12-10-2024

Citizenship Office: Ideas lab and place for regional cooperation

In summer 2023, the KU opened the doors of its Citizenship Office on Eichstätt's market square, a central location for exchange between science and society. The idea behind it: Creating a vibrant place for a culture of sustainability through cooperative partnerships, knowledge exchange and diverse opportunities for participation. Since then, the office has welcomed many visitors and has continued to grow in many projects.

Anyone entering the bright rooms will receive a warm welcome. Whether it is to take part in a discussion round, an exhibition or checking or stocking the community fridge – the reason for the visit is initially of secondary importance. Over the past year and a half, word has spread that the office is a place for anyone interested in shaping a good, sustainable life together. Experience to date has shown: The more diverse the invitations to help shape a future worth living, the more people will accept them.

For example, citizens discussed new approaches to dealing with extreme weather events such as heat and heavy rainfall in the city together with researchers from the field of geography, the municipal utilities, the technical relief organization and the Red Cross. Committed students also meet regularly in the "Green Office – Sustainability Office of the KU", which is based in the Citizenship Office. Over coffee and tea, they discuss topics such as mental stress in relation to climate change and resource efficiency.

The variety of offers is also reflected in the office’s visitors: Citizens, members of civil society organizations and employees from the city and district come into contact with the KU and the researchers through the varied offers. The discussion rounds in the wissen.schafft.wir. DIALOG series also contribute to the diverse profile. They are organized in cooperation with other KU institutions such as the Center for Flight and Migration . In addition, student initiatives such as the Foodsharing working group have found a place in the Citizenship Office where they can come together and work.

KU President Prof. Dr. Gabriele Gien with Eichstätt Mayor Josef Grienberger and District Administrator Alexander Anetsberger (right) at the opening ceremony

The fact that the office has many faces was demonstrated in an exemplary way in September 2023. Thanks to a joint initiative by the Eichstätt District Youth Council and the district project "Demokratie leben!" (Live Democracy!), the foyer was transformed into a polling station for the U-18 state election for several weeks. Pupils from elementary school to sixth form were able take part in a mock vote and at the same time actively learn about political positionings and developments. As part of a workshop organized by Marian Hummel, research assistant at the Chair of Political Education, and Andrea Bittlmayer from the Eichstätt District Youth Association, they had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the German voting advice application “Wahl-O-Mat” and take part in a simulated talk show on the elections.

Other cooperation projects between the KU and the city and district of Eichstätt also stand for an active, mutual exchange of ideas, knowledge and experience. The office provides them with a platform to jointly reflect on forward-looking ideas and new perspectives for the region. Whether it's saving energy and CO₂, attracting skilled workers or preventing right-wing extremism – many of the major social challenges are of particular concern to local authorities. The close cooperation between the University, the city and the district of Eichstätt has resulted in a growing community of responsibility for sustainable urban and regional development.

[Translate to English:] Bürgerbüro Eröffnung

All three partners are aware that the future viability of the region also relies on the active participation of as many citizens as possible. In open and transparent processes, they should be able to raise issues with politicians and researchers and discuss them together. Projects such as "Eichstätt besser machen” (Making Eichstätt a better place) test ways of how this can be achieved (see box). "We try to use science from the city's point of view to record and analyze the problems citizens encounter in their everyday life and to find solutions together with science", explained Eichstätt Mayor Josef Grienberger on the occasion of the opening of the Citizenship Office in June 2023. District Administrator Alexander Anetsberger was also looking forward to new opportunities for cooperation at the inauguration. He could only hope that the office would contribute to anchoring scientific issues even more firmly in the public sphere, so that current discussions could also be co-determined by citizens.

The office’s large windows build a direct bridge to the citizens, but also to visitors to Eichstätt. They are regularly updated with new content. Information on KU events can be found here, as well as articles that encourage reflection on topics such as artificial intelligence or food waste. Creative formats such as a design evening as part of the "Stadt-Land-Kunst" art and culture festival go even further: In October 2023, 250 guests drew, printed and painted pictures together for an exhibition of ideas that showed their visions for Eichstätt as a liveable and sustainable city. The premises on market square are now also home to Citizen Science projects such as "Eichstätt - Raum für alle?” (Eichstätt - space for all?), which was designed by Prof. Dr. Rico Behrens, Professor of Political Education, in collaboration with the Willibald Gymnasium politics club and the "Mensch in Bewegung" project. The idea behind Citizen Science: Citizens actively participate in scientific research by contributing their knowledge at various stages of the research process. In the case of "Eichstätt - Raum für alle?”, school pupils acted as co-researchers over the course of a school year to examine the design of public spaces in Eichstätt. They investigated the needs and ideas of justice of different groups in the use of public spaces and paths.

The development continued in 2024: A pioneering project for social transformation funded by the Volkswagen Foundation made it possible to transform the Citizenship Office into a living laboratory. "Living labs are a current research format through which we as a University want to actively assume our social responsibility", explains Dr. Thomas Metten, who heads the Strategy and University Development department at the KU and initiated the project. "New knowledge always holds the potential for change", says Metten. The living lab approach therefore combines two perspectives: Generating knowledge and shaping change processes. The aim of the project is not only to establish an open experimental space for new ideas with the office, but also to work together with everyone to develop tangible solutions for sustainability problems in a rural region and thus make a contribution to the common good as a committed University.

"Eichstätt besser machen" – a project in the Citizenship Office

131 citizens, researchers from the KU and representatives of the city and district of Eichstätt worked together on the future of Eichstätt in the summer of 2023 as part of the project “Eichstätt besser machen” under the slogan "Making Eichstätt better - with the sustainable and future-oriented city". The project is an initiative of the Körber Foundation in cooperation with the KU, the city of Eichstätt and the fairEInt network. The project focused on the transformation of the city against the backdrop of climate change. A total of 16 table talks took place. Up to ten people from the community, civil society organizations and municipal institutions came together for around one and a half hours to develop project ideas. The hosts of the sessions chose the focus of the table talks themselves. The ideas that were collected in the project were then fed back to the city administration so that they could be refined, adapted and - ideally - realized through feedback and support. In Eichstätt, for example, the focus was on the future of the city’s community garden “Kapuzinergarten Eden”, waste avoidance in the city center, energy saving in the city administration and more natural play areas.

The table talks were also held in the Citizenship Office. "It was important to us that the talks enabled participation of as many people as possible and that the positions presented were on an equal footing", reports Maria Bartholomäus, who implemented the project at the KU. "As a process facilitator and observer, I always ask myself during a conversation: How do people contribute their knowledge and experience, how do the proposals relate to the common good, how are they justified and how do the other participants take up the arguments in their deliberations? This opens up a field of learning that enables us to recognize patterns and design follow-up processes even more strongly for successful inclusion and deliberation." Eichstätt Mayor Josef Grienberger concludes: "How can we use science to address the problems of citizens – and thus come closer to a solution? One thing is clear: We will only be able to achieve this with an exchange at eye level and a framework for coming together and discussing. We were able to experience this at the very first table talk."

What people say on the Citizenship Office:

Melike Bozlak, District Office Eichstätt

Together with Andrea Bittlmayer from the Kreisjugendring, I am responsible for the "Partnership for Democracy in the District of Eichstätt" project in the federal "Live Democracy!" program of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. The aim of the project is to work together with relevant local stakeholders to strengthen civil society engagement in the municipalities, promote our democratic culture and diversity and take a stand against all forms of discrimination. The Citizenship Office provided us with an ideal venue for a wide range of projects. We screened the documentary "Spuren - Die Opfer des NSU" by Aysun Bademsoy, transformed the office into a polling station for children and young people as part of the U18 state elections, guided school classes and other groups through an exhibition on strengthening the democracy and fighting right-wing extremism, organized information events and found space for exchange and brainstorming. So you could say that every event format is possible at the Citizenship Office.

As the Citizenship Office is home to various (specialist) competencies, it also represents a lively and creative space for collaboration. It offers a quick way to collect ideas, impulses and solutions. Everyone has their own perspective, which opens up new ways of seeing things. This is very enriching and helpful for me in my work. The central location of the Office is also a great advantage. This also made it possible for us to open the doors of our projects to the public at weekends. In this way, we created visibility and accessibility as well as spontaneous encounters and exchanges.

Anne Fröhlich, District Office of Eichstätt, Sustainability Department

The Citizenship Office provides an excellent meeting place for the district, and in particular for the Sustainability Department, to discuss various future-oriented topics. Examples include participation in the "Eichstätt besser machen" initiative's table talks, the joint organization and implementation of a "land use round table", joint events in the community garden on horticultural topics and long-term projects such as the "Bauhof transformation project". The Citizenship Office not only offers a space where people can meet, but also professional support ranging from the moderation of events and dialogs to interdisciplinary, scientific support. From the district's perspective, the connection of practice and science in the ongoing transformation processes in the areas of climate protection and sustainability is of great importance and beneficial for inclusive and public welfare-oriented implementation. In view of the complexity of these issues, long-term cooperation is essential.