Community Gathers with Moers MACHT.mit!, Linking Local Residents and Politicians
Listening In on Neighborhood Chats: MACHT.mit! Bridges Gap Between Residents and Politics
Like a modern-day ivy-league eavesdropper, the MACHT.mit! project roams around neighborhood hotspots in Moers-Meerbeck and Essen-Borbeck, lurking in playgrounds, cafes, and food stalls, or mingling at community events. Led by project coordinator Frederik Göke, the team is all ears, absorbing the chatter to get a pulse on the community's concerns and discussion topics.
“We capture these conversations with a furtive microphone, with participants’ agreement, and post the recordings or snippets on the MACHT.mit! website,” explains Göke. Here, city officials, political figures, and other local stakeholders can casually peruse the musings of their constituents, gaining insights into the community's needs, ideas, and dreams. Simultaneously, this platform empowers citizens to feel part of their community.
The project, funded by the Innovation Fund NRW, serves as a lab for exploring new methods of community-centric education. Petra Kurek, director of the Ev. Adult Education FRIEDA, shares that starting conversations was surprisingly simple. "It seems there's a deep-seated yearning for genuine appreciation. In our interactions, we often found the sentiment 'What's the point of speaking up?' These people now feel heard and their issues acknowledged."
The project has unveiled a shared sentiment: Everyone has something to say. The anonymized publication forums without names and faces help citizens voice their opinions publicly. "By visiting parents at a playground, we discovered a desire for playgrounds with inclusive play equipment in the city," muses Rebecca Rübsam, another FRIEDA team member. The team always makes its way to the people, not the other way around.
The expressed wishes and criticisms are channeled to the neighborhood office, explains Göke. "In a later stage, MACHT.mit! encourages a dialogue between the neighborhood's residents and political decision-makers through organized meetings where specific concerns can be addressed and potential solutions discussed," he adds. The project aims to instill a sense that individual voices are being heard, fostering a sense of impact that is crucial for our democracy.
www.macht-mit-moers.de or
With the Evangelical Adult Education Center (eeb) North Rhine as the framework, MACHT.mit! is built to support local residents in articulating their political viewpoints and promoting constructive dialogues. Initial reactions from local politics have been mostly positive.
According to Rübsam, most survey respondents expressed a preference for significant and respectful discussions, distancing themselves from heated or offensive conversations.
The ebb North Rhine carries the MACHT.mit! project in Moers and Essen, alongside the TuWas Genossenschaft eG and Stadtteilbüro Neu-Meerbeck. As the fall approaches, a dialogue event unites interested residents and local politicians, giving voice to the citizens' thoughts and requests. The exact date is forthcoming.
Source: MACHT.mit! for more details.
- By posting conversations from cafes, playgrounds, and community events on the MACHT.mit! website, the project offers a platform for residents to discuss a range of topics not limited to home-and-garden matters, other lifestyle choices, general news, and sometimes even politics.
- As the MACHT.mit! project progresses, it encourages face-to-face meetings between residents and political decision-makers, creating an opportunity for discussions on various subjects such as home-and-garden improvements, changes in local lifestyle, general news updates, and even politics, allowing for a more informed and inclusive decision-making process.
