symposium (Bremen, Germany)


Media and Method Mix Supporting Local Democracy

The symposium held on 9th and 10th October 2006 and organised by the Institute for Information Management Bremen GmbH (ifib), was the conclusion of the project Media and Method Mix Supporting Local Democracy. Integration of Online Elements in Procedures of Citizen Participation.



The objective of the project has been to gain more realistic picture of whether and how the Internet can be used to support local democracy. The main assumption is that the Internet is only one way for governments to reach the citizens.

Therefore, for many objectives it should be combined in an appropriate manner with direct forms of public involvement such as citizens meetings and with traditional media such as newspapers, TV, etc. This holds for the participation process itself (and different tools and procedures to involve the citizens) as well as for the public relations for citizen participation, in particular in a world where attention is in short supply.



The symposium gave researchers and practitioners the opportunity to exchange their experiences and to discuss the results of the project from different perspectives.

Further information is provided in the documents below (unfortunately only available in German).

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Mediamix in citizen participation from the perspective of communication studies
Prof. Dr. Anna Maria Theis-Berglmair
Universität Bamberg, Professur für Kommunikationswissenschaft/Journalistik, Bamberg, Germany
Recommendations for the use of methods and media in citizen participation projects
Dr. Hilmar Westholm
Institut für Informationsmanagement Bremen GmbH (ifib), Bremen, Germany
Target group oriented addressing in urban development and urban planning – the example of Arnsberg
Klaus Fröhlich
Stadt Arnsberg, Stadtentwicklung, Arnsberg, Germany
Multi-channel communication in formal urban planning procedures
Dr.-Ing. Stephan Wilforth
tetraeder.com gmbh, Dortmund, Germany
Methodmix in participatory budget of Berlin Lichtenberg and the role of internet
Hans Hagedorn
Zebralog e.V., Berlin, Germany
Quality of participation and discussion in different participatory budget projects
Carsten Herzberg
Centre Marc Bloch, Berlin, Germany
Daily newspapers as important intermediary in citizen participation
Peter Voith
Leitung Lokalredaktion Weser-Kurier, Bremen, Germany
Public Relations for citizen participation – Experiences with participatory budget of Berlin Lichtenberg
Sabine Herrmann
da´ponte Agentur für Unternehmenskommunikation e.K., Berlin, Germany