Foreword annual report 2020
Dear friends!
The past year was an imposition for all of us – a year full of contradictions lies behind us. We had to endure a lot and there were many things we never dared to do, but we managed to do them anyway!
In contrast to the noticeable lack of empathy of the older generation towards the younger generation - on a large scale, for example, in climate policy, but also on a local level, for example, in the discussions about school closures - everyone in our society has had to realize how dependent we all actually are on each other. Fortunately, we at the Stadtjugendring have always lived solidarity across all generations and have been able to make this tangible, especially in the Lockdown, for example through our neighborhood help.
Simplification, prejudice and radicalization led to sad and bizarre images and stories that moved Germany and the world. The world itself is more complex than racist people with their instrumentalizations might imagine. We have to fight every day anew against a division and a drifting apart of our society. We do this with our clear stance against racism and for freedom, openness and self-determination. At Stadtjugendring we try to counter radicalization with our anti-racism work. Education about democracy and impartial solidarity is for free with us.
Fake news and conspiracy theorists try to contradict scientists, whereby only the latter have rightly moved into the center of reporting. To counter this contradiction of Fake News in social media, our FC Augsburg Fanprojekt clarifies with its campaign "Glatteisgefahr". Despite our trust in science, we understand the considerations of politicians. Democracy and finding a compromise between what are actually the scientifically advised ideal behaviors to contain the virus and, for example, a fear of losing acceptance to the measures demand a lot from all of us. Nevertheless, we must not resign ourselves to the pandemic, especially now: If we put our energy into what we can change - each of us individually and all of us together for each other - to create a vibrant togetherness and ultimately save lives in times of the pandemic, we can collectively strive for well-being, for health, and for happiness. My appeal is therefore: Get involved politically and help shape our future!
This appeal brings us back down to earth in our day-to-day business: An annual report always wants to be a report of success as far as possible. And despite the many setbacks we have had to accept in our youth work and in the way society thinks about young people, we have also had success.
In the Stadtjugendring we define and live the conditions of success for participation of young people. In 2020, this was expressed with our local election campaign "Rathausboss" and the final evening at local club “Musikkantine”, which attracted regional attention. We sowed further seeds with the first Augsburg Gender Talk at the “Grandhotel”, our digital workshops on the participation concept, and a persistent push for youth demands.
The piloting in digital youth work, where we have been experimenting with new formats and are continuously developing our offers since the beginning of the pandemic, was most recently able to blossom into Augsburg's first digital youth center at www.aux-inn.de. With the creation of a new communication infrastructure via Microsoft Office 365 and MS Teams, we have succeeded in raising the all-important exchange between our employees to a new level of quality. Even though we eagerly wish for personal contact and coming together, we were able to show, with the first digital plenary meeting as well as the virtual association meeting and the board meetings from home, that we continue to hold up the flag for young people and youth associations in Augsburg.
We young people love quick decisions – at least as much as thought-out ones. A contradiction? The many offers and developments in the world often demand that we act quickly. That's why we get fit and train our eye for sustainability and longevity. Because of that it was important to us in 2020 to critically rethink our often quick decisions regarding consumption. This is also true for our youth centres where we try to encourage critical consumption for our visitors. We constantly provide our employees - who deserve a big thank you for their perseverance - with the appropriate training tools to work together for a climate-friendly, healthy and safe coexistence.
We at the Stadtjugendring are particularly interested in not only talking about young people, but much more with them. After more than 20 years we have revised our mission statement in a comprehensive participation process and will in future enter into dialogue with our target groups through a more lively, open and trusting brand image.
Trusting in a more livable future for all of us, I would like to assure you, dear readers, that the young heart of our city is confident in all future crises, that it will tackle changes ambitiously, and that it will not lose its critical reflection in the process.
We are and will remain here for you!
Jonas Riegel
Chairperson at Stadtjugendring Augsburg,
an Umbrella Organization of Urban Youth Organizations