November 15th, 2026 in Berlin | 10am – 6pm
Ceremony of Resilience + an afternoon of dialogue and learning
Turning Memory into Action: Deepening Solidarity
Remembrance is more than an act of looking back. It can help us understand the present, bring people together, and create the relationships we need to shape what comes next.
In 2026, Widen the Circle is honored to take on the responsibility of hosting the Festival of Resilience, an initiative originally created by survivors of the far-right attack of October 9th, 2019 and developed in partnership with Hillel Deutschland e.V.
From the beginning, the Festival has been a space for self-determined remembrance, grief, resilience, solidarity, and the celebration of life. It was created so that survivors and those directly affected by violence could shape how the events of October 9th are remembered, beyond media narratives, courtrooms, and political spectacle.
As the Festival enters a new chapter with Widen the Circle, we want to build on this foundation while asking what remembrance can make possible for the future.
At the heart of this work is a shared conviction
We want to help build a society in which hatred and violence have no place. Together, we can strengthen the conditions for a more democratic, resilient, and solidaristic society.
We believe that engaging with history and the ways we remember it can bring people together rather than push them apart. This feels particularly urgent in 2026. Remembrance cannot exist only as a ritual of looking toward the past. It must also help us ask what kind of society we want to live in today, and what relationships, alliances, and forms of solidarity we need to sustain it.
Deepening Solidarity
Solidarity does not happen automatically. It requires investment in relationships, trust, patient listening, empathy, and a willingness to learn across differences.
Solidarity can also change and grow. Relationships deepen. New partnerships emerge. Coalitions expand. People who begin with different histories, experiences, and perspectives can discover where their work intersects and what they can build together.
This raises important questions:
What do we need from one another to work together respectfully and effectively?
How can we build coalitions across different histories, experiences, and identities without erasing those differences?
What allows solidarity to endure beyond moments of crisis?
The Festival is intended as a space to ask and explore these questions together.
The partnership between the Festival of Resilience and Widen the Circle is itself an opportunity to explore what effective coalitions can look like and what they require from the people involved. We also want to learn from the relationships and networks that have already emerged among people directly affected by far-right violence, including the Selbstbestimmt Erinnern Netzwerk and Solidaritätsnetzwerk.
A Starting Point, Not an Endpoint
The Festival is a space for listening, connection, and exchange; for learning, questioning, and reflecting together on what comes next.
We want the conversations and relationships that have already begun, as well as those that emerge during the Festival, to continue beyond the event itself.
We hope to create opportunities for survivors, communities, professionals, and organizations to share experiences, strengthen alliances, learn from one another, and develop new approaches together, with ongoing support from Widen the Circle.
The Festival of Resilience is not just a single day. It is the beginning of an ongoing conversation that we want to continue throughout 2027 and beyond.
In Honor of Their Memory
We gather in memory of Jana L. and Kevin S., who were murdered in the far-right attack on October 9th, 2019.
Plan for the Festival
While the Festival itself will take place in person in Berlin on Sunday, November 15th, we are happy to begin the weekend with a digital Havdalah on Zoom on Saturday, November 14th at 5:30pm.
Open both to those joining us in Berlin on Sunday and to those unable to attend in person, the one-hour gathering will offer a chance to connect with people from across Germany and beyond, followed by Havdalah to mark the transition into the Festival of Resilience.
On November 15th
Doors open from 10:00am with coffee and registration, with the program beginning promptly at 11:00am.
The morning will center around the Ceremony of Resilience, created together with survivors of the October 9th attack.
Over lunch together we will create opportunities for participants to connect with others from their regions. We believe that strong local relationships, connected across regions and communities, can create meaningful opportunities for collaboration and contribute to lasting change.
During the afternoon, participants will be invited to join one of four discussion circles focused on substantive and personal exchange. Two will be hosted by members of the Festival of Resilience community and two by members of the Widen the Circle network.
We will then come back together to reflect on what we have heard, what we want to carry forward, and where these conversations might lead next.
And, of course, we will bring the day to a close together on a sweet note.
Contact and Registration
The Festival of Resilience 2026 will take place in Berlin on November 15th, 2026, from 10am – 6pm.
To learn more about the program, participants, workshops, and opportunities to get involved, please contact resilience@widenthecircle.org. Registration is open here until November 9th.
We invite you to join us as we build the next chapter of the Festival of Resilience together.
