Neubrandenburg sets signs: Citizens' Council for Tolerance and Diversity Founded!

Neubrandenburg sets signs: Citizens' Council for Tolerance and Diversity Founded!

Neubrandenburg, Deutschland - The city of Neubrandenburg is cosmopolitan and diverse. As part of a new citizens' council, citizens from the city were invited to actively participate in the design of public life. Between June and July 2025, valuable discussions about tolerance, diversity and acceptance took place in three sessions. An exciting format that represents the votes of 25 randomly selected Neubrandenburgers. Anyone who believes that these numbers are only something for statisticians is wrong: this is about living community and real concerns of the population.

The citizens 'council, which was recruited from 285 invited people from the residents' registration register, pursues the goal of reflecting on social diversity. The selection was based on age, gender, place of residence and nationality to present a balanced picture. At the first sessions, getting to know each other was in the foreground. Personal experiences and values ​​were exchanged in moderated small groups, which also contributed to the fact that recommendations and ideas were formulated by July 1, 2025, which are to be handed over to the city administration on July 23.

a citizens' council in turbulent times

The event for the citizens' council was an incident that caused excitement: the removal of the rainbow flag in front of the Neubrandenburg train station. This flag is an important symbol for tolerance and acceptance of diversity. The application for distance came from Councilor Tim Großmüller, supported by the AfD and other groups, which led to turbulent discussions and even resulted in the resignation of the mayor Silvio Witt. Witt explained that the pressure on his personal environment had become intolerable.

The city council of Neubrandenburg had already reacted in November 2024 and the city administration commissioned to develop a concept for a cosmopolitan Neubrandenburg. At the main committee meeting of January 23, 2025, the citizens' council found great support. Now the opportunities for new perspectives and more citizen participation seem great, despite concerns from the critics who preferred other topics such as security and order. The majority of the city council hopes for positive impulses.

Effectiveness and support of citizens' councils

The concept of citizens' councils has become more and more established in Germany, and also in Neubrandenburg in recent years. As tagesschau.de reports, citizen councils have been working on important political recommendations for over 50 years. In Neubrandenburg it is once again shown that such formats help bundle opinions and make the diversity of society visible.

In addition, the process is accompanied by the independent team of the “Citizens' Councils for MV” project, and the financing is carried out by the partnership for Democracy Neubrandenburg and by the Ministry of Social Affairs, Health and Sport Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. In order to offer the participants an allowance, the citizens' council members received 150 euros each. These measures not only support participation, but also increase motivation to actively work in the design of the city.

Overall, the Citizens' Council reflects the commitment of the citizens to actively shape their city and to deal with important topics. Neubrandenburg shows that with a bit of courage and determination you can set the course for a diverse and tolerant community.