Tag: participation
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Berlin Wiki: Democracy and the Principles of Free Elections
What Does Democracy Mean? A great deal could be written about what democracy is. Put simply, in a democracy, all state authority is derived from the people. This means that the citizens of a country determine its political direction. Germany is a parliamentary and representative democracy: citizens elect representatives who make decisions on their behalf. These elected members of parliament meet…
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Berlin Wiki: Who Influences Political Decisions?
What Is Lobbying? Lobbying is the organised effort by interest groups to influence political decisions. The term is derived from the word “lobby,” referring to the entrance halls of parliaments where representatives of various interests traditionally met with members of parliament to discuss and promote their concerns. Lobbying takes place in almost every area of politics and society. Those involved provide…
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Berlin Wiki: Finding Reliable Information Before You Vote
What Is the Wahl-O-Mat? The Wahl-O-Mat has been provided by the Federal Agency for Civic Education (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, bpb) since 2002. It is an online voting advice tool that allows users to compare their own political positions with those of political parties in Germany. Anyone using the Wahl-O-Mat can respond to a series of political statements. One example from…
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StimmlosTrend: A New Survey Wants to Hear Berlin’s Missing Voices
Can’t vote in Berlin? There are a million people like you. We’re giving them a voice. That’s the message of WahlheYmat’s new StimmlosTrend campaign, which launches today. Modern democracy is built on elections. In Berlin, the House of Representatives is elected every five years by eligible German citizens (EU citizens can only vote in district elections). But Berlin has changed. Today,…
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“Berlin taught me to dislike the word integration”
WHP: You worked in humanitarian aid around the world for many years. What ultimately motivated you to found Just-Go-For-It? Marilena Chatziantoniou: I started working in the field of humanitarian aid in 1998. My first assignment was in Albania, where I worked for a small German NGO, just months before the Kosovo crisis. I remember falling in love with the job and…
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Berlin Wiki: Understanding Political Parties
What Is an Election Manifesto? Before an election, political parties present their election manifestos. This applies in federal, state, and local elections. In the manifestos, parties set out in writing the goals they intend to pursue. These goals reflect the issues that are important to the party during the upcoming legislative term—that is, the electoral term. The manifesto serves as the…
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