Participating in participation procedures is one of the legal duties of the tenant council. In an interview, members Kathrin Schwanke and Holger Sykulla explain why it is so important to represent the interests of tenants in this way and how it works.
Ms Schwanke, Mr Sykulla, why are there participation procedures and why do you think they make sense?
Holger Sykulla (HS):Basically, there is a participation process for every new building project by HOWOGE. It's about informing the tenants and involving them in change processes. That's extremely important.
Kathrin Schwanke (KS):Correct. As with other projects, it is about including the entire environment and taking all perspectives into account - not just those of the tenants. In Ilsekiez, for example, the perspective of a participating school was also taken into account in order to integrate the children's view. This shows how diverse and inclusive such processes can be.
In your opinion, how can a participation process work effectively and what could cause it to fail?
KS:It is to some extent humane not to want to see construction taking place on your doorstep. Even if the fact cannot be changed, participation offers opportunities to improve the framework conditions for those affected. There must be a willingness to accept other solutions.
HS:Yes, exactly. Participation means that everyone has to be prepared to make compromises and accept the results. It is not enough for everyone to just put forward their own suggestions. There has to be real listening and negotiation.
And how can this be achieved in practice?
HS:In Ilsekiez, for example, an external agency was appointed to carry out the participation process. This is a good solution and has helped to clarify the wishes of those involved.
What exactly is your role as a tenants’ council in a participation process?
KS:It is our legal duty to take part and represent the interests of tenants across the district. We represent the tenants, but we do not speak for them alone. Above all, we want to encourage tenants to get involved and use their voices. We support them in doing so so that there is as much input as possible from tenants and many different perspectives are taken into account. That is the core of our mission.
HS:The tenants’ council represents the tenants, but still has its own perspective that spans the entire neighborhood and company.
Using Ilsekiez as an example – what does participation look like in practice?
HS:The first participation process was many years ago and concerned the last tenants' council. At that time, it was mainly about the basic layout and design of the buildings. After the new election of the current tenants' council, we looked at it again in depth at the end of last year. We are now starting a second participation process, which focuses in particular on the exterior design. So far, the entire process has seen everything from complete aversion to great interest.
How exactly do you proceed?
HS:There is usually an appointment with the tenants and with HOWOGE. In the past, we have also spoken with the citizens' initiative "Save the Ilsekiez" and presented proposals to HOWOGE. We also encourage HOWOGE to approach the tenants, put up notices and motivate the tenants.
KS:Basically, you can see that there is a lot of potential in designing a project in this way, and the result motivates us in our work.