A good and healthy life in the community, for everyone, with everyone – this vision collocates stakeholders in Hannover and Freiburg (Germany) to follow a particular process of dialogue and mobilisation for a sustainable development of neighbourhoods.
The joint activity of the German NGOs „Migranten for Agenda 21 e.V.“ (Hannover) and „Fairburg e.V. Freiburg“ recognises citizens with their different cultural, religious, social and linguistic backgrounds and helps them to find their personal connectivity to environmental protection and sustianability, discover common interests with others and take the opportunity for self-motivated action. The German Federal Agency for Environmental Protection is funding this continuation of a model activity which has been successfully kicked-off in a preliminary version in Hannover last year and is now being adapted to Freiburg as well.
With the slogan „Don't seek to motivate, but seek for motivation“, trained multipliers will conduct „enabling interviews“ in their cultural and linguistic communities, in order to find individual points of motivation for sustainable culture in everyday life. Interested and committed citizens will be invited to intercultural workshops, getting into dialogue with peers about environmental protection and sustainability in personal lifestyles, but also in the shared environment of their district. Self-motivated action is key – and is supported by financial means, but even more through the coaching of trained „environment promoters“.
The two intercultural associations Migranten for Agenda 21 e.V. and Fairburg e.V. are supported by the municipalities of Hannover and Freiburg, as well as the project coach Andreas Joppich and aiforia – Agency for sustainability. On 06 and 07 of May, aiforia hosted the training on „enabling interviews“ for the Freiburg promoters which was held by Andreas Joppich and accompanied by the Office for Migration and Integration of the City of Freiburg. Five members of the Fairburg association will conduct interviews mainly with citizens of the districts Landwasser, Weingarten and Stühlinger until September. The surveys in arabic, spanish, turkish, italian and african english/french- speaking communities shall serve to reveal interests and environmental relationships of citizens to be further discussed at the intercultural discussion workshops in autumn.
To ensure a close exchange between the partners, the project also foresees mutual visits, such as a two-day visit of the Freiburg Environment Promoters to Hannover on 09 and 10 June 2012.
Further information about the project „GENUSS – Gemeinsam für Natur und Umweltschutz im Stadtteil“ can be obtained from the project website by end of June.