UNTOLD STORIES: The Multilingual Children’s Literature Festival

From 18–20 September 2026, UNTOLD STORIES brings multilingual children’s literature to Refugio Berlin, ZLB and Spore Initiative.

Across the festival, books meet illustration and music, family recipes become sound, and children are invited to become storytellers themselves.At the heart of UNTOLD STORIES is the belief that every child should find space for their languages, experiences and imagination in the stories around them.

‍Friday: Opening the Festival
‍UNTOLD STORIES opens at Refugio Berlin with an afternoon of books and encounters.
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Author Regina Feldmann and illustrator Daniel Nikoi Djanie bring Amma kann nicht einschlafen to life through reading and live drawing. Ayşe Pınar Köprücü shares Bir Sonbahar Öyküsü, a poetic Turkish-language story about a leaf finding the courage to let go, while Karin Beese invites families into the colourful world of Nelly und die Berlinchen.

As evening arrives, AL.Berlin takes over with Marwan & Mazen live, bringing the opening day to a close through music and gathering.

‍Saturday: Language Is Home
‍Saturday begins at ZLB, with a programme created especially for younger children and their caregivers.

‍Jane Mbeba brings the East African world of Mateo, Zuri na Amani to life, Damla İnan shares her multilingual Sternenkompass series, and Gero Scholz opens another way into storytelling through German Sign Language.

Elsewhere in the space, puppets begin to find their voices with Lama Alhabi and Rafat Alzakout, while Mohammad “Moe” Khalil invites children to build new worlds from collage.

And what does a family recipe sound like? With Dorothee Wendt and the Al-Farabi Music Academy, spoons and bowls become instruments as recipes from the UNTOLD STORIES Children’s Cookbook are transformed into a musical menu.

In the afternoon, the festival moves to Refugio and towards stories of identity and belonging. Leila Boukarim shares Mariam’s Dream, while art becomes another form of storytelling: Elisa Bauer explores repair through creative making, Eric Winkler transforms notebooks into textile memory books, and illustrator İrem Kurt introduces Shababdz, the graphic novel created with author Dr. Lana Sirri.

‍Sunday: Stories We Share
‍On Sunday, Spore Initiative becomes a place where stories can be tasted, heard and danced.

Syrian rapper 6aha invites young people to turn words into rhythm, while Mhanna brings Arabic calligraphy into conversation with street art. Artist Hagar Ophir presents her illustrations for Golden Threads, exploring how images can carry cultural memory.

In Amir Naghavi’s Torshi workshop, vegetables and spices become a way into the Iranian tradition of preserving food, with plenty of room to experiment and create your own jar to take home.

‍My Migrant Mama shares Mama Superstar, celebrating migrant mothers and the stories passed between generations. Zilan Sarah Kößler and Blue Boat Books invite children into JINA – and then ask them to imagine where the story might go next.

Later, Kurdish musician Berfin Aktay carries JINA from the page into sound before Kinder Rave takes over the dance floor for the final celebration.

‍Come as you are
‍At UNTOLD STORIES, participation is always an invitation. Children can join a workshop or simply listen. They can dance, find a quiet corner with a book, leave an activity and return later.

Quiet spaces and flexible seating are part of the festival, with multilingual support and an Awareness Team present throughout.

‍UNTOLD STORIES – The Multilingual Children’s Literature Festival18–20 September 2026 | BerlinRefugio Berlin · ZLB · Spore Initiative
All events are free. Children of all ages, families and caregivers are welcome.

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