The award is presented every two years by the World Design Organization (WDO) and is being held this year in the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region, featuring numerous projects that combine design and democracy. 

With the project “Auf die Plätze los,” the Office for Social Work is bringing new perspectives to urban design: children in various neighborhoods of Wiesbaden are actively involved in reimagining their city and developing their own visions for urban spaces. A special highlight of the event is the presentation of the film on the traffic environment around the Ringkirche by Hamburg-based artist Jan Kamensky, who, with his visual utopias, opens up new spaces for thought regarding people-friendly and sustainable urban design. Since 2020, Kamensky has been creating animations of international urban spaces in which he frees streets from cars and plants virtual city gardens that inspire reflection and appeal to our consciousness. The artist’s work came about through a collaboration with the Smart City Department. 

Smart City Director Maral Koohestanian emphasizes the practical value of utopias: “We must not only plan cities but also make them tangible: Visual utopias make the future tangible and understandable, and motivate people to actively help shape it. This is exactly where we must start to enable greater participation in our communities.” 

The program is complemented by creative works by children from the school social work programs at the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Schule and the Ursula-Wölfel-Schule, who expressed their ideas for a livable urban space around the Ringkirche as part of the WDC project “Auf die Plätze los.” The results are a Lego city and a photo project. The works are also on display in the Ringkirche. 

Dr. Patricia Becher, Head of the Department of Social Affairs, Education, and Housing, emphasizes: “When children experience that their suggestions are heard and actually implemented, a sense of responsibility grows—and participation becomes a tangible reality. Projects like ‘Auf die Plätze los!’ demonstrate exactly that: they make democracy tangible and, for me, are a central building block of a vibrant, inclusive urban society.” 

Andreas Kowol, Head of the Department of Construction and Transportation, adds: “Jan Kamensky’s utopian visions open our eyes to how much more beautiful and people-friendly our city can be. They inspire us to design living and transportation spaces in such a way that everyone, especially children, can move around safely and feel at ease. They show that, with a little courage, we can transform our streets and squares into places of movement and community.” 

The project is a cross-departmental collaboration between the Department of School Social Work for Children and the Smart City Division, demonstrating how important the participation of young people in urban development processes is and what creative impulses arise from it.

In the subsequent panel discussion, Dr. Patricia Becher, Maral Koohestanian, Andreas Kowol, and Dr. Thomas Schultz-Krutisch (Board Member of the Evangelical Ring Church Parish) will discuss how cities can be designed so that all people—especially children—feel comfortable and can actively participate. Barbara Lersch from the WDC management team will deliver opening remarks, and Michaela Höllriegel (Office for Urban.Space.Development) will moderate the evening. 

Citizens are cordially invited to attend the event and participate in the discussion. The results of the project will subsequently be displayed at WerkRaum Wiesbaden in the former SportScheck building, Langgasse 5–9. From Saturday, May 2, through Saturday, October 31, WerkRaum will serve as a central venue for projects and events as part of the World Design Capital. 

Further information on the WDC in Wiesbaden: www.wiesbaden.de/wdc (opens in a new tab)

For more information on the “Auf die Plätze los” project: www.wiesbaden.de/kultur/kultur-erleben/veranstaltungen/wdc-auf-die-plaetze (opens in a new tab)