A stranger is a friend you haven’t met.

Welcome!

Connect – The English Speakers Cultural Club – Berlin e.V. is an international circle for casual conversation in English. Whether you are new in town, or have been living in Berlin for a few years, this is a great place to meet interesting people from all walks of life.

We meet every Thursday starting around 19.30h. In Summer (roughly May to September) we meet every week at a different beer garden, beach bar or other open air place. During the indoor season (September to May) we meet in a pub. Check the “Events” section to find the current venue. When we are indoors, the staff will be able to direct you to “the English group”. For outdoor events, it may be hard to locate us. An email to the organiser is recommended.

People who attend Connect include native English speakers, expatriates living in Berlin, Germans who have lived abroad for some time and want to maintain their English speaking skills, or just people who are interested in speaking English. So, if you enjoy socializing and making new friends, just show up at one of our regular meetings.

If you have any questions please contact us at committee(at)connectberlin.de.
[Please copy/paste the address into your email programme and replace (at) with the @ sign. We do this to avoid spam.]

More about us

Basics

The average “Connectee” has two arms, two legs, a head with two eyes, two ears, a nose and a mouth. But there is one thing all of us have in common – we like to speak English.

Some of us are native speakers of English who for one reason or the other happen to live here. Some of us have spent longer periods of time in English speaking countries. Some of us just happen to like the language. But we all like the open, friendly atmosphere of Connect.

And that’s all what it’s about. We meet, we chat, we meet new people or we renew and deepen acquaintances.

No registration, no entrance fee, no dress code – just show up and have fun.

Activities

The major activity of Connect is the weekly Thursday night meeting. But there’s more:

• The Connect Book Club – or rather the book clubs (currently four groups) meet once a month. If you have a passion for English literature and love discussing books have a look at the website and register.
• The Breakfast Club meets on an irregular schedule for breakfast-and-a-chat. Check the calendar or ask Katya if you are interested.
• The Film Club meets up to enjoy a movie together. Afterwards we go to a pub to discuss it. This group is currently on hiatus (the former organiser had to quit due to time constraints). We need one or two volunteers to organise these meetings.
• The Museum Club is for those who wish to broaden their cultural horizon. We haven’t met recently. But if you have a special interest, please let us know where you would like to go and we will try to organise a meeting.
• The Dinner Club has become independent – very nice evenings out with delicious food –  once a month, but no regular date

Registration is necessary for each meeting of the Breakfast Club because of the restaurant. The Book Club requires one to first sign-up for the club and then to RSVP once the meeting details are announced. Seating is limited. Usually you should have read the book (or most of it) in order to be able to discuss it.

In the Summer, we usually organise a Barbecue. There is a charge for this for the food and drinks. We also ask you to register for the Christmas Party as this is also held in a restaurant. But you pay your own bill.

We have other ideas – a cooking club, a crafts group, walking / sightseeing tours, treasure hunt, paddling tour, bike rides, etc. Any ideas are appreciated and volunteers / organisers even more so. We (the committee) will do our best to help and support, but unfortunately we also have to work for our living, so we simply cannot implement every good plan that pops up. Your participation in organising is greatly appreciated.

History

It all started with her:

Aoibhinn McGee, born and raised in Ireland
Aoibhinn moved to Berlin around 1998. She found a job in an Irish Pub and just had a good time – until her son Jules was born in January 2000. Waitressing was out of question then, of course. And as much as she loves her son, she felt that she needed just a little bit more social input.

So she set an ad in zitty and tip, made some flyers and called for the very first Connect meeting on October 11, 2000. To her great amazement, about 70 people showed up… and Connect grew quickly. Less than a year later, there were more than 400 people who had signed up for our newsletter (no longer available) and the weekly meetings had an average attendance of around 50 people.

In 2002, she went on with her mission “Connect – The Next Generation” and was pregnant again. The twins were born in May 2003. As three little kids are a full-time job already, she had to cut short, and Connect was taken over by a committee. We do our best to continue making Connect a friendly, welcoming place.

For several reasons, we decided to “go legal” and founded Connect – The English Speakers Cultural Club, Berlin e.V. in the fall of 2003. (See below.)

Friendship / Membership

To answer the most frequent question first: you don’t have to register and you don’t have to become a member. ALL our events are open for everyone.
We regard everyone as a friend of Connect (AKA “Connectee”) who comes to the weekly meetings or to the other events.

Since 2003, Connect is also a registered club. Occasionally there may be a “whip-round”. Please put a donation (1 € is appropriate) in the kitty. This helps to pay the few costs we have for the web site or other things.

If you want to have a look at the constitution, you can view or download the English version or the German version here.