Central Saxony asks young people: What do you need for leisure fun?

Central Saxony asks young people: What do you need for leisure fun?

Today, June 24, 2025, the Central Saxony district launched a broad youth survey that aims to improve leisure and support offers for young people. This initiative is aimed at children and young people between the ages of 10 and 20 and offers the opportunity to actively shape the future of the offerings in their region. District Administrator Sven Krüger emphasizes that it is essential to take the needs and interests of young people into account in order to be able to plan suitable offers. The survey is now available online on the district office website and can be completed by August 30th. Participation is anonymous and takes about 15 minutes.

But it's not just young people who are the focus! A parallel survey for people aged 55 and over will run until June 30th. This survey is part of the development of a senior policy strategy that aims to gain a comprehensive picture of the living situation of older people. The aim is to develop needs-based offers in the areas of leisure, health, mobility, living and social participation.

Experiences from Erfurt

In the past, the Erfurt city administration has carried out life situation surveys of children and young people in 2014, 2017 and 2022. Over 2,000 young people aged 12 to 17 were randomly selected to identify their interests and needs. These surveys, which deal with topics such as leisure interests, living environment and school situation, show the young people's keen interest in taking part. The response rate was 34.6 percent in 2022 and even 41.9 percent in 2017. This data flows directly into the city of Erfurt's child and youth support plan and shows how important it is to hear the voice of young people. Erfurt has therefore chosen a clear approach that could also serve as a model for other cities to capture the opinions of young people.

Methods of youth participation

An important method for incorporating young people's opinions is to survey youth groups. A structured approach is used, which begins with the presentation of the topic, followed by discussions in which the young people can express their thoughts. An interview guide and moderation materials play a central role in guiding the conversations and recording results. Through small group work, young people have the opportunity to creatively record wishes and suggestions. This method has proven particularly effective in obtaining a better picture of young people's needs and opinions, even if they are not representative of all youth.

Current initiatives and methods show a growing understanding of the importance of taking young people's opinions seriously. They are the future and their ideas have the potential to sustainably improve the quality of life in Central Saxony. Take advantage of the opportunity and take part in the survey!

For more information about the youth survey, please visit Saxon or find out more about the life situation survey in Erfurt. For more youth engagement methods, see Children's Rights.de.