Partnership for democracy in the municipality of Konz
The Partnership for Democracy (PfD) in the Konz municipality is an association of those responsible for municipal politics and administration, committed citizens, young people and civil society activists in churches, clubs and associations. It was set up as part of the federal program "Live Democracy!" and is funded by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth.
Every fellow citizen is cordially invited to participate in the activities of the PfD. Committed individuals or groups as well as institutions and associations can also participate with their own projects, whereby they can receive support in planning and implementation from a coordination and specialist office set up especially for this purpose. An encounter offer, an art or cultural offer (e.g. concert, a reading, a graffiti project, an exhibition or a theater performance) an educational offer (e.g. a lecture or discussion rounds) - the forms of getting involved are diverse. In whatever form people want to get involved in promoting democracy, shaping diversity or preventing extremism, they experience support from the PfD.
For concrete implementation, the PfD has annual funds available, which are provided by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth and partly from the VG's own funds. With the action and initiative fund, individual projects can be funded up to €5,000. A monitoring committee, whose meetings take place once a quarter, advises and decides on the applications submitted for this purpose. A micro fund was also set up to support small and very small projects.
In addition to the numerous activities from the first funding period (2015-2019), the regular democracy conferences in particular have developed into a permanent institution. And the youth forum, with its newcomer stage at the homeland and wine festival, as well as through the event series "Konz wird laut" is now well known to many corporations. It is all the more gratifying that the PfD can continue its work in the second funding period (2020-2024). So that we can continue to send a signal against extremism, violence and the various manifestations of group-related enmity in Konz, however, active participation by civil society is essential. Sustainable structures that contribute to the development and continued existence of a democratic community can only be built through the cooperation of all local actors and through the long-term commitment of citizens.