Community Organizing

The BMW Stiftung Herbert Quandt has teamed up with the Generali Zukunftsfonds (Generali Future Fund) and the Körber Foundation to form an open support network with the goal of spreading the idea of community organizing in Germany.

Community organizing was originally developed in the United States and Great Britain, where it has proven effective in promoting the political participation of citizens in disadvantaged neighborhoods. By collaborating and strengthening citizens’ groups, so-called community organizations have revitalized whole neighborhoods.

We want to seize this opportunity in Germany as well. We feel that the conventional means of political participation provided by local or municipal governments are increasingly ineffective in disadvantaged neighborhoods and only few people engage in political or social action to improve their lives.

Successful community organizations already exist in Berlin (Menschen verändern ihren Kiez - Organizing Schöneweide, Wir sind da - Organizing Wedding/Moabit) and Hamburg (ImPuls-Mitte – Organizing Hamburg). With support from the Berlin-based German Institute for Community Organizing (DICO), directed by Professor Dr. Leo Penta, which assists local organizations in their work, several more such citizens’ platforms are scheduled to be launched during the next three years.

http://www.dico-berlin.org