City Council recognises Citizens' Platform South-East
At its meeting today, the city council recognised the Chemnitz South-East Citizens' Platform for Adelsberg, Erfenschlag, Harthau and Reichenhain. The platform was founded on 10 October 2019. SDB e.V. (Verein zur Förderung der Solidarität, Demokratie und Bildung e.V.), which already supports the Chemnitz West and Centre-East citizens' platforms, will also take over this citizens' platform. The city will support it with a material and personnel cost subsidy and a citizens' budget of €1.61 per citizen per year for public event formats and project-based plans for urban area development.
Citizens, stakeholders and activists who live or work in the four neighbourhoods founded the platform in order to create a joint network of those already working in the area on a voluntary basis. Chemnitz South-East was the only urban area that did not yet have a citizens' platform. The platform aims to increase citizen participation, including through forums and surveys, and is geared towards improving the situation in the respective neighbourhoods. The four neighbourhoods have a total population of around 12,500.
The platform informs the city about its work at regular intervals and brings questions and criticism from citizens in the neighbourhoods to the city council and the administration. It works independently of the administration and any political parties. A steering group of up to twelve members with a maximum of three citizens from each neighbourhood manages the citizens' platform.