History of FRIEDA-Frauenzentrum e.V.

The years 1989 and 1990 brought about not only a turning point for Germany, but also a turning point for women living in Berlin’s Friedrichshain district. Within the citizen’s movement Neue Forum, a group aimed to strengthen feminist women’s education in the Friedrichshain district, to enable people to help themselves, and to advance political and social work in the district.

As the basic group of the Independent Women ’s Association (UFV), the initiators chose the name for their group in the course of planning the „1st Friedrichshain Women’s Forum“:

FRIEDA – Friedrichshain Ladies, Women, Girls, Females.

„Without women, no state can be made“ – with the leaflet campaign at the launch of the „1st Friedrichshain Women’s Forum“ on the 11th of January 1990, the lateral thinkers drew attention to their initiative and formulated their goal of creating a space for women. That is why the 11th of January 1990 is the birthday of FRIEDA, even though the association was officially founded on the 14th of June 1990.

A room was quickly found, the concept for a communication, information and counselling centre for women was worked on feverishly, and in June 1990, FRIEDA’s doors opened to visitors for the first time.