"The participation process makes a contribution to the urgently needed socio-ecological transformation. After all, this can only succeed together and with positive visions of the future. Bonn4Future offers inspiration for other cities and other civil society initiatives," said the expert and laudator Dr. Esther Hoffmann from the Institute for Ecological Economy Research, IÖW.

"We are doubly pleased," says Dr. Gesa Maschkowski, Bonn im Wandel e.V. The transformation scientist co-initiated and led the process. "The award makes it clear that good citizen participation cannot be taken for granted. The high quality of our work is recognized. It is thanks to the tremendous commitment of our team, the citizens, the administration, our supporters and the courage of politicians that we have made it into the top four award-winning processes in Germany."

"I am delighted that the 'Bonn4Future - We for the Climate' participatory process has been awarded the prize for good citizen participation," says Mayor Katja Dörner. "The participatory process was extremely successful and motivating thanks to the convincing concept, professional implementation and committed involvement of the participating citizens. The results of the process have been incorporated into Bonn's municipal climate plan and we can now build on the experience gained when implementing the climate plan."

"Being part of the solution can be encouraging and enjoyable," says Maschkowski. "The key is to create good conditions so that people can participate in the transformation. This requires clear, understandable goals and a very good process design. We attached great importance to this. That is also one of the criteria for good citizen participation."

"Bonn4Future - We for the climate" was the most extensive participatory process in Bonn to date. More than 20 speakers from science and practice shared their knowledge: What does climate-neutral living, eating or doing business actually mean? What good examples are there? Scientists from Scientists4Future and experts from the administration answered participants' questions overnight. Representatives from Bonn's city administration and municipal companies provided expert input at the climate forums. In a survey, the accompanying scientific research found that 72% of participants received new information. 85 percent felt encouraged to break new ground. The collected knowledge and recommendations of the participants can be found on the sustainability portal  www.bonn4future.de. (opens in a new tab)

The Bonn Climate Plan is the result of an extraordinary collaboration between many social forces in Bonn. The Bonn climate movement and, above all, Fridays4Future had already applied for a climate emergency in 2019. It was unanimously approved by all parties. At the end of 2019, the city council decided by a large majority that Bonn should be one of the pioneering cities to become climate-neutral by 2035. In 2020, the city council then approved - also by a large majority - the "Bonn4Future - We for the climate" participatory process. It was initiated and implemented by Bonn im Wandel e.V. and a large group of supporters in cooperation with and with funding from the City of Bonn. As part of the two-year process, 200 randomly selected citizens and stakeholders from civil society and business were able to contribute their expertise in four climate forums. The recommendations from "Bonn4Future - Wir fürs Klima" have now been incorporated into Bonn's climate plan following a decision by Bonn City Council.