As early as 2007, the decision was made to erect a monument in Leipzig as a symbol of democracy and social cohesion to commemorate the reunification and peaceful revolution in autumn 1989. After the first attempt to plan the Freedom and Unity Monument failed, the process was restarted in 2017. Transparency and participation are part of all steps of the process in order to integrate citizens actively and as closely as possible. The Stiftung Friedliche Revolution (Foundation for Peaceful Revolution) is responsible for the implementation of the project as a representative of civil society. For the site search phase, the nexus Institute was engaged by the foundation to find a suitable location for the memorial with the participation of citizens. It is planned to set up a Leipzig citizens’ council consisting of 40 randomly selected citizens who will be as representative as possible of the population.
On the last weekend of January 2022, the members of the citizens’ council will formulate a location proposal for the Leipzig city council after an inspection and detailed consideration. The citizens’ report on the location of the Freedom and Unity Monument is expected to be presented at a public event on 10 February. The citizens’ council will be preceded by a workshop in which actors from civil society and experts will discuss selection criteria for the search for a site and make a proposal for narrowing down the possible locations of the monument.
Duration: 11/2021-02/2022
Clients: Stiftung Friedliche Revolution, Leipzig
Team: Christine von Blanckenburg (Project management), Wiebke Blum