Federal Family Minister Karin Prien (CDU) has announced that 200 projects within the federal funding program "Democracy Live!" are to be discontinued. This is currently being debated in the Bundestag. Among those affected are educational institutions, counseling services for victims of hate violence, and initiatives providing school and youth work in rural areas. This will severely weaken established structures, networks, and local expertise in the areas of promoting democracy and combating racism, antisemitism, and right-wing extremism.
Terre des Hommes , along with more than 1,000 other organizations, has signed an open letter demanding a halt to the radical restructuring of "Democracy Live!" Promoting democracy is prevention, protection against hatred and violence, and an essential investment in the future of our society.
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Open letter to Federal Family Minister Karin Prien
Preserving expertise in promoting democracy instead of giving in to disinformation against civil society
Dear Minister Prien,
The number of extremist incidents in schools is increasing, committed local politicians are being threatened or attacked, and extremists are fueling radicalization across all age groups in the digital sphere: Every day we witness dangerous shifts in anti-democratic discourse, right-wing extremists celebrate record results after elections, and their misanthropy threatens to become the social norm in some regions of our country. It is obvious that the model of our liberal democracy is under massive pressure.
It is deeply disconcerting that, precisely in this critical situation, the federal government's central democracy promotion program, "Democracy Live!", is to be massively restructured. We are seriously concerned about this planned realignment, as it threatens to openly jeopardize established structures and expertise built up over years, which are urgently needed in the fight against extremism, antisemitism, racism, and radicalization, as well as for promoting democracy. The impending loss of these valuable resources is not only concerning—it is alarming.
Expertise: An irreplaceable component of promoting democracy
The expertise that specialized organizations and associations in the field of democracy promotion have gained through years of work and experience is indispensable. Such organizations are professional partners of mainstream institutions, government agencies, fire departments, sports clubs, and libraries, which are increasingly making use of this support. Nevertheless, they too must make a crucial contribution to disseminating this expertise to a wider audience and effectively combating radicalization.
Once civil society structures with expertise in promoting democracy are weakened or even completely dismantled, it will take years to re-establish them. The planned restructuring of “Democracy Live!” therefore not only jeopardizes individual projects, but also threatens to undermine the entire foundation of civic engagement in democracy.
Joint evaluation instead of unilateral cuts
Of course, government funding programs must be regularly reviewed for their effectiveness, as stipulated in the coalition agreement. However, this evaluation process is not yet complete, so it is premature to speak of a failure to achieve the objectives. Rather, it is in the genuine self-interest of civil society's democratic work to further develop and optimize its own programs – which is only possible after a transparent and participatory evaluation. The restructuring of the funding program, announced midway through the current funding period, therefore contradicts the principles of trust and respect towards the actors active in this field and thus risks falling prey to targeted disinformation campaigns against democratic civil society engagement.
We therefore urge you to refrain from the radical restructuring of “Democracy Live!” during the current funding period. This would unilaterally disregard civil society expertise and thus destabilize the effectiveness of all civic extremism prevention and democracy work. We must not do the enemies of democracy this favor!
Warm regards,
Jill from Future Democracy