Man-o-meter

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The seat of the Mann-O-Meter at Bülowstrasse 106 in Berlin-Schöneberg , 2005

Mann-O-Meter (MOM) is a counseling and information center for gay and bisexual men and young people in the Schöneberg district of Berlin . To the sponsoring association Mann-O-Meter e. V. also owns the anti-violence project Maneo.

Originally arose from an idea of ​​the meeting of Berlin gay groups (TBS) to develop a telephone counseling center for AIDS counter-education in 1985, the association now offers a wide range of services for a wide variety of needs, including different groups.

history

Mann-O-Meter was opened in 1986 as the first gay "Gay Switchboard" in Germany after the sponsoring association Mann-O-Meter e. V. has been working since 1985. Initially, the association consisted only of volunteers under the leadership of Thomas Brüggemann  (†) and a few students, including the law student Jörg Stubben (†). Later, the then Berlin Senator for Health Ulf Fink ( CDU ) campaigned for financial support for the project. The first rented premises were in Schöneberger Manteuffelstrasse, later for many years in Motzstrasse . In 2001, the association moved to the other side of Nollendorfplatz at Bülowstraße 106 to take up more space . Today, the four permanent positions of Mann-O-Meter are mainly financed by donations and a café, as well as partly from funds from the Deutsche Klassenlotterie Foundation. But the main burden of the work is borne by more than 70 volunteers.

The Mann-O-Meter was the model for numerous similar, meanwhile realized projects in the then West German Federal Republic. During the time of reunification , the club's offer was literally overwhelmed by the new East German and East European target group. In the former GDR , AIDS was much less present in the media.

offer

Mann-O-Meter offers a comprehensive range of advice and information on HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases , problems with coming out and in relationships, as well as other issues related to homosexuality and gay lifestyles.

Two volunteer advisors are available daily for personal or telephone advice. If necessary, they can also arrange meetings with the two full-time psychologists. Thanks to the low threshold of the info café, guests can also provide themselves with the information materials on display if required.

The Mann-O-Meter also regularly offers the option of having an anonymous rapid HIV test carried out.

In addition to cultural events and regular exhibitions, the youth group Jungschwuppen (gay youth group for 14 to 30 year olds) with the Romeo & Julius meeting is part of the nationally known offer. In the field of leisure activities, the MOM also supports other groups who need space for their meetings through its café operations. In some cases for years u. a. Regular meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous , a chess group, a games group, Cyclists Without Borders and gay railroad friends take place.

For prisoners in Berlin penal institutions, the MOM also offers advice and support, for which Brigitte Zypries, Federal Minister of Justice at the time, was the patron.

The annual lesbian and gay city festival and Christopher Street Day are also partially prepared here and have been established in Berlin with the significant contribution of Mann-O-Meter.

Maneo

In addition to the information and advice shop, Maneo is the second project of the Mann-O-Meter e. V. known nationwide. Originating from the Schwulen Überfalltelefon Berlin (SÜB) founded in 1990, Maneo offers help and advice for gay and bisexual young people and adult men in Berlin who have been victims of violence, records cases of homophobic attacks and violence and initiates a. a. Anti-violence training in cooperation with the Berlin police . In regular on-site campaigns at scene meeting points, Maneo clarifies the associated risks and encourages those potentially affected to report such cases. In 2006 the Maneo tolerance campaign was developed, which was financed for a period of three years with funds from the Deutsche Klassenlotterie Foundation.

As part of its public relations work to prevent violence, Maneo initiated the Lesbian and Gay City Festival in Berlin in 1992/1993 . Maneo headed the coordination and organization until 1998.

The nationwide surveys carried out by Maneo between 2006 and 2008 on experiences of homophobic violence were at times criticized because they were accused of ascribing anti-gay attacks in particular to people with a migration background. However, there was no evidence of this in the scientifically supported survey. Almost 24,000 participants took part in the first Maneo survey (2006/2007) and almost 17,500 participants in the second Maneo survey (2007/2008).

In 2009 Maneo initiated the “Rainbow Bridge”, with which young people from Tel Aviv , who had survived a serious attack on their Bar Noir youth center run by the Agudah organization on August 1, 2009 , were invited to Berlin for vacation. The project was supported by the mayors of the cities of Berlin, Cologne and Tel Aviv, who had taken on the patronage.

As a project committed to civil rights, Maneo has been awarding the European Tolerantia Prize since 2006 (together with the anti-violence projects SOS-Homophobie from France and Lambda and KPH from Poland ) , which honors outstanding personalities who have made a contribution to tolerance.

Award winners

neighborhood

The Mann-O-Meter is located directly on Nollendorfplatz , a center of homosexual urban culture for over a hundred years. Nearby are the PositHiv café , gay bars and pubs such as the internationally known Toms Bar , the Eldorado music bar and the busy Berio café on the way to Winterfeldtplatz with its weekly market on Saturdays.

collaboration

The Mann-O-Meter works with various public and private institutions. Cooperation partners were or are

anniversary

In 2006 the Mann-O-Meter celebrated its 20th anniversary. The 25th anniversary was celebrated on August 29, 2011 with a gala in the tipi at the Chancellery , the greeting was given by the then governing mayor, Klaus Wowereit , who was also the patron .

Publications

In addition to the Maneo publications, the monthly information magazine gaynow is also produced on Nollendorfplatz . Via the mailing list, the MOM is an important information gateway for the non-commercial gay scene in Berlin and thus ties in with a founding idea - to be an infoswitchpoint.

In the past, the MOM published the Pink Pages, a nationwide directory of gay and lesbian groups and associations at regular intervals. Prior to the general availability and accessibility of relevant information via the Internet, these were an important contribution to networking the gay scene.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ralf Buchterkirchen: Maneo: Victim phone looking for enemy images from the rosy times , October / November 2007.
  2. ↑ Documentation of the Maneo surveys
  3. ↑ European Prize - Elfi Scho-Antwerpes receives the Tolerantia Prize 2012. MANEO c / o Mann-O-Meter e. V., June 14, 2012, accessed June 20, 2012 .
  4. ↑ Maneo press release of July 29, 2016. In: maneo.de. Retrieved July 23, 2017 .
  5. ↑ The European Tolerantia Awards 2017. In: http://tolerantia-award.eu . August 31, 2017, accessed October 8, 2018 .
  6. ↑ Johannes Kram receives Tolerantia Award. In: www.queer.de. September 2, 2018, accessed October 8, 2018 .

Coordinates: 52 ° 29 ′ 59.2 ″  N , 13 ° 21 ′ 18.1 ″  E