Just in time for the start of the summer holidays, the mediators of the “Stay cool by the pool” project are out and about in some of Berlin’s open-air pools.
The youthful conflict guides are to complete their first missions this weekend in the summer baths in Neukölln and Pankow, said the spokesman for the Berlin baths, Matthias Oloew, the German Press Agency. Whether the pilots will be used in other pools has yet to be decided.
The mediators are supposed to make sure that young people throw their rubbish away correctly, don’t push other visitors into the pool or run over towels – and thus prevent problems and arguments from occurring. According to the spokesman, 25 pilots were deployed last year.
To avoid such situations, more than 170 security guards are on duty in the 11 outdoor pools on hot weekends.
The “Stay cool at the pool” project dates back to 2011 and was initiated by several youth initiatives in Kreuzberg in cooperation with the police and the pool companies. At that time there were also several fights in swimming pools. “The activity of the conflict guides is violence-preventive, de-escalating and integrative,” it says.
The refurbishment work in the summer pool of the combined pool in Mariendorf was also completed in good time for the start of the summer holidays.
