Mötzinger local council: Children formulate impressive wishes for the future!

Mötzinger local council: Children formulate impressive wishes for the future!

At a recent municipal council meeting in Mötzingen, the “community detectives” presented their impressions and suggestions for improvement from the perspective of children. Mayor Benjamin Finis welcomed numerous parents and noted that the participation of children and young people in municipal planning is of great importance. This initiative, which was launched three years ago, is being carried out for the fourth time this year with the third grade of Mötzingen elementary school Black Forest messenger reported.

As part of this meeting, a new drinking fountain was ceremoniously inaugurated on Schloßplatz, a direct result of a suggestion from elementary school students, and two additional drinking fountains behind the town hall and on the Mötzingen leisure area will soon be put into operation. During the event, children expressed wishes for improving natural and environmental conditions, ranging from installing wind turbines to planting more trees and installing additional trash cans.

Road safety and leisure activities

Another important point was improving the traffic situation. Suggestions were made regarding the parking situation on Brühlstraße and the establishment of zebra crossings on Schloßgartenstraße and Iselshauser Straße. Greater control at pedestrian crossings was also suggested to increase children's safety. In addition, the young citizens wanted the replacement of play equipment in playgrounds and even a new climbing wall at the school or in the leisure area.

A continuing wish of the children remains the provision of a public toilet, which is an important concern for many families and visitors. The local council members discussed the feasibility of these ideas and were open to the children's suggestions. Mayor Finis warmly thanked the young participants and symbolically presented them with “Mötzinger hats”.

Diverse support for child participation

Promoting child participation is not just a local issue, but is supported through a variety of approaches. This is what happens on the platform Strong in the country An extensive collection of materials is provided, including worksheets, questionnaires and checklists. These materials aim to facilitate project planning and implementation and to promote the anchoring of participation projects on site.

The special initiatives presented there include the organization of children's conferences and the development of guidelines for local children and youth participation. For example, the project “Dream City Rossau” describes, in which children can use Lego figures to visualize their ideas of an ideal city.