"Eichstätt is a city that, despite its manageable size, can boast a wide range of commitment. The numerous clubs, associations and groups are an important part of our social life. The aim of the network is to continue to promote dialog between the individual players, to attune them and to develop common visions. We will all profit from this,” says Josef Grienberger, mayor of Eichstätt.
The KU’s president Prof. Dr. Gabriele Gien sees civic participation as one of the cornerstones of society: “Taking on civic responsibility is a topic that will be getting more and more important in the future, if we want to rise to the challenges the future holds for us. If we can focus the competencies of the city of Eichstätt, civic society and the University, we will be able to improve the quality of life for everyone.” That is why the KU deliberately raises students’ awareness to the importance of participation and seeks contact with off-campus stake-holders.
This application was coordinated by Maria Bartholomäus, who is in charge of civic engagement at the Department of Education Innovation and Knowledge Transfer of the KU. "Participating in this network provides new points of contact for an ongoing exchange - both in the region and with other twin cities in the nationwide network. As local players, we can partake of the knowledge and good practice from other cities and use it to locally tackle those challenges that the global society faces," says Bartholomäus.
As the jury pointed out, a dedicated network of partners is alreading emerging in Eichstätt. For example, the "fairEInt" initiative, which was founded just two years ago, now boasts more than 20 participating groups that are committed to a future-oriented and sustainable city and region. The spectrum ranges from Amnesty International Eichstätt to the fair trade shop Weltladen "Welt-Brücke", the Fairtrade Town of Eichstätt and the Kolping Family Eichstätt to the Eichstätt Fridays For Future, the Sustainable KU, the Environmental Department of the KU or even the Unverpacktladen (zero waste) store. "A special potential lies in activating civil society groups as well as individuals in addition to the Church and the KU to develop their own ideas in the area of sustainability and implement them through the network," says Dagmar Kusche from the coordination team of "fairEInt."
The "Bahnhof lebt!" association, on the other hand, is committed to developing the almost completely vacant train station in the heart of the city into a place where generations and cultures can meet, and to using this contact point to promote civic engagement on a broad scale. The association is shaping this process in a participatory manner and is actively involving the citizens of Eichstätt in order to take their interests and needs into account. With regard to the issues of redevelopment and financing, in turn, the association works closely with the city administration. "The train station project shows how activities between civil society and the municipality can be fruitful, but also challenging. Both sides need to be willing to show understanding for each other's structures and practices in order to get a constructive cooperation going," says Tom Muhr, board member of "Bahnhof lebt!".
The application to join the "Engagierte Stadt" network was based on like experiences. Eichstätt presents - as the jury emphasizes - a clear development perspective in which "the diversity and large number of the committed stakeholders becomes visible and cooperates in the sense of structure, practice and culture. In concrete terms, this on the one hand means clear processes for exchange between professional stake-holders, associations, initiatives and the population on municipal challenges. On the other hand, the manifold commitment that already exists is to be made even more visible - also with a view to attracting new participants. A culture of togetherness that also allows those who do not belong to a particular institution to have their say can have a unifying effect.
On the network program »Engagierte Stadt«
Since 2015, the network program "Engagierte Stadt" has been promoting the development of lasting engagement landscapes in selected cities and municipalities in Germany. Since then, resilient and well-positioned networks have emerged in the participating cities. Participating cities benefit from the exchange of tried and tested practical solutions and the diversity of local concepts. They are part of a network with strong partners that makes successful local practices visible and strengthens civic engagement at all levels. The conditions for local civic engagement and participation have visibly improved. Since 2020, the network program has been opening up for new cities and partnerships. The program is supported by a consortium at the Federal governmental level, which includes the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ), the Bertelsmann Foundation, the Breuninger Foundation, the Federal Network for Civic Involvement,the Joachim Herz Foundation, the Körber Foundation and the Robert Bosch Foundation. Other partners in the "Engagierte Stadt" network program include the Auridis Foundation, the German Association of Towns and Municipalities, the German Association of Cities, the Rhine-Necker metropolitan region, the two German states of Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate, and the Deutscher Verein Foundation.
For further current information, please see www.engagiertestadt.de.