HamWatan

Since January 2022, bee4change e.V. has been part of the nationwide project HamWatan, which has been supported by the Association for Afghan Organisations (Vafo) since 2023.

Ten project partners in seven federal states participate in the project, which is financed by the Minister of State for Migration, Refugees and Integration, who is also the Federal Government Commissioner for Anti-Racism.

The aim of the project is to network and strengthen Afghan associations in Germany.

“HamWatan” works to strengthen and network civil society organisations with Afghan roots in Germany. Through the strengthened local structures, refugees can gain anchor points for successfully coping with their everyday lives in Germany and find democratic civil society structures in the Afghan associations with which they can identify.

The project focuses its measures on three major areas: 

1. The sustainable strengthening of organisations for and within the Afghan diaspora.
2. Supporting the empowerment of particularly vulnerable people within the Afghan community
3. Strengthening the social participation of Afghans in Germany.

Within the first area, Afghan associations working for the Afghan diaspora and refugees are strengthened in their structures. This is done, for example, by recruiting full-time and voluntary staff, by building up physical and digital infrastructure, and by strengthening local networking with civil society, administration and politics. In addition, smaller civil society initiatives from the Afghan diaspora are strengthened ideally and financially and advised, for example in structural development and networking. Within the second and third areas, different formats are offered for the local Afghan diaspora, depending on the target group and the expertise of the associations. Our association focuses on offering workshops and events, taking into account the interests and perspectives of women* from the Afghan diaspora in particular, but not only.

Within the project, we are responsible for the region of Northern Germany and the location of Hamburg. No other city in the Global North has as many people of Afghan origin as Hamburg. We are closely connected to the Afghan diaspora in Hamburg and without their commitment the work of bee4change would be unthinkable. bee4change is also committed to networking the Afghan diaspora nationwide. We have helped to shape the world’s only association of Afghan organisations that coordinates the HamWatan project from the very beginning.

*Disclaimer: The publication does not represent an expression of opinion by the Federal Government Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration, who is also the Federal Government Commissioner for Anti-Racism as the funding agency. The authors at bee4change e.V. bear sole responsibility for the content of their statements. The Commissioner expressly distances herself from all content that may be relevant under criminal or liability law.