Recently, one of the Islamic communities supported by our project Islamic Welfare was able, with the support of the project team, to establish a room for teenagers. What is special about this room is that all teenagers in Chemnitz are welcome – regardless of their religion or origin.

During the opening ceremony, which took place at the beginning of July, the dean of the community kept underlining this special feature. He was delighted that many teenagers took the chance of the opening ceremony to check out and directly make use of their new realm. Many of them talked about how much it means to them that they are thought of and that they are offered such a nice room. A lot of appreciation and excitement could be felt.

Besides the teenagers who got the chance to voice their opinion, there was also the Chemnitz Officer for Migration, Etelka Kobuß, who gave a short speech. She emphasised the importance of this kind of offer for the social infrastructure of the city and thanked the community for their efforts. There were also some scientists from different institutions who, for example, do their research on the topic of Muslim youth work. They took the chance to engage in a conversation with the teenagers.

The room is going to be opened during two afternoons a week, in which the teenagers can go there and, for example, use the football table. During this time a contact person will be present. Furthermore, some discussion forums in which the teenagers can exchange their thoughts on relevant topics are planned. A trip to one of the local museums is also in planning so that the teenagers can explore new social environments of their city.

Also, further ideas for making the room more attractive are already coming up. For example, there are already calls for a reading corner. We are sure that there will be many more activities and ideas in the future.

This activity is co-financed with means of taxation on the basis of the budget decided on by the Saxon State Parliament.