Photo: F. Elias

Ten years ago, the “Auf Augenhöhe” fund was publicly unveiled at Ottmar-Pohl-Platz in Cologne. To mark the anniversary, it returned to Kalk—with a long table, a “bench for encounters,” and a casual discussion about living together in a diverse society.

Guests of the Congress of German Community Foundations, current and former partners, and residents of the Kalk neighborhood gathered here at the invitation of the Software AG Foundation (SAGST). Together with the KalkGestalten Foundation, In-Haus e. V., and other partners, an open setting for conversation and making new connections was created around an international buffet.

Right in the middle: a bench. Engraved on its backrest was one of six questions accompanying the anniversary campaign. In Cologne, the question was: “What’s your story?” It sparked a desire to learn more about one another. Some of the conversations were captured in drawings—as snapshots of an evening when Ottmar-Pohl-Platz became, for a few hours, exactly what this year’s gathering of community foundations was all about: a “third place.”

These are freely accessible spaces that bring people together and are shaped by those who use them. They create opportunities for encounters without placing origin, role, or affiliation at the forefront from the outset. This is precisely what makes them special: people who are initially strangers to one another can meet here with relative open-mindedness and without fixed labels. In this way, such places offer the chance to learn about different perspectives and discover what unites us.

This idea has been at the core of the “Auf Augenhöhe” Fund since its founding. Since 2016, more than 550 smaller projects by and for people with refugee or migrant backgrounds have been supported. Community foundations and Houses of Resources play an important role in this effort: they are familiar with the local conditions in their regions and have access to dedicated initiatives. GLS Treuhand handles the application process. Special thanks were extended to all of them at the so-called “BANK-ett for Encounter” for their long-standing collaboration.

“The fund emerged from a unique period in history. What continues to guide it to this day is the conviction that social cohesion grows where people not only help one another but also take each other seriously as equals and assume responsibility together,” says Andreas Rebmann, the fund’s initiator and project manager at SAGST.

What took place at Ottmar-Pohl-Platz is now set to become a reality in other locations as well. Several community foundations expressed interest in establishing their own locations during the congress. In the Cologne area, the Dr. Jürgen Rembold Foundation is funding nine additional installations in addition to the one at the bank in Kalk. To expand the initiative nationwide, additional sponsors are being sought to cover the costs of production and installation, which range from 1,500 to 2,000 euros.