The 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War on 8 May 2025 offers a special opportunity to set an example for peace and social cohesion. Against this backdrop, the Frauenkirche Dresden Foundation is initiating the ‘Peace City Dresden’ citizens’ council. The members of the Citizens’ Council will discuss possible ways of shaping peaceful coexistence and what the population and the city can do together to achieve this.
The Citizens’ Council brings together randomly selected citizens of Dresden to discuss the question of how Dresden can make a credible and forward-looking contribution to peacebuilding. The inclusion of diverse perspectives is an important step towards strengthening understanding between generations and social groups.
The Citizens’ Assembly will be organised in two phases: After two preparatory workshops in December 2024 involving stakeholders from Dresden’s civil society, the main meetings will take place in March 2025 over two weekends (7/8 March and 28/29 March) in person, supplemented by an online session. The recommendations for action developed will be summarised in a citizens’ report and presented to the Lord Mayor and representatives of the City Council on 8 May 2025.
The Frauenkirche Dresden Foundation has commissioned the nexus Institute to design and organise the Citizens’ Council. This format of citizen participation creates a unique opportunity to go beyond the city’s history and jointly develop sustainable solutions for a peaceful future.
Duration: 10/2024 – 06/2025
Client: Stiftung Frauenkirche Dresden
Team: Claudia Bosch (Project management), Ina Metzner (Main moderation), Eike Biermann (Research Associate), Janne Ratschinski (Project assistent)
Further information: https://www.frauenkirche-dresden.de/buergerrat