International Symposium "Coping with City Shrinkage and Demographic Change - Lessons from around the Globe"
30.-31.03.2006 Dresden, Germany
Matthias Ritter, Bertelsmann Foundation (Germany)
Matthias Ritter
Abstract
Demographic change in Germany - the role of municipalities and local initiatives
Demographic change is the main challenge facing Germany at the start of this new millennium. It is an omnipresent topic in the country’s political and social debate, a conundrum that will have to be solved to ensure the sustainability of German society. Demographic change engenders feelings of uncertainty and resignation since it is so complex; at the same time it leaves policymakers paralyzed since they cannot formulate a clear plan for the future. In contrast, the Bertelsmann Stiftung is offering a positive vision that sees demographic change in Germany as both a challenge and an opportunity for renewal and providing an often neglected push toward innovation in politics, business and society at large.
The Demographic Change Campaign is a pilot project designed to identify opportunities for change in communities and regions where it is needed most.
This campaign strives to prepare communities and regions for this competition and to strengthen their long-term sustainability.
To that end, local level solutions and responses are developed together with pilot communities. In addition, local officials and practitioners have access to the Demographic Change Guidebook, an indicator-based early warning system that assists them in making local demographic trends more transparent.
