Lange Tafeln — Nika van Olst

Lange Tafeln: Neighborhood conversations across Berlin-Neukölln

Lange Tafeln (“Long Tables”) was born out of a simple but powerful idea: bringing people together over food and conversation. What started as a concept from the Neukölln Engagement Conference turned into a vibrant, district-wide event that invited people to sit down at long tables in public spaces, share a desert, and talk – across generations, cultures, and communities.

Originally scoped for just five locations, the project grew to 19 different sites across Neukölln, thanks to the huge interest from local initiatives and the scalable concept we developed. On May 31, 2024 – Neighbors’ Day – over 3,000 people took part in the event. There were kids’ theatre shows, live folk music, conversations about the EU elections, board games, and just a whole lot of meaningful, unpretentious community connection.

Project Overview

Client: Bezirksamt Neukölln, Stabsstelle für Dialog und Zukunft

On behalf of: NEW STANDARD.S

My role: Project Lead

Timeline: December 2023 – June 2024

My Role

I led the project from beginning to end:
Wrote the winning proposal for the public tender
Built and managed the budget
Created the overall concept, strategy, and comms plan
Coordinated our team and 65+ partner organizations
Made sure we delivered on time, on budget, and with heart

We collaborated with illustrator Kati Szilágyi to design a warm, inclusive visual identity — the kind that made people feel seen. All our print materials – from posters to conversation menus – were available in six languages (English, German, Turkish, Arabic, Ukrainian, Polish), and we worked closely with the district’s disability office to reach groups we might not have otherwise.

Each Long Table was hosted by a local organization, who chose their own programming and invited neighbors to join. To help spark conversation among strangers, we printed multilingual “conversation menus” that were placed at every table.

How We Reached People

Sustainability in Action

We didn’t just talk about sustainability – we embedded it into everything and participated in reaching SDG7, SDG10, SDG12, SDG15, and SDG17 – doing all of this together as Neukölln’s locals.

Our logistics partner, Supergreen, delivered almost everything using e-bikes or an electric van.
All food was plant-based, and we served it on real porcelain plates (no single-use anything).
The event was entirely free, from the coffee and cake to the cultural programming.
We made sure every location was accessible and barrier-free – both physically and socially.

What I’m Proud Of

Scaling from 5 to 19 locations – while staying true to the core idea
Building a completely women-led team to run production
Creating a format that people wanted to be part of — not because they had to, but because it felt good

What We Learned

Not everything was perfect. The event themes were pre-assigned as part of the public contract, which limited some creative freedom. And scaling from five to 19 locations meant we had to adjust on the fly – especially with the budget. But we made it work.

All in all, this project showed what’s possible when local government trusts communities and gives them the tools (and tables) to come together.