingungen: Gerechte Arbeitsbedingungen für alle Wissenschaftler und Musik von unseren hauseigenen DJs.
Am 21. September werden wir die Impulse, die die Podiumsdiskussion geschaffen hat, in einer Zukunftswerkstatt zum weiteren Brainstorming nutzen. Den Abschluss bildet die Generalversammlung mit der Wahl unseres neuen Vorstands für 2025-2026.
Das Festival steht allen offen, sowohl online als auch vor Ort. Für diejenigen, die persönlich teilnehmen, stellen wir Speisen und Getränke zur Verfügung. Wir bemühen uns auch, eine teilweise subventionierte Kinderbetreuung anzubieten. Wenn Sie eine Kinderbetreuung benötigen, geben Sie bitte die Anzahl und das Alter Ihrer Kinder an.
Bitte füllen Sie das Anmeldeformular aus, um uns bei der Planung zu helfen. In den kommenden Wochen werden wir uns mit Ihnen in Verbindung setzen, um Ihre Teilnahme zu bestätigen und die weitere Logistik der Veranstaltungen mit Ihnen zu teilen.
Festival Programme
DAY 1
September 20 – Saturday
11:00 – 11:30
Off Festival Opening – Artistic Programme
Refreshment will be served
12:00 – 13:00
The role of Civil Society in Peacebuilding:
The Critical Peace Network Experience
with Ferda Fahrioğlu
The Critical Peace Network was established in January 2025 by 16 civil society organisations in Turkey that were brought together in 2024 by Off University. It aims to ensure that civil society plays an active role as in the ongoing Kurdish peace process in Turkey. In this workshop, we will discuss this experience and explore the significance of bottom-up peacebuilding processes and the role of civil society in them.
Off Script
A Performance by Menekşe Aydın
In her interactive work Off Script, Menekşe Aydın subverts commonly used proverbs and idiomatic expressions that carry normalized, patriarchal undertones in everyday language. By reversing these phrases, the work challenges gendered language structures and invites the audience to step outside scripted norms and engage with a reimagined form of expression.
13:00 – 14:45
– Lunch –
14:45 – 15:45
Academic Narratives on the Syrian Conflict:
How Can Syrian Studies Contribute to Rebuilding Social Sciences in Syria?
with Mohamad Moustafa Alabsi
The war in Syria has been documented by hundreds of academic books and articles, many of them in languages other than Arabic. This workshop aims to map the diverse clusters within Syrian Conflict Studies, including research centers, publications, websites, initiatives and specialized journals. This mapping will facilitate our discussion on effective strategies for disseminating academic knowledge about the Syrian conflict in Arabic. We will also explore how academic narratives can contribute to the revitalization of critical and interdisciplinary social sciences in Syria.
9/8FIGHT41:
“A 9/8 Fight for All of Us“
with Sema Semih
Our fellow Sema Semih introduces this 2022 award-winning short film by Berlin-based Turkish choreographer Gizem Aksu on which they collaborated. It explores the relationship between Aksu and German Sinti-Roma boxing legend Johann Rukeli Trollmann (1907-1944) which transcends generations and geographies.
Rukeli Trollmann was exposed to many forms of discrimination by the Nazi regime because of “boxing by dancing like Gypsy“ and murdered in the Wittenberge Concentration Camp. Inspired by the fight of Rukeli Trollmann, the film traces Aksu’s experience of immigration to Berlin and the fight for justice in Istanbul.
In Istanbul, three other dancers join Rukeli’s dance/fight by sharing the power of dance in their fight for justice: Gizem Nalbant, who experienced urban transformation in the Romani neighborhood Sulukule where she was born and grew up; Banu Açıkdeniz who has been researching feminist body politics; and Sema Semih, who has been part of the Turkish LGBTQI+ movement for many years. As it carries Rukeli’s story to Istanbul’s Romani Neighborhoods of Sulukule and Fikirtepe, the film takes a 9/8 rhythmic look into Istanbul’s recent urban memory through the bodies of dancers.
15:45 – 16:30
– Coffee Break –
16:30 – 18:00
Commoning Knowledge:
Towards Cooperative Review and Peer Production
with Fırat Erdoğmuş
This workshop explores how we can collectively produce and evaluate knowledge through participatory, decentralized and commons-based practices. Through real-world examples — including Off University’s own contributions – we’ll discuss cooperative review, peer production and the infrastructures needed to sustain shared knowledge-making.
Drag As A liberating teaching methodology
with Olivia
This workshop explores drag as a liberating and transformative teaching methodology; how performance and play can create inclusive, critical, and joyful learning environments.
18:00 – 19:00
– Open Dinner –
19:00 – 20:30
Panel Discussion
Common Struggles, Unequal Terms: Towards Fair Working Conditions for All Scholars
International at-risk academics working in German academia, representatives for mid-level academic staff and organisations campaigning for better working conditions will critically discuss the latest developments for US academia and what they mean for existing challenges such as precariousness, abuse of power and the state of academic freedom. . . . Read More
21:00 –
Bar and Disco
with DJ Sema and Babykilla
DAY 2
September 21 – Sunday
10:30 – 14:00
How to build more solidarity among all knowledge workers
with Anna Paßlick
To follow up on our panel discussion Common Struggles, Unequal Terms: Towards Fair Working Conditions for All Scholars, we are inviting organisations, anti-harassment initiatives, and exiled academics from various countries for a three-hour brainstorming session on Sunday morning.
Participation limited to 30.
Refreshment will be served
15:00 – 16:30
Off University Organisation für den Frieden e.V. General Assembly 2025
The Critical Peace Network was established in January 2025 by 16 civil society organisations in Turkey that were brought together in 2024 by Off University. It aims to ensure that civil society plays an active role as in the ongoing Kurdish peace process in Turkey. In this workshop, we will discuss this experience and explore the significance of bottom-up peacebuilding processes and the role of civil society in them.
16:30 – 17:00
– Refreshments –
