At the meetings, citizens find contact persons, support in solving problems and the opportunity to network in order to take the initiative themselves. Also nobody is afraid of longterm solutions, says Hagenberg-Miliu.

"Each district has its own history, its own structure and its own problems," explained the moderator. This is the reason why not all citizens of Bad Godesberg are invited to one single big event. That is why the Generation Network Bad Godesberg is again offering the opportunity for close dialogue in a smaller circle at seven different venues this year.

Members of the network, local politicians as well as representatives of the public utilities, churches, associations, police and administration will take part. "In this way, some problems of the citizens could be referred to the right place and solved immediately", said Hagenberg-Miliu. Networks with common goals within the citizenry have also already formed during the heart-to-heart meeting.

One example of this was the two citizens who had committed themselves to the elimination of a scrap and waste problem in Friesdorf. "The two women sat down together and wrote a letter to the city and the public order authorities, in which they outlined the conditions", said Anni Merzbach of the Friesdorf Neighborhood Center. The two women would not have let up until the illegally deposited scrap and garbage had been removed.

An example of a difficult solution search is the Lyngsberg stadium, according to Hagenberg-Miliu. Here, citizens have clearly expressed their need, but planners and politicians must weigh up the situation and make decisions in the political bodies, so that parents do not have to continue to drive their children to neighbouring Wachtberg for training.

Last year, in the historically grown parts of Bad Godesberg such as Muffendorf, Friesdorf and Plittersdorf, the high volume of traffic and the sometimes risky driving styles of some car drivers in the narrow streets were discussed with representatives of the police. In contrast, the districts, which had grown strongly and rapidly as a result of the influx of government officials in the 1960s, lacked meeting places such as a town centre with a quality of stay, Frank Wilbertz from the Pennenfeld neighbourhood management reported on the wishes of the citizens.

The bus connections in various quarters were also criticised. The participants had expressed their displeasure and the concerns reached the responsible authorities. "Last year, buses often broke down," reported Marisa Esposito. As a result, senior citizens often had to wait 40 minutes for the next bus. In Pennenfeld, citizens wanted more buses or articulated buses because the vehicles were full at six schools after the end of the day, Wilbertz said. The problem was particularly acute on line 612, which runs from Mehlem to Friesdorf.

Cornelia Nicolaus reported that in the city center, the public pool and Kurfürstenzeile were partly controversially discussed.

(Original text: Petra Reuter; Translation: Mareike Graepel)