Paper scraps, magazine pages, stickers, colours and different textures become the starting point for new worlds. Berlin-based educator, creative facilitator and musician Mohammad “Moe” Khalil creates an open workshop space where children can cut, layer, combine and experiment freely. There is no right or wrong way to create – just an invitation to follow their imagination and see where the materials take them.

Meet three everyday superheroes whose greatest powers are courage, friendship and being themselves. Author Jane Mbeba brings the colourful East African world of Mateo, Zuri na Amani to life in an interactive bilingual reading.

What does a family recipe sound like? Can a whisk keep a beat, a bowl become a drum or a spoon start a song? Together with Dorothee Wendt and the Al-Farabi Music Academy, children transform recipes from the UNTOLD STORIES Children’s Cookbook into a musical menu.

Brushing your teeth might be an everyday task, but what if a little magic was hiding inside it? Author Damla İnan introduces children and families to Mission: Zähne putzen, the first adventure in her multilingual Sternenkompass series.

Some stories are written in books. Others are folded into grape leaves, stirred into soup or passed from one kitchen to another. Together with Pratyusha Sibal of Baking Hope, families discover the new UNTOLD STORIES Children’s Cookbook and the recipes, memories and people inside it.

What makes you wonderfully you? Join author Jane Mbeba for a playful reading of Pendo – So wie du bist, a story celebrating friendship, confidence and the many things that make us different.

What if there were no rules about how a boy or a man is supposed to be? Author Paul Brodowsky invites young people to an interactive reading from 30 Real Boys, co-written with Fikri Anıl Altıntaş. The book introduces 30 men who embody different ways of being masculine – caring, supportive, vulnerable and socially engaged. Familiar faces and lesser-known role models become starting points for exploring just how many ways there are to be a man.

A piece of fabric, a pair of eyes, a moving hand – and suddenly, a character appears. Syrian theatre artists Lama Alhalabi and Rafat Alzakout invite children into the magical world of puppetry, where handmade figures become storytellers. Through making, movement and play, participants invent characters, explore how puppets express emotions and begin creating stories that will continue to grow throughout the festival.

Author Leila Boukarim writes stories that move across places, histories, and lived experiences. In Mariam’s Dream, she shares a story inspired by Mariam Al-Shaar and her Food Truck of Hope, exploring displacement, resilience, community, and the dreams people carry with them.

Join children’s author Leila Boukarim as she shares the story of Mariam Al-Shaar, the generational Palestinian refugee in Lebanon who made the impossible happen through hard work and determination. Discover the joys of cooking, the power of community, and the flavors of Palestine, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon in this poignant story written for anyone who has ever felt walled in and dreamed of something more. Participants will get to dream up their own food truck menus and make hummus they can be proud of.

What can happen when something broken isn’t thrown away, but becomes the beginning of something new? Artist Elisa Bauer invites children to experiment with making, mending and transforming materials through a playful approach inspired by ideas of repair.

Illustrator and designer İrem Kurt introduces Shababdz, a graphic novel written by Dr. Lana Sirri that follows four young protagonists navigating faith, gender, racism, sexuality, community and belonging.

What does a family recipe sound like? Can a whisk keep a beat, a bowl become a drum or a spoon start a song? Together with Dorothee Wendt and the Al-Farabi Music Academy, children transform recipes from the UNTOLD STORIES Children’s Cookbook into a musical menu.

Which songs and rhymes have stayed with us since childhood? Vocal performer, songwriter and artistic researcher megouem takes children and families on a musical journey across languages, cultures and generations. Through nursery rhymes and children’s songs from Africa and other parts of the world, she explores how melodies and verses can carry knowledge, memories and everyday experiences.

Join Berlin-based artist and illustrator Hagar Ophir for a special reading and craft workshop around her award-winning children’s book Golden Threads. Set in 1920s Fès, Morocco, the book weaves together Jewish and Muslim craft traditions, community, and the power of collective action. Hagar Ophir is an artist, art educator, and co-founder of the Berlin collective mitkollektiv. Her work uses history, textiles, drawing, and performance to imagine alternative presents. She is currently presenting Bound With the Living: Gathering in Venice as part of the 61st Venice Biennale. After a short introduction to Golden Threads and its collaborative creation, the session moves into a conversation about languages, storytelling, and selected readings. Children then create family-history collages, amulets, or “calls for a strike” with simple craft materials. For children and families who love art, stories, and making things together.

With artist Mhanna, children and young people explore the space where calligraphy meets graffiti, turning letters, words and shapes into bold visual compositions.

MAMA GAVE ME THIS is a playful storytelling workshop for mothers and children about the little things we pass from one generation to the next. Starting with two stories from Mama Superstar, families create their own Story Map filled with words, tastes, habits, memories and ways of showing love. What did Mama give me? What do I want to keep? And what did I give Mama? Draw, write, talk and mix your languages — there is no right way to tell your family story.

The puppets are ready – now it’s time to give them a story. Building on the first workshop, children continue experimenting with character, movement and voice alongside theatre artists Lama Alhalabi and Rafat Alzakout. Together, the individual figures and ideas begin to meet, creating a collective performance shaped by the children themselves.

What happens when words find a beat? Syrian rapper, lyricist and producer 6aha invites children and young people to play with rap, spoken word and collaborative writing.

What does freedom feel like? What colours does it have and what might it sound like? Together with author Zilan Sarah Kößler, the publishing team of Blue Boat Books, and Kurdish musician Berfin Aktay, children enter the world of JINA. The Girl Whose Name Means Life – the story of a strong Kurdish woman and her deep longing for freedom.

Kurdish singer and multi-instrumentalist Berfin Aktay brings the world surrounding JINA into sound through music composed in memory of Jina Amini.

Sour, spicy, crunchy – and never quite the same twice. Multidisciplinary artist and cultural worker Amir Naghavi invites participants to discover torshi, a traditional Iranian way of preserving vegetables through vinegar, spices and time. After learning a few basic principles, everyone can experiment with their own combinations of flavour, texture and heat, creating a personal jar to take home.

The festival ends on the dance floor! Kinder Rave brings its family-powered electronic music community to UNTOLD STORIES for an afternoon of dancing, movement and shared joy. Created by families for families, Kinder Rave brings electronic music culture into a space where children and adults can experience the dance floor together – at kid-friendly volume and with plenty of freedom to move, play, take a break or simply enjoy the music in their own way.