On your marks, get set, go!

Wiesbaden Social Services Office, School Social Work Department for Children
Jutta Kühn-Mertens, Head of School Social Work Department for Children
Weidenbornstraße 8a, 65189 Wiesbaden
Phone: 0611 318182 (opens in a new tab), Email: jutta.kuehn-mertenswiesbadende

In cooperation with school social workers, elementary school children in Wiesbaden develop ideas and projects that visualize their perspectives on a child-friendly city. 

Equipped with the KIEZi backpack – containing a camera and workbook – they document places in the district with potential for change on joint discovery tours and develop new visions for them. Many activities and projects are planned at different locations.

Child participation is not only a right, but also an opportunity for vibrant democracy and thus for a sustainable society. When children learn early on that their opinions matter, they grow up to be engaged citizens of their city.

The aim of the project is to sensitize adults to children's concerns and to develop strategies for action that enable child-friendly urban planning.

• Establishment of the first children's parliament in the Mainz-Kastel district
• A coalition of three elementary schools and a children's and youth center in Mainz-Kastel
• Goals: Promoting children's rights to have a say and participate in their own district, identification with the district, networking among children
• Planned institutions: Gustav Stresemann School, Krautgarten School, Bertha von Suttner School, Reduit Children's and Youth Center
• Start: February 5, 2026

• Presentation of the KIEZi backpack with KIEZi workbook, which children can use to actively explore their neighborhood, visit child-friendly places, and use a camera to document potentially dangerous street areas. The children's perspectives provide important insights into their perception of public transportation and can help the city and transportation planners identify hazards on school routes.
• Planned facilities: School social work with children at Bertha-von-Suttner-Schule and Krautgartenschule
• Planned implementation: Easter and summer vacations (April to August 2026)

• In Wiesbaden, Hamburg-based artist Jan Kamensky will create a visual utopia for the Ringkirche "traffic island." Children from the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Schule and Ursula-Wölfel-Grundschule schools are also invited to participate in the project as co-creators, artistically developing their own visions for the urban space around the Ringkirche. The results will be presented on April 30, 2026, as part of an event followed by a panel discussion at the Ringkirche. Starting in May 2026, the film and the children's work are expected to be exhibited at the WDC Hub in the former Sportscheck building. The project is being realized in cooperation with the Smart City department.
• Project in cooperation with the Smart City Department
• Planned institutions: School social work Children at the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Schule and the Ursula-Wölfel-Grundschule
• Planned implementation:
  • Workshops with the SSA facilities
  • Planned presentation of the visual utopia and results of the workshop on April 30, 2026, at the Ringkirche

• With the support of school social workers, children are organizing three interactive children's cultural events at the Lehrplatz in Wiesbaden.
• The events are being held in consultation with the Anton Gruner School, the Parks Department, and City Management
• Planned institution: School social work Children at the Anton Gruner School
• Planned dates for the three events: May, June, August 2026

• Children organize a street project on the use of public spaces
• A collaborative project with the Rheingau Quarter Initiative
• Planned institution: School social work Children at the Friedrich von Schiller School
• Planned implementation: Date of the Superblock (summer 2026)

• Poster exhibition in public spaces
  The exhibition visualizes children's ideas and wishes for a child-friendly city
• Planned facilities: School social work at the Ludwig Beck School
• Planned implementation:
  • Workshops during the summer holidays (June–August 2026)
  • Public exhibition in August 2026

• Cooperation project with the Smart City Department
• AI workshops for children
• Children combine their own creativity with AI-supported tools to visualize their own visions for child-friendly urban design
• Planned facilities: School social work Children at Schelmengraben Elementary School, Klarenthal Elementary School
• Planned implementation:
  • Workshops in coordination with Smart City during the fall break (October 6 to 10, 2026)
  • Presentation of the workshops: October 2026 at Zukunftswerk

See above

Public space, education, culture, and media