Mayor Benz: "Another step towards more participation on an equal footing"
The science city of Darmstadt has a new citizens' representative: 35-year-old sociologist Ann-Christine Sparn-Wolf has taken up her post in the Office for Communications. She will play a key role in shaping the further development and restructuring of citizen participation in Darmstadt.
“With the appointment of this person, we have taken another important step towards modernizing and making citizen participation in the city more citizen-oriented,” explains Mayor Hanno Benz. The integration of the Citizens' Representative's office into the Office for Communications was a deliberate signal to put the dialogue with the city's residents on a new footing.
The goal is to make participatory processes more transparent, direct, and accessible – both locally and increasingly via digital platforms and social media. To this end, existing formats have been revised: for example, "Mayor on Location" has evolved from the traditional consultation hour model into a dialogue-oriented town hall format. Citizen surveys, such as the recent one in Wixhausen regarding the tram connection, will also be used more frequently and earlier in the future – ideally before political bodies make decisions.
Reinforcements for the participation team
Ann-Christine Sparn-Wolf, together with the head of the Office for Communications, Frank Horneff, will drive the strategic development of citizen participation in Darmstadt. The selection process for the position of deputy citizens' representative is currently underway, and an additional administrative position is also planned.
The new ombudswoman lives with her family in the Eberstadt district.
Further information on citizen participation in Darmstadt can be found at
👉 www.darmstadt.de/buergerbeteiligung .
(DARMSTADT – RED/PSD/ho)
