About 30 participants, most of them aged between 19 and 30, met for a lively exchange about opportunities, ideas and wishes for participation in the search for a disposal site on 17 May 2021. Before the participants broke up into five different smaller workshops, Claudia Schulz from BASE and Dagmar Dehmer from BGE mbH presented the opportunities for participation in the search for a disposal site, as envisaged in the Site Selection Act. After this, the participants were able to learn about existing and future participation formats and discuss how young people in particular can become involved in them.

Exchange of ideas between the generations

One example involves the so-called regional conferences, which will be set up as soon as BGE mbH has announced its suggestion for site regions for above-ground exploration. Other small groups dealt with the issue of additional information and participation services that young people wanted to see. One result was that, in addition to special attractions for this target generation, there should also be opportunities to exchange ideas between the generations. The Sub-Areas Conference is currently one way of doing this. There were lively discussions about this too. “What do I have to bring with me in order to participate?” was one of the basic questions here. “Curiosity and a desire to get involved in an important and complex topic,” was the answer from Svenja Fassbinder. She is 26 years old and a member of the working group preparing the Sub-Areas Conference. The team consisting of 12 elected representatives from the conference is currently planning the second date for the conference on 10 - 12 June 2021 and is delighted by many participants from the young generation. The working group has also reserved space for the young people in the conference programme and found some interested people at the workshop, who could imagine speaking at the Sub-Areas Conference.

Participation between the Sub-Areas Conference and regional conferences and beyond

The National Civic Society Board also faced questions about its tasks and role in the search procedure at one workshop. Those attending also discussed participation in the time between the Sub-Areas Conference and the regional conferences, which were considered in a different workshop. Another workshop looked far into the future: “What might happen if a disposal site was specified for your region in 2031? What might happen in the process of arriving at this point and what would it mean for you?” were the most important questions in this mental experiment.
“Overall, this event was once again marked by a huge thirst for knowledge on the part of those attending. We received many very specific recommendations for our ongoing work and will now start assessing them,” said Claudia Schulz, summarising the event. “BGE is leaving with an awareness of one thing: if what is offered is interesting and young people see chances of becoming involved and being able to leave with knowledge or experience, they’re also prepared to donate their most valuable asset to the search for a disposal site – i.e. their time,” said Dagmar Dehmer.

Registration for the next date of the series

The last event in the series will take place on 31 May. Then the participants will slip into different roles in a simulation game and argue in a given scenario, e.g. from the point of view of a local citizens' initiative, a district administrator or with the perspective of the chances of a settlement.

Registration for the simulation game is still possible until 28 May via
veranstaltung@bge.de.

Note: All information events are held in German.