Two years of partnership with UN Refugee Agency

Since September 2021, the Berliner Philharmoniker and Kirill Petrenko have been ambassadors for UNO-Flüchtlingshilfe, the German partner of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). What began two years ago with a family concert is now a key element of the Philharmoniker's social engagement.

With the slogan “Giving help together”, the orchestra and its chief conductor draw attention to the work of UNO-Flüchtlingshilfe and at the same time appeal for donations. So far, over 336,000 euros have been collected at numerous concerts and events.

Particularly successful projects include a donation month in February 2023, during which 15 concerts were dedicated to UNO-Flüchtlingshilfe. At this year’s Waldbühne concert, the Berliner Philharmoniker and soloist of the evening, tenor Klaus Florian Vogt, wore blue ribbons as a sign of their support.

Eva-Maria Tomasi and Stefan Dohr (Press representatives of the Berliner Philharmoniker) said: “The number of people worldwide forced to flee by wars, hunger and the effects of climate change is growing. With our involvement, we would like to play our part in ensuring that these people and their fates are not forgotten. That is why we continue to regularly appeal for donations for UNO-Flüchtlingshilfe.”

Quote from Peter Ruhenstroth Bauer (national director of UNO-Flüchtlingshilfe):

“With their blue ribbons of solidarity, the orchestra sends a strong signal in support of refugees. The staunch commitment of the Berliner Philharmoniker is also an important international statement. Especially now, it is important that we join together to support the more than 110 million people seeking refuge.”

Find out more about our partnership