From the so-called Diversity Media Library:
“How does empowerment work? A fundamental element of empowerment work is safe spaces. There, people come together who have had similar experiences in their lives and are affected by the same oppression mechanisms. This allows an exchange where their experiences and feelings are less questioned. Another element can be, for example, biographical methods, where it is explored at which points racism, antisemitism, or (hetero-)sexism have shaped one’s own life.” 131
The English term empowerment can be translated into German as “self-empowerment”. Ostensibly, marginalised people (e.g., through workshops or self-organisations) are to achieve more self-determination by better utilising their existing potentials or better representing their interests. Often, however, it is only ostensibly about independence or maturity. These representations are primarily clever marketing; primarily, woke activism is propagated as empowerment. So-called “safe spaces” are used to create consciousness and recruit individuals for identity politics. Linked to empowerment are demands for “recognition”: the demands of activists are to be honoured by the majority society as recognition (see Negotiations).132