Overview for topic: Culture

On 23 March, 85 young “visionaries” from across Germany met in Berlin to begin their search for answers to the question: “How do we want to live in 2050?” The German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE) had invited the participants – all of whom had been nominated by sustainability experts from the political, business and scientific communities – to present and discuss their personal visions during a three-day workshop and also to develop a common vision of what a future society should look like. The workshop began with a debate involving the “visionaries” – the majority of whom under the age of 25 – Council member, Max Schön, and an experienced political practitioner, former Federal Minister / Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Franz Müntefering.

The German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE) has developed a "Werkstatt N" quality label which will, in future, be awarded every year to 100 projects and project drafts from up and down the country. To this end, the Council bestowed its first "Werkstatt N" quality label awards on 45 projects and project drafts for a sustainable Germany during its annual conference which was held in Berlin on 27 September 2010. In the opinion of the Council, the people behind the initiatives demonstrate both resourcefulness and commitment in their approach to showing how sustainability ideas can be turned into deeds and added value for the benefit of society.

On 13.10.2010, the Lord Mayors of 16 German cities submitted strategic cornerstones for sustainable development in municipalities. Represented in Berlin by Lord Mayors Werner Spec (Ludwigsburg), Burkhard Jung (Leipzig) and Dieter Salomon (Freiburg), they called on politicians at federal and Laender level to provide greater support and improved framework conditions for sustainable financial, economic and climate policies. They invited all those with responsibility at the municipal, Laender and federal levels to support their cornerstones. The 16 Lord Mayors come from cities throughout Germany which lead the way in municipal sustainability policy. With the assistance of the German Council for Sustainable Development, they have agreed on what more they want to do in the name of sustainable development in their cities and beyond.