Remembering together. Experiencing together. Creating change together.
Windhoek and Berlin are celebrating 25 years of their partnership as twinned cities – an anniversary that represents an active culture of remembrance and future-orientated collaboration. Based on Germany’s historical responsibility towards Namibia, over 25 years a partnership has developed that is rooted in many different relationships, in areas such as education, culture and research, and shapes their shared perspectives. The anniversary weeks, which are being organised in each city, give visibility to these connections and invite the public to a programme of exhibitions, music theatre, guided tours, discussion formats, workshops and much more that provides new impetus.
The anniversary programme places the focus on remembrance culture and civil society dialogue, contemporary art, culture and music as well as the creative industries, the sciences and archives. It is made vibrant by its innovative and sustainable approaches and formats, as well as the close cooperation between various partners and stakeholders in both cities. This has resulted in a collaboratively created programme that lets the cities speak for themselves and connects them to each other.
Anniversary Weeks in Windhoek and Berlin
The anniversary weeks in Windhoek and Berlin are an expression of diverse connections. The main focus are two important joint projects: the music theatre production “People of Song”, which is based on a long-term German-Namibian partnership and brings together artists from both countries, will celebrate its world premiere on the 17th of October 2025 at the National Theatre of Namibia and will also be performed from the 21st to the 23rd of November 2025 at the Humboldt Forum in Berlin. The multidisciplinary artist Vitjitua Ndjiharine will present her work in both Windhoek and Berlin with a video installation – this intervention in urban space brings an artistic exploration of the city partnership to the cities’ wider communities.
The celebrations kick off with the anniversary week in Windhoek from the 14th to the 19th of October. Its main focus will be on participatory projects that engage in dialogue about future potential against the backdrop of an active culture of remembrance and the possibilities for working together productively as twinned cities. You can find the entire programme, with a fashion show in the middle of the city, workshops, panel discussions and various other formats for encounters and dialogue, here.
Events Surounding the Anniversary
The Berlin anniversary programme celebrating “25 Years of Twin Cities Windhoek – Berlin” is being curated and organised by Kulturprojekte Berlin, on the initiative of and in collaboration with the Governing Mayor of Berlin – Senate Chancellery, as well as a large number of partners. The programme in Windhoek is taking place in cooperation with the City of Windhoek, the Namibia Institute for Democracy and the Creative Industry Institute Africa.
Made possible by funds from the Lotto Foundation Berlin.