DemoticonsPLUS - Democracy Lab for You(th)

The goal of DemoticonsPLUS-Democracy Lab for You(th) is to significantly increase the democratic participation of young people in their organizations in rural areas of Brandenburg. The use of digital tools is intended to support and make participation more transparent. The project is funded under the federal program "Cohesion through Participation" by the Federal Ministry of the Interior and for Homeland. The focus is on locally rooted associations, organizations, and multipliers. The increasing digitization of our daily lives poses challenges for traditional youth (association) work but also offers the opportunity to reshape engagement in clubs and associations. Online participation provides the chance to involve members in organizational activities independently of analog events.

The DemoticonsPLUS - Democracy Lab for You(th) project consists of two central pillars: the consultation on democratic participation structures and software development. Youth associations, clubs, and initiatives are specifically guided, and our multipliers are trained in (digital) participation. Together, new digital participation formats are explored through surveys and developed in various workshops.

The second pillar involves the development of an app. In collaboration with youth associations, the app is tailored to the needs of young people. A first prototype of the app is planned to be released and tested in 2022.

An initial partnership has been established with the State Youth Fire Service of Brandenburg. It is a coalition of 1,190 (as of 2021) youth fire services in the state of Brandenburg with around 15,200 members. The State Youth Fire Service is organized within the State Fire Brigade Association of Brandenburg e.V. and represents the interests of Brandenburg's youth fire services at the federal level and vis-à-vis state politics.