Project Description Lange Tafel Berlin-LA

The first Lange Tafel began in Berlin over a decade ago. This community story telling event came to Los Angeles in  2016 and 2017.  Both Berlin and Los Angeles are multicultural cities that are deeply shaped by immigration. Both cities engage in intensive social, educational, and cultural activities aimed at fostering integration. This celebration of community story telling came to Orange County at California State University Fullerton for the first time in April, 2019. Orange County, a modern-day suburban region of Southern California, is in its own way a blend of various cultures and immigration stories. At the Long Table, we honor these stories.

Outcomes of this Event

A grassroots people-to-people cultural exchange with students, school children, their parents, and invited guests over a meal at the Long Table festival-style event.

• In Oral History Workshops, students  learned how to write essays and stories about immigration based on inter-generational oral histories. They also developed their social and communication skills.
• The Know How of the Lange Tafel was adapted for Los Angeles and revised.
• In a certificate ceremony, the students were recognized for their engagement with the project.
• We compiled a chronicle from the immigration stories out of LA, which we will bring back to Berlin.
• We symbolically gave this chronicle to a community leader as our Honorary Patron during the event.
• Friendship and exchange between the cities of Los Angeles and Berlin.
• The project generated empathy for the diverse and trans-cultural communities in Berlin and LA and for the immigration experiences of people around the world.
• A Film documented our process.
• A visiting delegation from Berlin and the LA team completed an evaluation of the first Lange Tafel in LA in order to shape the direction of the next Lange Tafel