About wirBerlin
wirBerlin is a non-profit initiative that counteracts littering in Berlin, promotes civic engagement and environmental education, and works for a sustainable urban society. Initiated for 10 years WIRBerlin a Berlin-wide poster competition in which Berlin children between the ages of 6 and 12 deal with selected environmental issues.
Regional Hero is proud to be a premium partner this year, because the motto of 2024 poster competition is: “I'm an environmental campaigner — that's our purchase of tomorrow! ”.
The focus is on consumer society, overproduction and the consequences for the environment and cooperation in the region. This is an issue that we deal with on a daily basis and we are therefore all the more pleased to be able to support.
At the same time, this gives us a perfect opportunity to gain a deeper insight into the work of a charitable initiative. That's why we asked Anne Sebald, managing director and project manager of wirBerlin gGmbH, a few questions.
The interview
Dear Anne, could you tell us a bit about wirBerlin? How did your initiative come about?”
In 2010, Beate Ernst initiated a community platform that promoted the cleanliness and hospitality of our city. In 2019, wirBerlin e.V. became a non-profit limited liability company that, together with civil society, wants to counteract the littering of Berlin. The promotion of civic engagement, environmental education for young and old, and networking between actors from the public, civil society and private sectors are at the heart of our commitment to a sustainable urban society.
And how did you come to the initiative?
After my education and many years of professional experience as an office, project and production manager in the media and agency industry, my interest in environmental and climate protection was sparked by Work & Travel in Canada. Back in Berlin, I only wanted to contribute my skills to meaningful environmental projects. I have been working as a project manager at wirBerlin since 2019. Changes were on the horizon in summer 2022, and so I seized the opportunity for myself and our initiative and have now been managing director of wirBerlin gGmbH since January 2023.
What does a typical working day look like in a non-profit organization?
With us, no day is the same. Our work at the desk is very varied and includes writing funding applications, calculating budgets, writing technical reports, working on exciting new project concepts, designing and producing media productions, planning events and social media posts, holding team meetings and so on.
In addition, we often travel outside to talk to citizens at our events, cleanups and information stands, meet politicians or hold cool events with urban actors. We love variety!
At wirBerlin, the name also says it all: We work on our projects together and across disciplines.
What are your biggest challenges?
As a small non-profit limited liability company, we face small and big challenges every day. Financing is one of the major challenges. Unfortunately, a lack of funding means that we are unable to implement projects in the way we would like, that we have to let colleagues go and that the workload for all employees is very high.
What are you particularly proud of at wirBerlin?
We are particularly proud of the many projects that we implement in a small team. It is great when our efforts are well received by people and we receive feedback that our input has triggered a positive change in everyday life and environmental behavior in the long term. In addition to the poster competition for children, our annual day of action for a clean and livable Berlin, which we are holding for the 14th time in 2024, is very successful, as is our initiative for clean waters, banks and parks EVERYTHING IN FLOW.
And of course we are happy when our work is recognized. In 2022, we have the Roman Herzog Prize I won, that was great!
What is your personal favorite project?
Our poster competition for children, which is taking place for the 10th time this year, is definitely a favorite project. I am running the competition for the sixth time and can proudly say that thanks to my media expertise, it has become a major competition and a professional event. In the last year alone, we received 2,612 posters from over 3,300 children. It is great to see how much imagination the children use to approach the various environmental issues and what great messages they get for adults. I'm really looking forward to seeing all the posters with this year's motto “I am an environmental hero — that's our shopping tomorrow!” and then look at happy faces at the big awards ceremony and exhibition opening.
What do you want for wirBerlin in the future?
Our vision is to continue working tirelessly with motivation and many ideas to raise awareness of the issues of sustainability, climate, resource and environmental protection, to promote commitment and to keep Berlin worth living in. Hand in hand with citizens, politics and administration, business, associations and initiatives, we want to continue to accelerate in the future and stand up for a clean and green Berlin.
I also hope that further funding applications will be successful soon and that the wirBerlin team will expand, because the last few months have been very labor-intensive, which does not go well in the long run. Our successful projects require employees and sustainable protection for them.
How can you be supported?
Our charitable initiative is financed by funding, the organization of Corporate Green Days and donations.
With financial support, we can, for example, further expand our environmental education offerings for young and old, make our diverse campaigns for a sustainable and livable Berlin accessible to the general public and take a further step towards a sustainable urban society.
And of course, it really helps us when our projects are shared on social media, in newsletters or on internal networks. Donations also help us to cover our administrative costs and personal contributions in funding projects.
We are also always happy to have helping hands with our cleanup campaigns, which start again in April, and at the annual action day in September.
We are happy to organize exciting team building events such as cleanups, workshops or other activities. You can find information about this on our website.
If you are interested, follow us on social media and contact us.
What else would you like to tell readers at the end?
Each of us can make a difference, because every little action counts!
Dear Anne, thank you very much for the interview and the exciting insight into your work.
You can find more information about wirBerlin on the website https://wir-berlin.org or on the initiative's social media channels at instagram, facebook or linkedin.
If you want to financially support us Berlin, you can do so easily and easily in the Berlin region via the Regional Hero app. Thanks to our regional focus, it is also possible to donate tax-free cash benefits in kind.
