It is now a firm tradition in the city of Wolfsburg for the members of the Children's Advisory Council and the Youth Advisory Council to be deployed on September 20 for International Children's Day. The official welcome of the 45 committed children and young people took place as part of the play festival at the multi-generation house in Nordstadt by Katharina Varga, Head of the Youth Division, and Janik Fuge, City Youth Officer. Apart from that, a varied and colorful program awaited children and families at the play festival at the Neuer Teich. The teams from the AWO children's and family center, the AWO daycare center, the St. Bernward daycare center, the police, the mOKJA and the multi-generation house had prepared creative activities, play stations, competitions, a quiz, the climbing wall and much more to create an exciting afternoon.
The Children's Advisory Council of the City of Wolfsburg was founded in 2015 and is now in its ninth term of office, while the Youth Advisory Council is starting its fourth year. These two participatory bodies offer the young people of Wolfsburg the unique opportunity to actively participate in shaping their home town and to contribute important concerns and ideas. The Youth Advisory Council has set itself ambitious goals for the new year in office. Among other things, the committee would like to be involved in the development of the city center in order to make Wolfsburg even more attractive for young people. There is also a particular focus on the topic of "Mental Health Awareness" in order to raise awareness of mental health. They would also like to travel to Brussels or Berlin in the year of the EU elections. The topics that the Children's Advisory Council will be addressing will be revealed in the coming weeks. However, the city center is also of particular concern to them.
Katharina Varga, Head of the Youth Division, emphasized the importance of the two advisory boards: "The Children's Advisory Board and the Youth Advisory Board are important contact points for our young citizens to make their voices heard in municipal matters. We are proud to have these committed young people in our city who are working for the future of Wolfsburg." City youth worker Janik Fuge added: "World Children's Day is the ideal time to welcome the members of the Children's Advisory Council and the Youth Advisory Council. Their ideas and commitment are invaluable for our city, and we are looking forward to the projects and initiatives that will emerge during this year in office."
We are committed to...
- for children and youth interests
- for child and youth participation
- for a child and youth friendly Wolfsburg
Here you can have your say:
- Participation for playgrounds and schoolyards in your district
- Surveys of children and young people
- Participation in children's advisory council and youth advisory council
We need you as an expert!
On the Children's Advisory Council, you can not only advocate for the implementation of children's rights in Wolfsburg, but also contribute your own ideas and suggestions for improvement.
Here are a few examples of what the Children's Advisory Council has done in recent years:
- Campaigns on sustainability and environmental protection
- Visit to the Lord Mayor to ask questions
- Playground checks and playground participation
- Trip to the Bundestag in Berlin
The Children's Advisory Council runs for one year at a time and is linked to the school year. We usually meet once a month. Does this suit you?
- Are you between 10 and 13 years old?
- Do you want to implement your own ideas and topics?
- Would you like to help shape your Wolfsburg?
We need you as an expert!
In the Youth Advisory Council, you can not only contribute your own ideas and suggestions for improvement for the city of Wolfsburg, but also discuss your wishes and opinions with politicians four times a year in the Children and Youth Commission. This way, adults don't decide about you, but with you!
Your voice counts!
Here are a few examples of what the Youth Advisory Council has done in recent years:
- Actions on the topic of places of fear in Wolfsburg
- Production of the short film "F*ck Sexism"
- Video conference on the topic of "Digitalization in schools"
- Workshops (for example on the topic of "Cyberbullying")
- The Youth Advisory Council runs for one year at a time and is linked to the school year. We usually meet once or twice a month (on site, hybrid or digital).
Is this a good fit for you?
- Are you between 13 and 27 years old?
- Would you like to talk about youth-related topics at eye level with the administration and politicians?
- Do you want to bring about change in Wolfsburg?
The Child-Friendly Municipality is a project of the association "Child-Friendly Municipalities", which is supported by UNICEF Germany and the German Children's Fund.
The project is about the urban implementation of children's rights according to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child with the participation of children and young people. The participating cities can be awarded the "Child-Friendly Municipality" seal during the course of the project. It is valid for a total of four years, after which the city must reapply for the seal.
The city of Wolfsburg has already been a child-friendly municipality since 2014 and is one of the first cities in the whole of Germany to take part in the project.
The rights of the child were adopted by the member states of the United Nations on 20.11.1989. The United Nations is also called UNO (United Nations Organization). With this, children worldwide get their own rights. These rights were summarized in the so-called Convention on the Rights of the Child, which consists of 54 articles (sections on specific topics). All countries except the USA have signed the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and since then have endeavored to comply with these rights. In Germany, the children's rights have been valid since 1992.
A selection of the most important children's rights:
- Right to education
- Right to parental care
- Right to privacy and non-violent upbringing
- Right to participation
- Right to protection (for example in war and on the run)
- Right to play, leisure and rest
- Right to equal treatment
- Right to health
In and around Wolfsburg there are around 180 playgrounds and ball fields, which are equipped in different ways and are geared to the various interests of children. The playgrounds are looked after and maintained by the city of Wolfsburg.
The Children's and Youth Office is in regular contact with the Green Division and discusses what is next for the playgrounds and ball fields.
In addition, playground checks take place regularly, where the participating children can evaluate the playgrounds they have visited. The results of the playground checks are then taken into account during maintenance, redesign and new planning.
For new playgrounds, playground participations are held so that children can help decide what the finished playground should look like.
In the children and youth office you will find
Bianca Liegner
Qualified social pedagogue
Phone: 05361 28-1498
E-mail: bianca.liegner@stadt.wolfsburg.de
Lea Sophie Becker
Social worker/social pedagogue (B.A.)
Phone: 05361 28-2738
E-mail: lea-sophie.becker@stadt.wolfsburg.de
Ida Brandes
Social worker/social pedagogue (B.A.)
Phone: 05361 28-1528
E-mail: ida.brandes@stadt.wolfsbug.de
Felicitas Schink
Voluntary Social Year Politics
Phone: 05361 28-2945
E-mail: felicitas.schink@stadt.wolfsburg.de
You have finished school?
You are between 16 and 27 years old?
You want to orientate yourself professionally, you want to work with children and young people and at the same time get to know the work with administration and politics? Then apply for the FSJ Politics in the Children and Youth Office Wolfsburg!
You can expect:
- Writing press releases, homepage, Facebook and Instagram contributions
- Preparation, support and implementation of participation projects (e.g. children's advisory council)
- Chance to realize your own project
- Planning and implementation of events (for example, the World Children's Day)
- Collaboration on the action plan "Child-friendly community
- 12 months full of new impressions by September 1
- In addition to the many insights into youth development and the field of work of the Children and Youth Office Wolfsburg, the FSJ offers politics:
- Social security
- Entitlement to child benefit
- Monthly allowance
Every year in March, a social worker/social pedagogue joins our team to obtain state recognition.
The year of recognition offers insights into a comprehensive field of work in which the focus is on the realization of children's rights and children's interests within Wolfsburg. For this purpose, there are not only staff resources for child and youth participation, but also for play space planning.
What does the work in the children and youth office entail?
- Participation in the implementation of planning participation
- Representation of the interests of children and young people within the city administration
- Accompaniment and participation in the play space commission and the children and youth commission
- Initiating, accompanying and advising participation projects
- Organization and implementation of committee meetings (Children's Advisory Council and Youth Advisory Council)
Among other things, we offer:
- Independent work in a supportive team
- Creative freedom and realization of ideas
- The possibility of work shadowing in different areas of the city administration
- Getting to know various administrative processes and networking opportunities
For further information, please see the current job advertisement.
- Flyer Children's Advisory Council
- Flyer Youth Advisory Council
- Flyer children and youth office
- Monitoring Report 2021 Child and Youth Participation
- Action plan "Child-friendly community of the city of Wolfsburg - Interim report on implementation 2019 - 2021".
- Child Friendly Community Action Plan 2019 - 2021
- Action Plan "Child-Friendly Municipality 2014 - 2018
The children and youth office has put together a few websites where you can discover many great things. It is very worthwhile to visit them:
Contact
City of Wolfsburg
Children and Youth Office
Youth Division
Seilerstraße 3
38440 Wolfsburg
Telephone: 05361 28-2738 / -1528
E-mail to the Children and Youth Office