Putting a Trans Mark on the City of Berlin 1 Favorite 

As part of an international workshop (10-11 October 2015) with the Center for Artistic Activism, 17 trans activists and artists from 13 European countries developed a creative campaign to mark some of the spaces in Berlin which have symbolic significance for trans people. Within 24 hours activists developed from scratch the campaign including a logo, a trans map of Berlin, origami workshop, living library and stands where Berliners could juggle with their gender and enjoy free breakfast and coffee.

During the workshop activists chose to work on the burning issue of violence against trans persons, as it affects their communities daily. Within Europe, Italy and Turkey lead with 28 and 37 reported murders respectively since 2008. Activists marked the embassies of these two countries on the specially designed map along with places where trans people have been attacked in Berlin.

“The workshop was empowering for me”, says Tina Orban, an activist from Hungary, “I am usually not involved in street actions but this one feels different. We will leave a mark on the streets of Berlin to bring to the light the violence that trans people are facing”.

Activists and artists created a symbol which will remain in each location marked on the map. Locations that celebrate trans people’s lives and activism are also on the map. The delicate symbol merges a butterfly and a flower, to symbolise transformation and commemorate the dead.

Every year on November 20th activists all over the world commemorate Trans Day of Remembrance to honour and remember trans people who lost their lives during the year. According to the Transrespect vs. Transphobia project of Transgender Europe since 2008 at least 94 trans people were reported murdered in Europe.

Read more about TGEU’s plans for TDoR 2015 on http://tgeu.org/TDoR