Birgit Mahner - Growing a strong community: Das BELLA DONNA HAUS
Saturday, May 26, 2012

  I live in a small town between Hamburg and Lübeck, northern Germany. There are a lot of citizens active in initiatives and nonprofit organizations, and I work for “BELLA DONNA—ein Haus von Frauen e.V.” Our nonprofit bought an old industrial building in 2002 and renovated it to become a cultural center—a women’s building for all people. The success of this unique project is possible because of a strong, solid community of women in Bad Oldesloe. I will talk about BELLA DONNA HAUS and show pictures.

Additionally, I’d like to introduce myself. I was born and raised in northern Germany. After my graduation from Gymnasium, I studied adult education, psychology and sociology at Hamburg University. In 1988 my daughter Simone was born. As a single mother, I have worked since 1995 in social psychiatry. In the summer of 2010 my daughter became ill with leukemia and died shortly afterward. A stable community of friends helps me immensely to live with this terrible loss.

I am looking forward to meeting you at the Gerlind Institute and appreciate personal as well as socio-political questions. I’m open to subjects of special interest about which you would like to know more.