Forums of the Sustainability Council

Forums are free groups that bring together existing steering groups, round tables, associations and initiatives on a specific topic, for example. However, they also accept completely new players and citizens who are interested in working together. The forums work independently on a sustainability topic, develop related projects and work with the city administration to implement them. They reach a broad base and involve as many sections of urban society as possible. The forums are open to all interested parties.

If you would like to take part, please contact the office of the Sustainability Advisory Board.

More detailed information on the forums:

The committee has taken the Augsburg model as an example and adapted it to Erlangen, its needs, possibilities and necessities. The work to achieve the 17 sustainability goals therefore consists of two pillars.

The first pillar is the "Sustainability Advisory Board" itself, which acts in an advisory and supportive capacity for the city council and the city administration. This is where numerous topics and concerns from the member institutions and associations are brought together, discussed and, if necessary, submitted to the city as proposals, which the Lord Mayor and Chairman of the Advisory Board bring to the committees and the City Council.

The importance of citizen participation in the sustainable development process of a municipality is undisputed. The desired goal can only be achieved together with numerous active participants from business, science, academia, civil society, specialist agencies and authorities. The city administration not only needs experts who promote the topic full-time in their institutions, companies or organizations, but also - and to no lesser degree - the citizens of Erlangen, who are actively involved in the topic and thus help to carry and communicate the decisions of the committee to the population. The exclusion of a group would mean that the ideas, projects and actions of the active members could be met with rejection and misunderstanding, which would be counterproductive and more likely to lead to failure than success. All areas of life must be considered and dealt with in this multifaceted process. This creates the greatest possible acceptance among the population and facilitates the practical implementation of the desired goals. To achieve this, both the committee and the administration as well as the advisory board members themselves require active and broad-based citizen participation, which is made possible by various working groups. This second pillar of sustainability work has been intensively developed since December 2020 and consists of forums.

Forums are free groups that bring together existing steering groups, round tables, associations, initiatives, etc. on a specific topic. However, they also include completely new players and members of the public who are interested in working together. The forums work independently on a sustainability topic, develop related projects and ensure their implementation. They reach a broad base and involve as many parts of urban society as possible. The forums are open to all interested parties.

If a topic is no longer relevant or has been completed as a project, the forum is dissolved.

Advisory Board members take on sponsorships for the forums in order to maintain the connection to the Advisory Board and to accompany the practical work. However, the sponsors report on current forum topics and projects to the committee and are therefore available for inquiries, suggestions and concerns.