NPR Berlin Blog

An orange crochet bucket hat bobs through the crowd. Calls of “Hey Jimmy!” follow him. He pauses to bump fists and shake hands. A drum is slung over his shoulder as he strolls through across the sandy beach at the Young African Art Market. His easy smile and demeanor are as cool as the March evening air.

"So I haven't seen her since the hospital, because I was away. So now I am back and I am very excited to see the baby today." Elisabeth Waller volunteers with the Auntie Teams for Pregnant Refugee Women; an American initiative in cooperation with the Malteser Hilfsdienst. We are on our way to visit Maryam, her husband Javad and their newborn baby Elena.

Khatol Sediq from the NGO Malteser Hilfsdienst sees integration as a two-way street. She believes that people from different cultures can understand each other and also respect their differences. She says it's great to get to know other cultures and to share your own culture and values.

Dr. Bettina Gaber is pretty busy this Monday afternoon. Every chair in the waiting room of her practice for gynecology and obstetrics is taken. Still, Dr. Gaber takes her time with a young woman from Afghanistan. She wants to remain anonymous - we'll call her Malia. Malia is expecting her third child.

Whether you want to call it "Berlin Valley" or "Silicon Allee" Berlin is a hotspot for startups. While the city tries to emulate Silicon Valley, some people worry about it copying one of the Valley's most objectionable characteristics — a lack of gender diversity.