Paulaner Biergarten

The delegates enjoyed beer and typical Bavarian food
at the famous "Paulaner Biergarten".

Vendors are at the heart of the street paper model. In the centre of all the talks and discussions at the INSP conference, about the relevance of street papers and their survival in the digital age, is the welfare of the vendors. Street papers exist to help give their vendors a stable, sustainable income and a way to lift themselves out of homelessness. A hand up, not a hand out, as the mantra goes. So it is important for the street papers to be connected to their vendors, to hear what they have to say about life on the streets and how they feel street papers could improve.

Prost!

With this in mind the delegates took a short walk to the famous Paulaner Biergarten to enjoy some of Bavaria’s finest beer and meet local vendors of the host street paper, BISS.

"It was a great evening," Andreas from Die Jerusalemmer (Germany) said. "I had good conversations with my street paper colleagues, we had an instant connection."

Aaron Israelson, Editor-in-Chief of Faktum in Sweden, agrees that INSP brings people together: "It makes you feel like you're part of something bigger. INSP is especially important for smaller street papers in developing countries."

Chris Alefantis (Shedia, Greece), Birgit Müller
(Hinz&Kunzt) and Volker Macke (Asphalt).

Paulaner is one of Munich’s oldest breweries. Paulaner monks have been brewing beer here for over 300 years, so you can bet they’re pretty good at it! Delegates also enjoyed traditional Bavarian food such as ‘Schweinshaxn’, ‘Lebarkas’, and ‘Obatza’.

During dinner delegates met some of BISS’s vendors. Some of the vendors with foreign roots were happy to talk to street paper members from their home countries.

The team of Surprise (Switzerland)
and Gabi Koch (Hinz&Kunzt)

BISS, one of the oldest and now a supporting member of INSP, is unique in the street paper world when it comes to vendor support. They are the first, and still one of the only street papers, to employ its regular vendors. 41 of its 100 vendors are permanently employed by BISS, as opposed to the self-employment model used by most street papers. They believe that this helps to reintegrate the vendors into society by bringing them into the formal job market. The vendors also have the opportunity of writing articles for the magazine.

In 2006 BISS bought a plot of land at a local graveyard to ensure long-term vendors received a proper burial when they died. It is clear to see that BISS epitomize the street paper principal that the vendor must be at the centre of all efforts.