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Berlin Launches First 'Freedom Week' Around Fall of the Wall Anniversary

City leaders cast the week as an annual platform to champion democratic values.

Overview

  • Running November 8–15, the program features roughly 130 events across about 80 venues, from conferences and workshops to exhibitions and tours.
  • The week opens with the World Liberty Congress at the Berlin Abgeordnetenhaus, where about 200 dissidents from 50–60 autocratically governed countries are set to convene.
  • The Berlin Freedom Conference at the Schöneberger Gasometer will gather speakers including Bundestag President Julia Klöckner, Oleksandra Matviichuk, Wladimir Kara-Mursa and Ben Hodges, with further international participants slated.
  • Governing Mayor Kai Wegner serves as patron and is expected at memorial and conference events, with organizers saying the format is intended to recur annually.
  • Public programming includes a BND action day with discussion rounds and guided exhibition tours, a citywide mobile outreach stage, and multiple free or open-access events.