The city of Esch has introduced an online platform where citizens can easily request a meeting with a municipal officer or alderman. The initiative aims to strengthen the direct contact between the citizens and the politicians. In our interview on Local Matters, mayor Christian Weis (CSV) explains how the city of Esch aims to foster civic participation through this and other initiatives.
Local Matters: Esch as a model city for a social and ecological transition
The Esch Clinics have started in September. The initiative aims to reshape Esch into a model city for a just ecological transition, combining urban planning with political interventions and by integrating the voices and needs of the community. On Local Matters, César Reyes, one of the project leaders, explains how the project is going to overcome traditional ways of thinking urban spaces.
No room for discriminatory petitions
Luxembourg’s LGBTIQ+ rights groups gathered yesterday to protest for the rights of queer people as the petition that demands LGBTIQA+ related topics to be scrapped from school education surpassed 6.000 signatures – one of the fastest growing petitions in recent history. Franziska comments on protest and the petition.
What's Right: Increasing voter turnout in Europe
Voter turnout at the European Elections was the highest in 20 years. Provisional EU data shows that 51 percent of eligible voters participated. Get all the details on today's "What's right with the world".
Voting rights: Christos Floros wants to change Luxembourg
On Local Matters, we use this pre-election mood to talk about the quality of this election. Half of all residents are not entitled to vote because they don't have the Luxembourgish nationality. For today's interview, I invited Christos Floros to talk about his new movement Change for Luxembourg.
National elections 2023: The campaign of Fräiheet/Liberté with Giovanni Patri
Ahead of this week's elections meant to define Luxembourg’s future government, we talked with candidates from Luxembourg’s main parties. This time around, Franziska Peschel spoke with Giovanni Patri, candidate for the new movement Fräiheet/Liberté.
Voting rights: Democracy only for the Luxembourgish
Where are we on the right to vote for foreigners, which party is pro and which is against. Let's find out on today's Local Matters. This weekend, the Luxembourg nationals with their vote decide on a new parliament, a new government.
Register to VOTE: Asti's project Letz vote
Less than one week is left for foreign nationals to register as voters in the municipal elections. On Local Matters this week, we focus once more on the right to vote and why to use it. For our first interview, we've invited Marc Piron in the studio. tells us about Asti's project Let's vote.
Participatory Democracy: The Anna Lindh Foundation
On Local Matters, Benjamin George Coles interviews Karine Bouton, the Head of the Luxembourg network of the Anna Lindh Foundation. This is the third part of this week's Local Matters on participatory democracy.
Participatory Democracy: The EU Democracy Rally
The EU Democracy Rally is a participatory democracy bootcamp that had its first week-long edition in Luxembourg last summer. For the second of this week's Local Matters episodes on participatory democracy, Benjamin spoke to TeeKay Kreissig, Karolina Mazetyte and Philipe Ternes, three of the organisers.
Participatory democracy: At the Project Design Forum
Citizens' involvement is the main component of participatory democracy. To discover how this can look like, Benjamin George Coles talked to a few participants at the Project Design Forum. This is the first episode in this week's Local Matters series on participatory democracy.