Boxgirls Berlin is a club that uses sport as catalyst for social change. Since 2005, Boxgirls has worked to encourage the athletic and societal participation of women and girls. Apart from the weekly training sessions, gender-specific and inclusive kids and youth programmes like Urban Hero and Sicher im Kiez! are central aspects of Boxgirls’ inclusive sport and education philosophy.

Schools and recreational facilities in Berlin are particularly affected by the growing presence of violence and know about the negative effects that physical and psychological violence as well as a lack of conflict competence can have on the education of adolescents. Children and teenagers are also aware of the problematic environment they live in and want to do something about it. Sicher im Kiez! supports them in this.

The weeklong workshops are designed to encourage pupils from different cultural and educational backgrounds to discover their personal strength and to actively shape their environment. Sicher im Kiez! offers them a unique, protected space to explore effective, non-violent forms of communication and problem solving via sports and new media. In a hands-on simulation of political participation and decision-making for their city, programme participants get to see what it means to be an active member of society.

Sicher im Kiez! is designed for several groups: Children in grades 3 to 6 of primary school are participating during regular school hours as part of a school project week. The Manna Family Centre, run by the Malteser in Berlin-Gropiusstadt, has offered Sicher im Kiez! as an after-school activity for children aged 7 to 13.  The Sicher im Kiez! programme is designed to be flexible and can therefore be adjusted to fit the needs and level of knowledge of its participants.

Sicher im Kiez! encourages participants to examine their values and abilities and to discover their personal strength. It focuses on the abilities of the individual pupil and lets participants shape the course of the programme. Based on their own experience and ideas, pupils work in groups to design storyboards and short video clips dealing with security issues in their neighbourhood and strategies of violence prevention. This sets the stage for further discussion about spatial (in-)security in their environment and trains creative thinking and problem-solving strategies.

Sicher im Kiez! introduces boxing from an angle that is new to most participants. Security is the central aspect of the programme, and therefore, mindless punching is not the goal, but self-awareness and fair play. Supported by licensed trainers, the pupils develop an awareness of their own body and learn to read the body language of their opponent. This way, conflicts can be anticipated before they escalate. To get to know your own strengths, to move beyond fear, and to set and accept boundaries, that is the athletic goal of Sicher im Kiez!. Martial Arts is presented in a new light and, combined with basic relaxation and de-escalation techniques, opens up new pathways for behavioural changes among the participants.