Within the framework of a national creative writing competition, numerous youth groups had applied for participation in the writing workshops of the Sustainability Council’s book project. Unfortunately, not every contestant could be taken into consideration.
The creative writing workshops were held in Hamburg together with the Educational Centre of the Werkstatt3 and young people from various Hamburg schools, in the 'Landkreis' Leipzig with young people of the secondary and grammar school Borna and the secondary school Markkleeberg and Böhlen, in Siegerland with the Association for Social Work and Culture South Westphalia e.V., in Großräschen together with the IBA (International Building Exhibition) and the Grammar and Comprehensive School Großräschen and the Secondary Modern School Senftenberg, in Essen at the comprehensive School Holtershausen and in Münster at the Pascal Grammar School. In expert tutorials, the participants were introduced to situational and creative writing and supported in compiling their individual pieces on the topic of 'sustainability'. Many individual persons had also sent in their contributions to the editing staff by the final date for entries on 1 May 2002.
At the Council’s Annual Congress "The Next Step", some of the young authors had the opportunity to present their works in advance to a large audience and the Federal Ministers Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul and Jürgen Trittin. Their texts impressed the audience greatly.
On the occasion of the "Open Day of the Federal Government" which was dedicated to the motto of 'Sustainable Development' that year, six young authors handed over the book hot off the press to the state secretary Bury. On a beautiful summer's day in the garden of the German chancellery, there was enough time for discussions and readings from the book. The young people were able to discuss the interrelation of culture and sustainability with the State Secretary for Cultural Affairs, Julian Nida-Rümelin.
In January 2003, the book appeared in its second edition in the Ökom Publishing Company (ISBN 3-928244-91-4, price 14.80 €).
