Großdubrau calls for citizen participation: your vote counts!

Großdubrau calls for citizen participation: your vote counts!

On August 12, 2025, the members of the technical committee met in the Großdubrau clubhouse to promote the development of the community. At 7:00 p.m. the time had come – all residents were invited to take part under the motto “Shaping things together”. At this meeting, important topics were discussed that affect life in Großdubrau and how to improve its design together with the citizens.

But what actually makes citizen participation so important? As a look at current developments shows, it is a key to lively, democratic politics. The masterminds in these processes are often not only politicians, but also the citizens themselves, who are involved in decision-making processes. An example of this is the local and administrative reform (KVR) in Rhineland-Palatinate, which shows what successful citizen participation can look like. The state parliament decided to involve citizens at an early stage, which was intended to create a sustainable administrative structure - a model that could also be of interest to the municipality of Großdubrau.

Citizen participation as a treasure for the community

The idea behind active citizen participation is simple: if people have a say, it not only increases the acceptance of decisions, but also general well-being in the community. The problems of past reforms, such as those in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, show what happens when the civil voice is not heard. In contrast to this are the experiences from Rhineland-Palatinate, where citizens' congresses and regional conferences serve to collect ideas and criticism. Over 80% of citizens there support the measures - a clear indicator that citizen participation in politics is urgently needed.

It is interesting that special planning cells were also set up in Rhineland-Palatinate during the KVR. Citizens there dealt intensively with specific topics. Such targeted approaches could also be useful in Großdubrau to ensure that citizens' opinions are not only heard but also taken into account.

Outlook for the future

In Großdubrau, the next step could be to set up similar participation processes and give citizens the opportunity to actively participate. A new culture of communication and participation could increase both interest and satisfaction among citizens. In the best case scenario, this means that conflicts are addressed at an early stage and disenchantment with politics decreases. It remains to be seen whether and how the ideas and impulses from the technical committee will be processed in local politics.

So the session on August 12th was just the beginning. It will be exciting to see how the municipality of Großdubrau gives its citizens a voice and which models prove to be viable. The involvement of citizens would not only benefit the municipality, but also every individual in the community - this is a fact that experts also emphasize again and again.