Hey, my name is Issaias. I grew up in a small village in southern Germany, which meant I was confronted early on with a world that enjoyed many white privileges—privileges that didn’t include me. My studies later took me to Leipzig, where I spent several years working as a cultural advocate, representing the city’s independent, non-commercial event collectives. From there, my path led me to lead a working group within the German festival network and to engage in various initiatives focused on awareness work.
I believe that festivals and similar cultural events are important social spaces—especially for people who are often excluded from other spaces due to their social status or experiences of discrimination. I also believe that awareness work needs to be imagined far beyond what is currently common practice in Germany.
I stand for the idea that societies should not place the burden of injustice on individuals but instead engage in collective processes of transformation to bring about lasting change. That’s why my long-term goal is to integrate awareness structures much earlier and more broadly—embedding them in companies, concert halls, and political institutions, and teaching them in schools and universities.
I founded reflect.awareness to help realize these goals—and many more.
Within the organization, I serve as Executive Board Member. I’m responsible for the overall concept, content development, and the implementation of our educational programs.