Shaping the future: Participation process launched in Bad Wilhelmshöhe

People from a wide range of professions, age groups and contexts come together and develop concrete measures in the field of energy and the environment for their district.

They have been invited by a group of committed citizens who have come together to cooperate with the University of Kassel as part of the "SDG+ Lab", a UniKasselTransfer project. As a core element of this collaboration, a vacant store in Bad Wilhelmshöhe will be converted into a "district store" for two months at the beginning of 2024. This location will serve as a space for exchange on sustainability issues and will be designed together with and by citizens according to their needs: Possible formats on site include energy consultations, clothes swaps, district tours, repair offers, do-it-yourself workshops, cargo bike rental, educational and exchange formats, and much more. Further district stores are also to be set up in the districts of Oberzwehren, Kirchditmold, Waldau and Mitte by the end of 2024.

"We are delighted to have the opportunity to actively live a small utopia right here in the district. We are constantly on the lookout for people and initiatives who can imagine filling the district store with their wishes and inspirations that will contribute to greater sustainability," says Anja Lipschik, district manager.

Florian Broschart, contact person for district work: "Together, by bringing together stakeholders from all areas of society, we can meet the challenges of our time in a meaningful way. With this project, we want to create spaces in which solutions can be developed and tackled together. This is just as necessary at the neighborhood level as it is globally."

Petra Ziegler, SoLocal Energy e.V., neighborhood work: "The emerging processes should also be further strengthened and supported beyond the neighborhood stores and the project duration. This is supported by our experience from the neighborhood circles in the Bettenhausen and Unterneustadt districts. We have been supporting working groups on climate policy issues there for almost two years and believe it is important to establish this type of neighborhood work in other districts as well."

The opening festival of the SDG+ Lab will take place in the new Uni:Lokal in Wilhelmsstraße from November 15 to 18. Interested parties are cordially invited to find out more about the project at the opening exhibition and to get involved in workshops, lectures or the SDG+ Challenge.

With the SDG+ Lab, UniKasselTransfer is creating a platform for exchange between science, politics, business and civil society. Along the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, sustainability issues are discussed, practical solutions and innovations are developed and tested for the North Hesse region in four themed years.