“We are in a very tense situation with a record number of non-voters and a great distrust in society towards institutions, so it was the right time to convene this citizens’ assembly.”
This quote does not come from Berlin — although the record number of non-voters is also the case here. It was said by the elected representative of Paris’ 15th arrondissement after the creation of a permanent citizens’ assembly in 2021.
I do not have statistical data on distrust towards institutions — you can judge this based on your own experience. But there is one clear fact: 25% of Berlin’s population cannot vote. Why not change this? We actually have a plan — seriously.
What if we used this year’s elections to invite all international residents to register for a permanent citizens’ assembly of non-voters? From this group, 100 people would be selected by lot — each from a different country. In parallel, the new city government could create a Chief Citizen Officer (CCO) — similar to a deputy mayor. The CCO would serve as a bridge between civic engagement, Vereine, and the citizens’ assembly, involving residents more strongly in decision-making.
A permanent assembly of international citizens and a CCO — starting this September.
I can already hear your thoughts: Berlin already has countless Beiräte, Beauftragte, and an overcomplicated bureaucracy—why make it even more complex?
My answer: we must start taking citizen participation seriously. We can no longer afford NOT to. What we have now is not effective, and we can all see it — simply by walking on the icy sidewalks while looking at empty tram tracks.
If you meet people in Berlin working in companies, startups, media outlets, consultancies, creative businesses, arts, or NGOs — the list is long — you quickly realize how much latent potential there is in our shared public life. Potential to make life easier, more enjoyable, more trusting. To unlock creativity, we need to innovate, try things out, and learn from other places. Pick the best examples, implement them quickly, try, fail, correct. If this works in companies, it can work in a city. Let’s transfer the best Kieze, networks, and local initiatives to the city level.
That is why we adopted Richard Scarry’s Busy World for the WahlheYmatPost campaign. We dream of a city where shaping our shared life is a joy. We truly believe that the international residents of Berlin can help us see things differently—hand in hand with all other residents, old and new, born in Berlin or elsewhere — and create something we genuinely enjoy.
This is the vision behind WahlheYmat: why we organize the WahlheYmat Talks and help people understand Berlin through WahlheYmatPost.
Read. Discuss. Join. Believe that we can change how our beloved city works.
