On March 7, 2025, the 9th Berlin Workshop on Participatory Research (BWPF) was held for the first time as a face-to-face event at the Alice Salomon University of Applied Sciences (ASH) Berlin. Around 100 people interested in participatory research and active in this field came to the ASH Berlin location in Marzahn-Hellersdorf. The BWPF is a central annual activity of the Participatory Health Research Network (PartNet) and was held this year with the support of "Campus Transferale (CaT)". CaT is funded by the BMBF and the state of Berlin as part of the "Innovative University" funding line at ASH Berlin from 2023 to 2027."
The Berlin Participatory Research Workshop offers all those who conduct participatory research or work, as well as interested parties, an opportunity for a constructive and critical exchange of ideas, concepts, strategies, methods and challenges in the implementation of participatory research or practice. The event is also explicitly aimed at practitioners and experts with experience.
This year's motto was: "Participation: Transformation or Transformanie?" The focus was on the possibilities and limits of participatory projects in change processes. Who changes, how and when? How sustainable are these changes? Or is change sometimes just a pretense? How can change be recognized and what are the conditions for success?
The event was opened with a keynote speech on the topic of "Transformation or Transformanie. Expedition through the island world of participation", held by Prof. Dr. Michaela Moser from St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences and the expert from experience Christine Sallinger. Christine Sallinger is a member of the Sichtbar Werden platform. Sichtbar Werden is an association of people with experiences of poverty and exclusion who come from self-organizations or are committed individuals. In the keynote speech, concrete experiences from the practice of caring community initiatives in rural areas, projects of the Austrian Poverty Conference and participation strategies for the national healthcare system were presented from the perspective of the two speakers.
Afterwards, seven themed workshops, seven workshops and twelve poster presentations offered insights into current research and practical projects. The range of topics was broad and included contributions from the fields of health research, health services research, social work, community health promotion and technology development. Participants also had the opportunity to talk to the PartNet working groups and discuss and critically reflect on their activities.
The documentation of the conference will be published shortly on the PartNet website.
Further information:
The documentation of the conference will be published shortly on the PartNet website.
