Demographic Change: Are Equal Living Conditions Falling to the Wayside?

Key Messages

• People want to feel like they belong to their community. Therefore, solutions should be found so people from all generations in rural communities can be included in the decision-making process. A greater sense of solidarity with one’s community can be a strong incentive to stay.
• The creation of social spaces in which the individual social groups can meet and interact with one another contributes to this, as well as intergenerational activities.
• It should be possible to delegate tasks to either appropriately trained staff or external consultants to ensure efficient implementation and long-term effectiveness of projects. The funding of these projects should also be more sustainable.
• Services available in a given region should be better promoted because in many cases, their target groups are often ill informed about them. This can create further incentives to stay.

Read the German version here.

References

• Andresen, S., Wilmes, J., and Möller, R. (2019): Children’s Worlds+: Eine Studie zu Bedarfen von Kindern und Jugendlichen in Deutschland. Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main, Jacobs Foundation, Bertelsmann Stiftung.
• Ermisch, J. and Mulder, C. (2019): Migration Versus Immobility, and Ties to Parents. European Journal of Population 35(3): 587-608.
• Kersten, J., Neu, C. & Vogel, B. (2017). Das Soziale-Orte-Konzept: Ein Beitrag zur Politik des sozialen Zusammenhalts. Umwelt- und Planungsrecht 2: 50-56.
• Thomas, M. J. (2019): Employment, education, and family: Revealing the motives behind internal migration in Great Britain. Population, Space, and Place 25(4): e2233.

Participants

• Prof. Dr Sabine Andresen, Professor for Family Research and Social Pedagogy, Goethe University Frankfurt

• Svenja Bauer-Blaschkowski, Research Associate, TU Darmstadt

• Dr Laura Castiglioni, Head of the Section “Family Policy and Family Support” at the German Youth Institute (DJI)

• Dr Andreas Edel, Executive Secretary, Population Europe / Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research

• Iris Emmelmann, Consultant, Deutscher Familienverband e. V.

• Dr. Martina Heitkötter, Consultant, Section "Family Policy and Family Support",  German Youth Institute (DJI)

• Mark Herzog, Head, Department Demography, Saarpfalz-Kreis

• Heribert Kleene, Mayor, Vrees Municipality

• Dr Sebastian Klüsener, Research Director of the Research Group "Demographic Change and Ageing", German Federal Institute for Population Research

• Sabine Kosakow-Kutscher, Demography Consultant, Havelland Municipality

• Florian Kraupa, Policy Advisor, German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth

• Emily Lines, Research Scientist, Population Europe / Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research

• Klaus Ludden, Managing Director, pro-t-in GmbH

• Uwe-Matthias Müller, Board of Directors, Bundesverband Initiative 50Plus

• Heinz Peters, Chairman of the Association "Wir für Euch – Altwerden in Vrees e.V."

• Martin Rutha, Project Director "Demografiewerkstatt Kommunen", Competence Center Technology-Diversity-Chancengleichheit e. V. (kompetenzz)

• Rico Schmidt, Mayor, Adorf/Vogtland

• Andreas Schober, Projekt Kinderrat Oppach

• Prof. Barbara Schwarze, Chair, Competence Center Technology-Diversity-Chancengleichheit e. V. (kompetenzz)

• Elmar Stracke, Co-President, Polis180 e.V.

• Dr. Jürgen Wüst, Head, Inland und Kommunikation, Karl Kübel Stiftung für Kind und Familie

• Dr. Klaus Zeitler, Sozialwissenschaftliches Institut für regionale Entwicklung (SIREG) Rottenburg/Laaber

This policy brief was part of a project supported by the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. More information to the project can be found here.

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