Association participation 2.0

As part of the “Association Participation 2.0” project carried out by UfU, a new online service to simplify association participation has been created in cooperation with ZEBRALOG and the State Office of Recognized Nature Conservation Associations in Brandenburg as well as the Berlin State Working Group for Nature Conservation. The online platform “Participation in environmental issues” facilitates the preparation of joint nature conservation and environmental protection statements by various associations and strengthens cooperation. It offers the opportunity for a quick and uncomplicated exchange of information and in-depth cooperation between the associations and committed volunteers. Associations benefit from exchanging information with each other by informing each other about administrative decisions and planning processes. By exchanging information with citizens who are familiar with the area, associations can make use of their expertise and thus respond better to local particularities in order to include these in their statements. The online platform is now being used by associations in Berlin and Brandenburg in a six-month pilot phase. Interested citizens are also invited to participate. A final conference will be held in spring 2015 to report on the experiences with the platform and discuss further possible uses throughout Germany. Other specific plans and objectives of the project were to record the current practice of associations in exercising their participation rights with the help of a workshop and to identify the resulting requirements for an online tool to be developed accordingly. At a final conference, the associations’ experiences with the online tool were presented and further possible applications were discussed. The online tool developed as part of the project is available to the environmental and nature conservation associations free of charge even after the project has been completed.