Chemnitz, the city of vacancies, the city of open spaces and endless potential? Chemnitz, the city of makers, the city without Späti and without disturbances? Chemnitz as one of the demographically oldest regions in Europe?

We have landed in this area of tension with the “enter - Young Cultural Region Chemnitz” program. Starting in the year of the European Capital of Culture, we want to implement participatory projects with young people even after the great fireworks of festivalization are over. Our first thesis: Chemnitz has so much empty space and yet so little of it. There is a lack of spaces for young people: Spaces in the sense of non-commercial and consumption-free meeting places where they can hang out. Spaces where they can develop freely and try things out, be it in terms of creative expression or their identity in general. And - in an environment that is increasingly threatened by right-wing space grabbing - spaces where young people are protected from right-wing violence and influence. These are the results of our needs analysis.

We want to talk about cultural youth participation in general and the creation of a participatory space for young people in Chemnitz as part of an exchange of experiences. We want to share our findings with you, but above all we are interested in what spaces exist in other cities where young people participate. We want to discuss the questions that are currently on our minds: What qualities does a space need for young people to participate and how do they get to the point of being able to formulate their demands beyond the design of the space? How can a participatory space lead to the empowerment of young people through the experience of self-efficacy? How open can and how open must the space be? What radicalism does the space need and does it need it at all?

Who: Selina Müller, enter – Junge Kulturregion Chemnitz

Language: German