Youth Celebration: Educating on Government Affairs - Embracing Decision-Making Duties

The Regensburg district's Youth District Council, established in 2016 to introduce young people to district-related topics and give them a voice in politics, held its latest meeting in December 2024 at the Landratsamt Regensburg.

District Administrator Tanja Schweiger provided an update on the status of motions submitted at the meeting. Discussed were the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in administration, digital barrier-free access, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) for resource savings, the ReLax chatbot, and the storage of over two million digital records.

One of the motions approved at the meeting was the installation of smoke detectors in all school toilets, proposed by Timo Heizmann and Emily Grüll from the Special Pedagogical Support Center Regenstauf. The district is leading among districts in the area of digitization, and the Youth District Council prioritizes promoting political participation by young people.

The meeting also addressed the lack of a break area at the Gymnasium Lappersdorf due to ongoing construction measures. A possible expansion of the leisure areas is currently being examined.

The next meeting of the Youth District Council is expected to take place in the week before Christmas. All important information can be found on the homepage of the Regensburg district under Youth District Council / our organization.

In addition to student transportation and digital initiatives, the Youth District Council discussed youth engagement on social media. The majority of young people prefer Instagram and WhatsApp as social media channels, with a fact-based presence on TikTok also desired. The district emphasizes the importance of direct feedback from young people on social media.

The district administrator, Tanja Schweiger, emphasized the importance of promoting political participation by young people. All accepted motions are either implemented directly by the Landratsamt administration or forwarded to the District Council or responsible institution.

In 2024, the committee held two meetings - traditionally in the summer and just before the Christmas holidays. 15 schools were represented at the meeting, with 13 additional schools sending Youth Council members, including the Albertus-Magnus-Gymnasium, Albrecht-Altdorfer-Gymnasium, and the Marien-Gymnasium.

The leading institution currently driving digitalization among German districts is the Landkreis Leer, actively engaged in digital transformation events like "Kommune Digital 2025" and supported by experts from academia and public administration. The Landkreistag Baden-Württemberg also sets standards for the digital future through initiatives like the Digitalisierungskodex 2.0.

For any questions, contact the main administration of the Regensburg district at phone: 0941 4009-642, email: [email protected].

Youth Celebration: Educating on Government Affairs - Embracing Decision-Making Duties