EU office: Newsletter - August 2021

European Mobility Week will once again be taking a wide-ranging look at mobility between 16 and 22 Septem-ber 2021: the line-up of events includes a Diamant cycle tour, a night-time trip on an old Tatra train, a dance flash mob and e-car sharing taster days. The programme will of course also include free activities organised especially for day-care groups and school classes. Throughout the week, the city’s EU Office and the NUMIC Project Team will take over a parklet – a parking space that is being redesigned for NUMICO Parking Week. Part of the space that would normally be occupied by a parked car will be transformed into comfortable seating. On the first day, Chemnitzers will be able to play with the German Games Museum here. On the following days, they'll be able to make music, exchange ideas, read and work. Everyone is warmly invited to bring their laptops or homework and work alongside each other. The parklet will be on NUMICO next to the Gablenz Mon-tessori Primary School. There'll also be another parklet in Zeisigwaldstrasse on 21 and 22 September, which residents will be able to help construct.

The main day for activities is NUMIC MOBI DAY on 22 September from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. An “Eventful Mile” will be created in and around Lessingplatz in Sonnenberg. The streets will be repurposed, transforming into an outdoor gym with soapbox racing, skateboards and electric bikes to try out. Anyone who wants to can bring their own kart with them and whizz down the hill. Under the pan-European slogan “Safe and Healthy with Sustainable Mobility”, there'll be exercises, a cycle track, a bicycle simulator and a printing workshop to enjoy.

The next day, the European Week of Sport will kick off. Running from 23 to 30 September, it aims to help people discover how much fun an active lifestyle can be. There'll be the chance to play Frisbee with the Stoneheads Frisbee Team in Chemnitz’s Stadthallenpark. Cyclists who feel like doing a bit of yoga should head over to the Schloßteich (Castle Lake) with their favourite bike. Clubs and associations will offer a wide range of taster sessions during the week of activities. Special focus is being placed on health in 2021. Exercise is essential for a healthy life: you can start with something as simple as everyday mobility, such as how you get to work.
The EU Office will publish the programmes of events for European Mobility Week and the European Week of Sport on its website in mid-August.

The City of Chemnitz will be participating in CITY CY-CLING (STADTRADELN) from 6 to 26 September 2021. The aim of the 21-day international competition organised by the Climate Alliance is to cycle as many daily routes as possible. This special challenge involves completing lots of everyday journeys by bike in order to clock up as many miles as possible. Anyone who lives, works, belongs to an association or is studying at a university in Chemnitz can participate. People generally sign up as teams, for instance as a company or a club, which helps strengthen team spirit.
The CITY CYCLING campaign aims to make cycling more attractive. But a competition alone is not enough to get more people to switch to bicycles. Better cycling infrastructure is needed to enable people to reach their destinations safely and quickly. In the context of climate protection in particular, it is important to expand cycling. CITY CYCLING seeks to give cycling a bigger voice in public debate – to promote cycling and health benefits, but also to promote a transport transition and climate protection.

The Conference of the Ministers for European Affairs of the German Federal States (EMK) will convene in the Carlowitz Congresscenter in Chemnitz from 8 to 9 September 2021. Part of the conference will be devoted to sharing information on the city’s and the Free State of Saxony’s activities as Chemnitz prepares for its tenure as European Capital of Culture in 2025. The Saxon State Ministry for Justice, Democracy, European Affairs and Gender Equality and the City of Chemnitz have announced a competition in the context of the EU New European Bauhaus initiative, organised with support from the State Office for Schools and Education. The results of the competition will be announced and the prizes awarded as part of the EMK’s programme of accompanying events. Across three categories – Drawing, Painting and Graphics; Building Models of City Utopias; and Building Models of Specific Ideas about How to Live – young people addressed a variety of issues: How do we want to live in the future? What should the schools of tomorrow look like? How do we envision the city of tomorrow?
The jury, made up of Dr Nadja Anders, presiding judge of the State Social Court in Chemnitz and former director of the Chemnitz Branch of the State Office for Schools and Education, Dr Frédéric Bußmann, general director of the Chemnitz Art Collections, Jürgen Pinkert, specialist art adviser at the Chemnitz Branch of the State Office for Schools and Education, and Linda Pense, artist and designer, selected the prizewinners from Chemnitz and the surrounding region on 15 July.

Eurocities took Europe Day as an opportunity to mark the incredible solidarity between cities that has been in evi-dence over the past year during the pandemic. The network of cities called upon its members – which now number more than 200 – to send in submissions, which were then put together in a video. Among others, the mayors of Belfast, Florence, Lublin, Porto, Terrassa and Vienna gave brief statements. Sven Schulze, mayor of the City of Chemnitz, also provided a statement. An accompanying article described further examples of mutual support. Some cities provided financial or material aid, and hospitals took in patients from other communities. After the fire in the Moria refugee camp in Greece, many cities announced that they were willing to take in refugees. Providing expert advice and sharing experiences played a key role in the reciprocal support cities provided to each other.

The annual general meeting will be devoted to social transformation. The pandemic brought whole sectors to a stand-still. Eurocities 2021 Leipzig will address the lessons of the crisis and look towards a green, digital and just recovery. To this end, it will examine how the EU’s strategic goals can be translated and implemented in cities; digital transformation, emissions reduction, the fight against poverty and the European Green Deal can only be implemented if cities are fully on board. Alongside cities’ ability to transform and become more resilient, modernisation of governance and support for surrounding areas are increasingly in the spotlight.

Cities and mayors are being involved in the debates and decisions, and this plays a vital role in empowering cities to make sustainable recoveries and in transforming society. Chemnitz will be represented in Leipzig by Mayor Sven Schulze.

The annual general meeting aims to strengthen collaboration between residents, local business and academic institutions. The aim is to inspire city leaders and other stake-holders by demonstrating local innovations and approaches to implementing the Leipzig Charter along with examples of how the Green Deal objectives are being delivered in cities. The meeting will conclude by identifying the common needs of cities to strengthen their capacity to take the initiative. The Leipzig Charter focuses on the transformative power of cities for the common good.

The EU Digital COVID Certificate was launched on 1 July 2021 to make it easier to travel safely across the whole continent. It provides digital proof that a person has been vaccinated against COVID-19, received a negative test result or recovered from COVID-19. The certificate helps travellers plan their journeys and to travel safely and healthily across Europe. In addition, the EU platform provides the latest information on a range of measures, including quarantine and testing requirements for travellers. At the same time, travellers in the EU are protected by a series of passenger rights that ensure smooth travel through out the continent and assist passengers in the event of any disruptions

31 July to 28 August Kinderfilmhaus children’s cinema in
Neefestraße 99
SommerGartenKino (Summer Garden Cinema) – by SCHLiNGEL | supported by the IKEA Foundation |
Cultursommer Chemnitz

23 to 27 August Walden e. V. and Fit4Bike
The Fit for European Peace Ride 2025 Forest Base Camp

11 and 12 September
European Peace Ride from Chemnitz to Prague

6 to 10 September
German-Polish Youth Forum: Europe Calling – Your Voice, Your Future! (register by 10 August)

14 September 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Saxon State Agency for Civic Education
Languages Make People literature series presenting
writers whose native tongue is not German. A reading from Die Geschichte der Frau (The Woman’s Story)

9 November 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Volkshochschule Chemnitz (Chemnitz Adult Education Centre) in the TIETZ
Talk: Serbia and Montenegro – On the Outskirts of Eu-rope but Still in the Thick of It