Kick-off completed
Topics, challenges and first solution ideas were collected.
Open participation process
Shaping the future of the Sikh community in Hamburg together
Presented and hosted by Sikh Youth in Hamburg
An open, multi-step participation process: Together we will clarify what we have already built for the community in Hamburg, what is still missing, and how the engagement of Sikhs in Hamburg can be carried forward in the long term. Let us leave something meaningful behind for the next generations of the Sikh community!
Honor what exists
Make existing engagement visible and valued.
Strengthen initiatives
Connect committed people and share responsibility.
Involve the Sangat
Clarify the direction together with the Sangat.
Building on a strong foundation
Much has already grown
In recent years, a great deal has already been built for the Sikh community in Hamburg. Many people have served with great dedication, enabled school visits, supported Gurdwara work, started projects, created educational offers, built Smagam structures, organized events and taken on voluntary responsibility.
This groundwork is a strong foundation. Many people have taken responsibility, built knowledge and created spaces where Sikhi is lived, learned and passed on.
The central question today is not whether engagement exists. The central question is how this engagement can be better connected, supported and developed together over the long term.
An important part of this groundwork also concerns the long-term question of how Sikhi in Hamburg can become more visible, more reliable as a point of contact and potentially capable of formal recognition. Many conversations with lawyers, authorities, public bodies and other contacts have already taken place. These conversations have helped us better understand legal, organizational and practical requirements.
At the same time, it is clear that such conversations do not replace participation by the Sangat. They show which questions and requirements may become important along the way. A sustainable Sikh structure cannot be created only at a desk. It must grow out of the community, be understood by the Sangat, be reviewed and be carried together.
This is why we are now beginning an open participation process: We will look together at what has already emerged, name the next challenges and develop a structure that strengthens Hamburg's Sikh community in the long term.
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Over the years
Foundations & Places
A grown Sikh community has emerged in Hamburg over many years: through the establishment of several Gurdwaras and through the engagement of the Sangat itself. This created places for religious practice, services and shared Sikh community life.
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Building on this
Education & Gurmat
On this foundation, further educational and learning formats were created, such as Gurmat camps, Santhiya, Punjabi, Gatka and Gurmat classes, as well as other formats for passing on Sikhi.
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Within the community
Youth, Dialogue & Connection
The community became more active. Among other things, people supported Sikhi-to-the-Max and projector setups in the Gurdwaras, Kirtan programs, Amritvela programs, Rehnsbai Kirtans, house programs, Japji Sahib Seva during Akhand Path, charity runs, blood donation campaigns, open days, school visits and Gurdwara tours.
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Visible together
Seva, Projects & Events
Formats and initiatives such as Sikh Society, Sikhi2Go, SikhYouthHamburg, Sikh workshops in Hamburg and other formats emerged. Projects such as Freie Küche were also established. In addition, members of the community have supported one another with integration questions, administrative matters and everyday challenges.
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Current
Questions of Recognition
Today, the question is how this grown foundation can be connected, strengthened and developed more professionally over the long term. This also includes groundwork for the long-term recognizability of Sikhi in Hamburg.
- Conversations with lawyers, authorities and public bodies
- Clarifying possible requirements such as counting, transparent representation and a comprehensible structure
- Preparing a professional presentation of the religion as a basis for further conversations
- Reviewing whether an association or supporting framework is useful for long-term recognition questions
- Emergence of the idea of a non-profit "Sikh-Gemeinde Hamburg" as one possible framework
- Insight: Without a transparent, jointly supported structure, recognition capability is difficult to present reliably in the long term
- This leads to the central question: What structure does Hamburg's Sikh community need so that it is legitimized by the Sangat, transparent and future-proof?
All of this shows: There is no lack of engagement. The question is how this can become a long-term, transparent and jointly supported structure.
Why a process?
Why individual initiatives reach limits over time
Individual initiatives have already made a great deal possible in Hamburg. They are often fast, personal, creative and close to people. This is exactly how many valuable projects, offers and forms of Seva have emerged and are valued today.
At the same time, individual initiatives often reach organizational limits over the long term. Responsibility is often carried by only a few people, knowledge remains with individuals, projects depend heavily on single persons, clear external points of contact are missing and long-term planning is difficult.
A small circle can do important preparatory work and create momentum. However, in the long run it cannot replace the perspectives, needs and responsibility of the whole Sangat. That is why a broader participation process with different voices is needed: young people, families, older generations, existing initiatives, Gurdwara representatives and people who have so far contributed more quietly in the background.
Important: This is not about replacing existing associations, formats or initiatives, nor about taking over power structures. Rather, it is about working together within initiatives and future working groups.
Responsibility often rests on only a few shoulders
Knowledge often remains with individual people
Projects depend heavily on single persons
Clear external contacts are missing
Long-term financing and planning are difficult
Broader Sangat participation is not automatically secured
A shared framework of initiatives and working groups should not replace existing engagement, but connect, strengthen and relieve it.
Authorities, recognition and responsibility
Conversations with authorities have made new requirements visible
In conversations with authorities, public bodies and other contacts, it became clear that clear, understandable and reliable structures are important for long-term cooperation.
Who speaks for which topics?
Who carries responsibility?
How are decisions made?
How is the Sangat involved?
How does transparent responsibility emerge?
How can recognition capability be presented reliably?
These conversations were important indicators. They helped us better understand legal, organizational and practical requirements. But they do not replace participation by the Sangat.
The actual legitimacy of a future structure cannot come solely from conversations with authorities. It must grow from the community itself and be understood, reviewed and supported by the Sangat.
Why participation?
Why the Sangat should help shape the process now
A long-term structure for the Sikh community should not be imagined only by a small circle. It must take in the experiences, concerns, ideas and abilities of the Sangat. Participation is therefore not only information; it is the foundation for trust, responsibility and legitimacy.
This is why the process begins with an open participation phase. It is not about presenting finished departments or final solutions. It is about understanding together: What problems exist? What needs are missing? What future do we want to leave for the next generation?
The core question is: What should future cooperation and community structure within the Sikh community in Hamburg look like?
Open questions
The process begins with listening, collecting and reflecting together.
No finished departments
The topics will emerge from the feedback of the Sangat.
Shared responsibility
It is about a future that is understood and carried by more people.
This is why we are starting this participation process: The Sangat is not only informed, but helps shape which topics, priorities and structures Hamburg truly needs.
Participation process
Developing the future of the Sikh community in Hamburg together
The participation process is intended to create spaces where the Sangat can speak openly about the future of the Sikh community in Hamburg. Together we look back at what has already emerged, collect current challenges, develop visions for the future and examine what structure can be sustainable in the long term.
What future do we want to leave for the next generation: individual beautiful moments, or a living Sikh community in which young people take responsibility and actively help shape things?
Goals of the participation process
- Collect concerns and needs from the Sangat
- Make problems and challenges visible
- Include different perspectives
- Discuss shared questions about the future
- Identify possible topic areas only during the process
- Find people who would like to take responsibility
What happens next
From participation to evaluation, structural proposal and action
The results will not remain within a small circle. After the kick-off, online survey, Gurdwara booth, interviews and further formats, the feedback will be evaluated, translated into a first structural proposal and reviewed together at an in-person meeting. From there, concrete responsibilities and next implementation steps can emerge.
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Step 1
Kick-off meeting in person: Developing the future of the Sikh community in Hamburg together
As a first in-person meeting, we will look back together, collect challenges, ask future-oriented questions and make the first concerns of the Sangat visible.
The results will be published after the kick-off meeting.
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Step 2
After the kick-off meeting
Get involved now
Online survey: Collecting voices from the Sangat
Through an online survey, further voices from the Sangat will be collected. It should become visible which concerns, problems, needs and willingness to contribute exist. The survey especially gives people a way to participate if they could not attend the kick-off meeting in person.
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Step 3
In the following participation phase
Gurdwara booth & interviews
We will come to the Gurdwaras in Hamburg to listen, collect questions and invite people to share their perspective. The key questions include: What is missing in Hamburg? Where would you get involved? Who, from your point of view, could take responsibility or support the process?
- Visits to different Gurdwaras in Hamburg.
- Concrete dates will be coordinated after the kick-off meeting.
- The Sangat will be informed about places and times in good time.
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Step 4
After the feedback phase closes
Evaluate results & identify people
The results from the workshop, survey and conversations will be brought together and evaluated.
- Identify top topics and recurring needs.
- Derive possible working areas from the feedback.
- Identify people who would like to take responsibility and hold personal conversations.
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Step 5
After the evaluation
Hold topic meetings
The working areas derived from the feedback will be explored in smaller meetings.
- Goal for each meeting: clarify problems, collect first measures, outline an action plan and milestones, and identify 1-2 responsible people.
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Step 6
Once first results are available
In-person meeting on the first structural proposal
The evaluation and a first proposal for structure, responsibilities and next steps will be presented, reviewed and developed further in an open community meeting.
- Present the structural proposal and collect feedback.
- Clarify responsibilities and agree on next steps.
- Prayer through Sukhmani Sahib Paath, organized at Gurdwara Grandweg by all youth for this effort.
Where we are now
The kick-off is complete. Now your voice matters.
Around 60 people collected topics, challenges and initial solutions at the kick-off meeting. We are now building structures and responsibilities. Through the online survey, the entire Sangat can actively contribute and help shape the next steps.
Participation is ongoing
Survey, conversations, Gurdwara booth and further formats collect voices and willingness to help.
Next: evaluation & structural proposal
The voices will be bundled and translated into a first proposal for structure and responsibilities.
Kick-off Meeting Results What we collected together On 04 July 2026, community members came together for the in-person kick-off meeting to develop the future of the Sikh community in Hamburg together: looking back, collecting challenges, asking future-oriented questions and making the first concerns of the Sangat visible. The kick-off showed that 80 people registered, around 60 attended in person and many voices share the wish for a transparent structure carried together.
Date
04 July 2026
Time
09:30-16:00
Registrations
80
Attended in person
approx. 60
Summary
Listening together, taking responsibility, shaping the future
On Saturday, 04 July 2026, around 60 members of the Sikh community in Hamburg came together for a shared workshop. From 09:30 onwards, after registration, receiving name badges and coffee, participants used the opportunity to talk to one another and make new connections.
To begin, two icebreakers created movement and exchange: participants positioned themselves by districts and by generations. This quickly made visible how diverse Hamburg's Sikh community is and how many different life paths, experiences and perspectives come together.
Robin Singh then gave a historical overview of the emergence of the Sikh community in Hamburg. This included early points of contact between Sikhs and Hamburg, migration stories and the development of the community among Sikhs with German, Punjabi and Afghan roots.
In the first group phase, participants collected challenges facing the Sikh community in Hamburg. Topics mentioned included a lack of education about Sikhi in schools and public authorities, a lack of contact persons for public institutions, insufficient infrastructure and platforms for the community, limited inclusion and a lack of offers for mental support. Other topics included more German-language content in Gurdwaras, the absence of a Nagar Kirtan and long-term structures for Gurdwaras.
One central point became clear: many challenges are connected to a lack of long-term structures. Projects and initiatives often begin with great commitment but end after a short time because clear responsibilities, contact persons and lasting organisational frameworks are missing. Sustainable cooperation with public authorities therefore requires a structure that remains capable of acting over the long term.
After a short break, Harsimran Singh presented the project for the recognition of the Sikh religion in Hamburg. He showed that Hamburg already has a great deal of engagement: Gurmat camps, Samagams, Nagar Kirtans, Sikh workshops, Kaurs Vichar, Sikhi2Go, PsychKaur, tutoring offers, sports clubs and cultural initiatives such as Punjab Hockey Club, Indian Football Hamburg and DJV Bhangra. At the same time, it became clear that many previous working groups and initiatives could not be continued because long-term structures were missing.
The recognition project itself emerged from the Sangat and grew from within it. Conversations with public authorities and the religious affairs committee have already taken place. For possible recognition through a state treaty, however, a long-term and reliable structure is needed as a point of contact. Around 1,000 signatures have already been collected as a first census of Hamburg's Sikh community. In addition, an approximately 30-page draft presenting the Sikh religion has been prepared.
From this process, Sikh-Gemeinde Hamburg was created as a non-profit organisational framework. The participation process is now intended to help distribute responsibility, involve people and build a long-term structure for the Sikh community in Hamburg.
During the lunch break, participants continued conversations over pizza and drinks, exchanged ideas and discussed possible solutions. Afterwards, Sukhmanjit Singh and Harpreed Kaur led the second group phase. Together, participants developed long-term solution approaches for the challenges named earlier. The results were recorded on posters and then presented.
The workshop was received very positively by participants. Many emphasised that such a space for exchange, shared planning and long-term responsibility had been missing in Hamburg so far.
The participation process is intended to help create a sustainable structure with clear responsibilities. The goal is to communicate with public authorities over the long term, involve the Sikh community more strongly and make a sustainable contribution to Hamburg society.
Summary: Gurleen Kaur
First feedback
The group work clearly showed that participants want more than individual projects: they want a long-term shared framework for the Sikh community in Hamburg. A central point of contact, clear responsibilities and reliable representation towards public authorities, schools and the public were mentioned repeatedly.
Education and knowledge sharing
Another focus was education and knowledge sharing. Participants discussed German-language offers in Gurdwaras, internal training, learning materials about Sikhi, training for teachers and digital knowledge platforms and libraries. This should help both the community itself and Hamburg society become better informed about Sikhi.
Visibility and participation
Visibility and participation also played an important role. Participants mentioned professional public relations, events such as open days, Langar or blood donation activities, a Nagar Kirtan in Hamburg and stronger exchange between younger and older generations.
Advice and support
Advice and support offers were also seen as important, for example around mental and physical health, discrimination, accessibility and everyday questions.
Long-term foundations
Digitalisation, transparent financing, better infrastructure and shared platforms were named as further foundations for a community that remains capable of acting over the long term.
Kick-off meeting agenda
- Arrival, getting to know each other and shared start
- Looking back: How the Sikh community in Hamburg emerged
- Listening and collecting: concerns, needs and challenges
- Bundling topics and making priorities visible
- Shaping the future: visions, ideas and first solution approaches
- Summary and next steps
Transparency: finances and organisation
Thanks, support and transparency
The kick-off workshop was made possible organisationally and financially by Ekroop Singh, Narinder Singh, Harsimran Singh, Sukhmanjit Singh and Robin Singh.
Sanvir Singh, Harman Singh, Ronak Singh, Bipenpreet Kaur and Jobenpreet Kaur also supported the preparation and delivery with great commitment.
The costs for rooms, catering, drinks and organisation amounted to a total of €1,500.00. Participants on site supported the workshop with donations of €1,905.00 via PayPal and €190.00 in cash.
The remaining amount of €595.00 will be used for the next steps in the participation process or donated to a charitable purpose within the community. The specific use will be communicated transparently.
Thank you to everyone who contributed their time, commitment and support to making this shared day possible.
Impressions
Workshop photo 1 / 36
Working phase 1 / 31
Results wall 1 / 14
Updates
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FAQ
Frequently asked questions about the participation process
Has SGH already been fully decided?
There is already preparatory work and a possible organizational framework. However, the participation process is intentionally open, includes more voices from the Sangat and clarifies together what structure Hamburg truly needs.
Why is this participation process happening?
Because long-term community work needs trust, participation and shared responsibility. The process should make visible which concerns, challenges and needs exist within the Sangat before specific topics or working methods are defined.
Why are individual initiatives not enough in the long run?
Individual initiatives have made a great deal possible and should be valued. Over time, however, they can reach organizational limits when responsibility rests on only a few shoulders, knowledge stays with individuals or clear external contacts are missing.
What role do authorities play?
Conversations with authorities have made requirements visible: clear points of contact, transparent responsibilities and reliable structures are important. But the direction of a future structure must be developed together with the Sangat.
Is this about recognition?
Recognition capability is a long-term topic. The process does not claim that recognition is guaranteed, nor that there is a mandate from authorities. It asks what Hamburg would need to build together if the community wants to be visible and reliably approachable in the long term.
Is this about replacing existing Gurdwaras or initiatives?
No. Existing Gurdwaras and initiatives have built a lot and should not be replaced. This is explicitly not about taking over existing associations or formats. Initiatives such as SikhWorkshop, SikhYouthHamburg or other existing offers should not be displaced. The process should help connect engagement, share responsibility and enable long-term cooperation.
What happens with the results of the participation process?
The results will be summarized, transparently shared back and supplemented with further voices from the Sangat. Only from this can later topic rounds and a jointly reviewable structural proposal emerge. The participation process is therefore a starting point, not a conclusion.