1,000,000 euro budget

Ten children’s ideas that benefit the whole of Vienna

Ten out of a total of over 200 ideas from Viennese children and young people will now be implemented with a budget of one million euros.

(Bild: Jöchl Martin)

Vienna is now using one million euros to implement ten projects that the Viennese between the ages of five and 20 not only came up with, but also selected themselves via an Internet vote. It turns out that what the children have to say about themselves and the city is anything but childish.

Many a politician can take a leaf out of the book when it comes to the ten ideas presented by children and young people at City Hall, which Vienna is turning into reality with a budget of one million euros: The children have not only thought of themselves, but of everyone: among other things, the children came up with the idea of an apple tree avenue on the Danube Island, so that everyone can pick a healthy snack there for free in the fall while walking or exercising.

Some dreams are even a size too big for Vienna
A total of over 200 ideas were submitted last fall. Everyone in Vienna between the ages of five and 20 was allowed to take part. Around three quarters of the ideas were shortlisted. But the other 50 or so were anything but nonsense. Project manager Nada Taha Ali Mohamed, for example, talks about one child's "ingenious plan" to subsidize organic farms in the surrounding areas of Vienna so that all Viennese can afford healthy and sustainably produced food.

The "bee hotel" that 3c wanted is now becoming a reality.

(Bild: Jöchl Martin)

Even if the idea of a farm subsidy is beyond Vienna's means, it is symbolic: it is one of many ideas from children with a connection to nature: a project by two schools in Döbling to create protected areas for bees and other insects near their school can now actually be implemented. The Augartengasse grammar school, for example, will have a self-designed "cultural balcony", which is just as suitable for outdoor lessons as it is for neighborhood meetings between the generations.

"I want to learn to swim"
The social idea was also present in many requests, such as the now approved request for learning boxes with school supplies for children in need, free monthly hygiene for girls, a covered "box" in Elinor-Ostrom-Park in Seestadt, where homework can also be done, or legal graffiti walls to reduce illegal spraying. Swimming and self-defense courses, which the children wanted, are now also being funded. Only one of the submitted projects is about fun and leisure: VBS Schönborngasse got their idea for an open-air cinema especially for young people over the finishing line.

Josef, 7, won swimming lessons for children who were unable to attend swimming lessons during the Covid pandemic. (left in the picture: project manager Nada Taha Ali Mohamed, right: Deputy Mayor Christoph Wiederkehr)

(Bild: Jöchl Martin)

Deputy Mayor Christoph Wiederkehr sees the campaign as a prime example of functioning democratic participation: school classes and youth clubs took part in the campaign, as did individual children. Prize-winner Josef, for example, single-handedly shouldered the idea of free swimming lessons for his peers at the age of seven. His motivation, as simple as it is logical: "I want to learn to swim."

Children pay themselves a compliment by voting
The selection of the projects is also a sign of the maturity of Vienna's children and young people, as they voted for them themselves: the ten projects that received the most votes from Vienna's young population in an internet vote will now be implemented. For Wiederkehr, however, it's not just about the projects themselves: Over the past few months, the idea providers themselves have had to sit down with district politicians and civil servants to turn their ideas into feasible projects with negotiating skills and a willingness to compromise.

Wiederkehr sees the campaign, which was held for the second time this year, as a complete success. The only change is that ten larger projects will now be funded instead of 20 smaller projects, as was the case last year. According to Wiederkehr, the ideas competition is set to enter its third year in the fall, demonstrating once again that "democracy is only as good as the people who are allowed, able - and willing - to work on it".