February/March 2023: For eight years now, Russia has been waging war against Ukraine, and for the past year it has been waging war across the country: February 24 marked the first anniversary of Russia’s nationwide war of aggression against Ukraine. It is a day that changed everything for millions of people. Tens of thousands of people have been killed and injured since then. Over 14 million people have been forced to leave their homes – whether as refugees in their own country or around the world. In this campaign, we spoke with different people from Ukraine and shared their experiences and stories. In doing so, we explored the questions: What is behind these horror stories and numbers we read every day? Who are the people who have fallen victim to the Russian war of aggression? And what does it mean to defend or lose your home? To the campaign page.

December 2022: Whether in Ukraine, Iran, Afghanistan or at Europe’s external borders: In many places, far too many people are suffering. Despite the challenging times in Germany, we wanted to ensure that other people in need are not forgotten and show what cohesion looks like. To do this, we brought together 40 aid organizations. They evacuate, supply, advise and protect. They save lives or enforce human rights, they pick up where crises are felt particularly strongly. For each of these projects we started a fundraising campaign, which was supported by prominent patrons. To the campaign page.

March 2021 & March 2022: While conditions in the Moria 2.0 camp continued to deteriorate through the winter, the entire cultural and music scene in Germany came to a standstill due to the pandemic. This gave a group of musicians, organizers and people from the cultural sector an idea: Why don’t we use the existing empty clubs to collect donations in kind for the people on Lesbos and the idle Nightliner to drive them there? Together with many volunteers and an association of organizations that donate goods, we put the idea into practice. With well over 100 musicians, we called for large-scale collection campaigns in 6 cities across Germany and were able to collect over 400 pallets of urgently needed relief supplies in a feat of strength. We drove the relief goods to our LeaveNoOneBehind warehouse on Lesvos, where we could distribute them to the refugees directly on site, or to other organizations on the Greek islands. Less than a year later, we organized a follow-up action with the existing network in solidarity with the people of Ukraine. In a very short time, we were able to collect relief supplies and send them to Ukraine as well as to surrounding countries such as Poland, Moldova and Romania. To the campaign page.

December 2021: You ask yourself “What can I do as an individual?” Quite a lot! In December 2021, we presented: The #LeaveNoOneBehind action calendar on Instagram. From simply getting started to founding your own association, we showed how you can get involved. Every bit of help counts, whether on the ground or from your own couch.

Autumn/winter 2021: Thousands of people on the move stayed in the border area between Poland and Belarus in autumn 2021. Without support, without food, in freezing cold. People were violently prevented from entering Poland, pushed from there and chased by the military. NGOs and journalists were denied access. These people were surrounded in the border area and there was neither forward nor back. As part of the campaign, we demanded the direct reception of people from the Polish-Belarusian border in Germany; to ensure access to asylum procedures based on the rule of law for people who have fled; to advocate for the end of violence and illegal pushbacks and the observance of universal human rights in the Polish and German border regions; and access for doctors*, humanitarian NGOs, lawyers* and journalists* to the Polish-Belarusian border areas. All over Germany, people showed their solidarity by placing green lights in their homes or on the streets. We also took a bus to the border area to evacuate people from danger to their lives and bring existential relief supplies to the border region. To the campaign page.

September 2021: Human rights violations against refugees at the EU’s external borders reached a new peak in 2021. For this reason, we initiated a campaign together with Milo Rau’s IIPM, the NTGENT, the School of Political Hope, and numerous organizations, and organized a three-day event at Schauspiel Köln as part of it. With a workshop program, three hybrid panels, a solo rally, a concert and the joint fundraising campaign #klageflut, we wanted to bring together committed people from different sectors of civil society. The common goal was to counter the violence and develop strategies for restoring the rule of law and equal rights for all at the EU’s external borders, and to raise funds for legal human rights organizations as part of the campaigns. To the campaign page.

Summer 2021: Human rights are #nonnegotiable! As part of a broad civil society alliance, we jointly demanded an end to the pushbacks at EU borders that violate international law and the policy of leaving people to die in the Mediterranean. In the context of the 2021 federal election, we called on the next federal government to finally grant basic human rights to all, as well as to guarantee safe and self-determined escape routes and access to the right to asylum in the European Union. On two days of action, on 19th and 20th of June, we gathered thousands of people in the streets of more than 50 German cities to draw attention to the issue and give people a space to get involved in civil society. The campaign culminated in a joint large-scale action in front of the German Bundestag, where together with the committed civilian population we laid a photo mosaic of pictures of the politicians* who contribute with their decisions to the situation at the European borders. Human rights only have value if they apply to all people – at Europe’s borders as well as in all EU member states. To the campaign page.

February/March 2021: It’s an indictment. Despite protests, days of action, and all-round political pressure, we continue to see the same images: Collapsed tents, flooded paths, and people who have to wade through snow and mud every day. The systematic degradation caused by EU policies leads, among other things, to thousands of people in Greek camps and on the Bosnian border not having proper shoes. Through the 10,000 Shoes campaign, we wanted to draw attention to these untenable conditions and collect 10,000 shoes together in the form of donations in kind and money. Together with more than 10 partner organizations, we were able to meet the urgent need for sturdy footwear at the EU’s external borders, at least for a while. To the campaign page.

December 2020: After the fire in Moria camp, the situation in winter was alarming. The hope for a quick evacuation of the people on the move diminished with each passing day, and the people lacked everything. Together with Volker Bruch, Trystan Pütter and a number of well-known personalities, we launched the “Los für Lesbos” campaign in December 2020 in order to draw attention to the conditions and to be able to support the organizations on the ground in their so important daily work It was possible to win 25 personal and special items and at the same time donate them to projects at the external borders. To the campaign page.