How do the people in Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe live? How do they see themselves? And how do they see us Germans? These questions, which the MitOst organization has been asking for many years, have not lost their significance. On the contrary, in an increasingly complex world, they are more important than ever. Take, for example, South Eastern Europe. The Balkan states actually have a lot in common. They share musical traditions, a common history and even linguistic idiosyncrasies. But when traveling through South Eastern Europe, one notices mainly one thing: The various nations define themselves against each other. Commonalities are overlooked, mutual distrust and rejection are the result.

There is only one solution to prejudice and bias: to get to know each other and to overcome boundaries—both on the map and in your heads. These are the goals of the transnational projects of the MitOst association, three of which were supported by the Schering Stiftung.