The health of a city’s dance and electronic music scene

The health of a city’s dance and electronic music scene can be measured by the depth and breadth of the community that upholds it. As one of the world’s leading music metropolises, Berlin is home to a flourishing and interconnected scene of community-driven platforms, with Refuge Worldwide one of its most renowned.

Origin and Mission

Founded by Richard Akingbehin and George Patrick in 2015, Refuge Worldwide began as a fundraising platform for grassroots organisations in 2015, working with refugee housing support associations, music schools, social equity groups, homelessness agencies and domestic violence shelters for women and young people.

Radio Station Launch

In 2021, Refuge Worldwide launched its now legendary radio station. Located at Oona Bar in the Weserstraße kiez, the bar acts as a community space and watering hole while the radio station broadcasts some of Berlin’s finest underground DJs and producers to the world.

Expansion into Education

Since its launch, Refuge Worldwide has expanded to host weekly workshops, training programmes and classes in media, creative fields and mental health – which are all free to attend.

A Future Beyond Radio

"It’s not just a radio station but it's something much broader," Richard Akingbehin told Sleek Mag in 2022. "Even if we stopped the radio tomorrow,
it could live on as just a workshop centre. It can live on as an event series,
an editorial platform...all these different things could,
in theory be independent
and probably still succeed.
But when you bring them all together
it's this really intensely creative melting pot
of different things
and different people coming together."

Welcome Event

A lover of all things techno dub ambient we look forward to welcoming Richard into our community this Sunday when he plays alongside Alina Barney Kato.