Grants - Kulturzentrum Oyoun achieves legal success against Chialo
In dispute over a funding stop by the Senate due to antisemitism allegations, the Neukölln Cultural Center Oyoun has achieved its first legal victory. According to the Constitutional Court of Berlin's confirmation on Monday in response to an inquiry, the Higher Administrative Court must deal with the case again.
The administration of Cultural Senator Joe Chialo (CDU) had stopped the payment of millions in funding for Oyoun at the end of 2023, which was supposed to continue until the end of 2025. The background was, among other things, allegations of possibly antisemitic attitudes at an event in Oyoun's premises in November 2023.
Oyoun sued against the funding stop, but without success both before the administrative and the Higher Administrative Court. However, the Constitutional Court overturned the Higher Administrative Court's decision from March and sent the case back. The association saw its legal rights violated. The Constitutional Court judges accordingly announced. However, they left it open whether Oyoun has a claim to further funding.
Oyoun welcomed the decision of the Constitutional Court. "I am very pleased that the rule of law has ultimately prevailed after a long and at times extremely frustrating fight through all instances in the past months," explained the lawyer Myrsini Laaser. Oyoun describes its own mission as follows: The Center "invents, develops and implements artistically-cultural projects through decolonial, queer*feminist, and migrant perspectives".
The institution or the non-profit organization Kultur NeuDenken received 1,052 million Euro from Berlin Government in 2023 up to November 15, as the Senate Cultural Administration informed the Left parliamentarian Manuela Schmidt in writing at the end of 2023. For the location in 2024 and 2025, grants of approximately the same amount were planned.
- Joe Chialo, as the Cultural Senator from the CDU, was involved in the funding stop for Oyoun due to antisemitism allegations.
- Berlin's Culture Center Oyoun faced antisemitism charges, leading to a stop of millions in funding from 2023 to 2025.
- Oyoun, an organization that promotes artistically-cultural projects from decolonial, queer*feminist, and migrant perspectives, has received significant funding from the Berlin Government.
- Despite losing initial court cases and facing a potential stop in further funding, Oyoun managed to achieve a legal victory in response to the antisemitism allegations.
- Despite the ruling in favor of Oyoun, it remains uncertain if the association will receive further funding, as the Constitutional Court left this open in their decision.
