Children and democracy: Workshop results inspire Bernau!

Children and democracy: Workshop results inspire Bernau!

On July 14, 2025, the summer festival took place in the Yellow Freizeithaus in Bernau, in which the results of the workshop series "Wish-dreaming!" were presented. This initiative of the partnership for democracy in Bernau was aimed at 7- to 12-year-old students and addressed important content such as child rights, environmental protection, poverty and peace. The workshop series started during the Easter holidays and served not only the creative development, but also to the awareness of social issues. Antje Krüger, who is committed to the partnership for democracy, expressed a positive statement about the children's works, which, among other things, designed a self-designed banner for peace and children's rights t-shirts. Such an expression of creativity is very well received and shows how important the expression of opinion of children is.

The banner, which the children designed, will decorate the fence of the leisure house, while informative signs against garbage are set up in the Panke Park. These actions are not only an enrichment for the district, but also signal the value that civil society places on the topics that were treated in the workshops. Hanna Rottkord, funding manager in Bernau, accepted the results with enthusiasm. Bernau has been part of the federal project “Living Democracy!” Since 2019, which supports the promotion of civil society and cohesion in the youth field.

Focus of children's rights

As part of these workshops, the children were not only creatively informed, but also about their rights. The UN General Assembly passed the "Convention on the Rights of the Child" in 1989, which gives all children, apart from the USA, rights that are not allowed by adults. These include the right to survival, development, protection and education. These rights have been put in the foreground in Germany since ratification in 1992, which followed in 2010 without reservations. Nevertheless, it turns out that many people, even in responsible positions, are not sufficiently informed about the content and its implementation. The initiative "Live democracy!" supports exactly this educational work, which is continued in Bernau by the workshops. This mediation of knowledge and right is essential so that children can vote and express their opinion.

Another aspect of the workshops was environmental and climate protection. Already in primary school, children learn to take responsibility and contribute to improving their surroundings. Energy of a project such as "Wunning-dreaming!" It is often also promoted by local efforts that are already successfully implemented in many cities. The support from the federal program "Live democracy!" is a building block that helps the municipalities to introduce and promote civil participation.

planned activities and outlook

With regard to the coming months, there are already other exciting activities in Bernau, including a trunk planting campaign and a special baking day that deals with the topic of poverty. These initiatives show how the city continuously works to integrate the children into important social discussions and to offer them a platform on which they can become active.

Finally, it can be said that such initiatives such as the workshop series "Wish-dreaming!" Not only promote the creativity and self -confidence of the children, but also make an important contribution to strengthening children's rights. They are an example of how local projects can contribute to living cooperation through volunteering and support at federal level. The integration of education about children's rights and social issues in the everyday life of the little ones is essential to use an informed and responsible generation.

Further information on the topic of child rights and its implementation in Germany can be found at the Federal Center for Political Education, which actively deals with strengthening children's rights. Programs for democracy education in daycare centers have also become more important in recent years and can be viewed under Education server that present comprehensive projects to promote participation during early childhood development.