“KRAKE – Strong Villages in Wissel” – Presentation of the results of a residents’ survey on Wednesday 28 September 2016 at 7.00 pm at the community centre, Dorfstraße 19, Kalkar-Wissel
The German-Dutch cooperation project ‘Krachtige Kernen/Starke Dörfer’ (KRAKE) focuses on demographic change in rural areas and aims to ensure the long-term viability of small villages.
Against this backdrop, students from Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences carried out a public survey in Wissel this spring, the results of which are now available. To take a first step towards sustainable village development on Wednesday evening, the university and the Coordinating Committee of Wissel’s Associations invite all interested residents to the village community centre for a presentation of the findings and a lively discussion.
First, the KRAKE project will be introduced and the results of the survey presented. Following the presentation, everyone present will work together to creatively explore options for the way forward and engage in critical discussion. “Through active participation, all attendees will be able to develop their first tailored ideas that meet their individual needs as early as this evening,” says Felix Sohnrey, a research assistant on the KRAKE project at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, who analysed the data collected for the project.
“It is precisely these findings that we will build on following the presentation,” says Prof. Dr Klaus Hegemann, Professor of General Business Administration at Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences. “Working together with the residents of Wissel, we aim to build on this to develop initial ideas for development that can be implemented within the existing village structures and utilised sustainably.”
Staff at Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences will support the activities and the process over the coming year, offering suggestions and, where necessary, establishing contacts with cooperation partners. “In developing the projects, we merely take on the role of facilitators and catalysts; after all, the spotlight is on the energetic residents of Wissel,” says Birgit Mosler, project coordinator at Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences. “By the end of the INTERREG project KRAKE/Starke Dörfer, Wissel will ideally be home to a village whose structures are so well organised that the quality of life improves and the rural area remains an attractive place to live for all generations.”
