This year’s Chemnitz Children’s Conference will take place on Monday 5 October, from 1.00 pm to 3.30 pm, in the City Council Chamber at the Town Hall. The event, themed ‘Participation and Respect – your ideas for Chemnitz’, is being organised by the City of Chemnitz’s Children and Young People’s Commissioner, Dina Norberger. There are still a few places available for interested schools.
Media representatives are invited to attend.
Around 80 children from various primary and special needs schools are expected to attend. Together, they will discuss topics they have chosen themselves: co-determination and participation, diversity, bullying and getting on well with one another. These topics were developed as part of a participatory project carried out together with the children. This means that, once again this year, the children’s interests and questions will take centre stage.
After the children have opened their conference, Lord Mayor Sven Schulze will welcome the participants. The children will then have the opportunity to ask him anything they have always wanted to know from the Lord Mayor during an open question-and-answer session.
This will be followed by five workshops. There, the children can share their own experiences, discuss issues, ask questions and develop ideas together:
Theme: Co-determination and participation
• Workshops 1 and 2: Children have their say! Your Chemnitz, your ideas
(Note: A number of city councillors will also be present.)
Theme: Diversity and tolerance
• Workshop 3: Diversity makes us strong
Focus: Violence and Bullying
• Workshop 4: Bullying – not on with us
• Workshop 5: Working together rather than against each other
Afterwards, the children will present the results of the workshops to the whole group. The children organise and run the event entirely on their own. Pupils from the Freie Grundschule Leonardo have agreed to lead the conference.
Dina Norberger: “It is particularly important to me that the children take the outcomes and experiences of the children’s conference back to their schools afterwards. They are key ambassadors and can pass on the knowledge and ideas to their fellow pupils.” Many of the participating children are already involved in a children’s council at their school. This means the Children’s Conference is not limited to this one day, but continues to have an impact in the schools.
The annual Children’s Conference sends an important message to the younger generation, says Dina Norberger. “Children experience their city differently from adults and have their own wishes, ideas and needs. The Children’s Conference shows them that their concerns are important and are being listened to. At the same time, children learn in a very practical way how democratic participation works and that they can help shape their city.”