As part of the heimaten Festival, Common Voices Radio—the Multilingual Radio in Halle and surroundings broadcast on Radio Corax 95.9—went live on air to ask: What does home mean? For many, home is closely connected to a familiar scent or taste. Common Voices Radio therefore transformed the public space in front of the passage.13 district centre in Halle-Neustadt into an open-air kitchen and a mobile radio studio: for collective cutting, cooking, and storytelling. You can now listen to the multilingual editorial team discussing life in Neustadt and the heimaten project while delicious dishes simmer on the stove.

The heimaten Festival for Plural Democracy is driven by the conviction that a sense of belonging is shaped through collective action. The multi-week, decentralized festival is supported by the heimaten Network, an association comprising over thirty cultural institutions and civil society initiatives. From September to December 2025, numerous events take place throughout Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. At a time when democratic frameworks are under severe and increasing threat, the festival sets an example of pluralistic resistance by emphasizing that diversity is not a threat, but a source of strength and resilience.

How to address the rightward shift? This is the question posed by hip-hop collective BSMG, who are reacting to contemporary sociopolitical shifts with a three-part programme comprising a concert, a workshop, and a panel discussion featuring numerous guests. Through musical resistance, a defensive stance, diasporic knowledge transfer, and practical self-organization, the programme aims to create an experiential space for Black, African, and migrant communities. The events are explicitly oriented towards people who are affected by social exclusion—as well as anyone interested in a just, post-national, and antiracist future.