For many years, the medium-size city of Landau has involved citizens in a large range of public affairs. But still, they feel a lack of transparency, tangibility and variety. After a symposium in October 2014, municipality, politicians and citizens set out for new ways of cooperation. The members of the joint working group who have designed the guideline as a start of a continuing learning process called their paper “The Landau way of participation”. They all agree that the basic requirement for co-operation is being open for and capable of good communication. Meeting each other in an appreciative way under fair conditions of equality – irrespective of diversity in opinions – is equally important. “Those who engage in participation, whether from politics, municipality or citizenship, all need to be treated respectfully” says team member Christine Baumann, who already had joined the city council to discuss interim results in March 2015. Her colleague Fritz Marz adds: “Transparent participation is necessary to make use of the knowledge and ideas of citizens in public governance.” The members of the joint working group ask all inhabitants of Landau to make good use of the new guideline: “Let’s put it into action, learn, evaluate and then improve the guideline!”
