Jena, June 9, 2026 – The city of Jena is working on a future-proof strategy for pandemic preparedness. At a future workshop, citizens discussed lessons learned from the Corona period in depth to manage future crises in a more resilient, transparent, and socially just manner.
- Topic: Future workshop on pandemic preparedness
- Event location: IGS Grete Unrein, Jena
- Partners involved: Stadt Jena, Organisationsberatungsinstitut Thüringen
- Core objectives: Creation of a final report for the Stadtrat to increase municipal resilience
Citizen participation as a key to a resilient crisis strategy
The recent future workshop in the rooms of the Integrierte Gesamtschule (IGS) Grete Unrein marks an important step in processing the Corona pandemic for the Jena city area. The event focused on the question of how the city administration and the citizen community can react more flexibly and resiliently to unforeseen crises in the future. The Stadt Jena is deliberately relying on a broad-based citizen participation process to incorporate experiences directly from the heart of society into the new preparedness strategy.
In several interactive work phases, participants had the opportunity to evaluate personal and structural experiences from the pandemic years. Concrete recommendations for action were developed to ensure that Jena is strategically better positioned for future waves of infection or comparable states of emergency.
Focus on transparency and the protection of vulnerable groups
Two core aspects emerged as particularly urgent during the discussions:
- Transparency of political decisions: Many citizens emphasized the need to communicate political resolutions and municipal measures in a more understandable and comprehensible way. An open information policy is considered a basic requirement for securing the trust of the urban society in times of crisis.
- Protection of vulnerable groups: The development of protection concepts for particularly at-risk or isolated people – such as seniors, people with pre-existing conditions, or the socially disadvantaged – was the focus of the working groups. Future crisis strategies must include mechanisms that specifically support these groups from the start.
- Communication within the urban society: Networking and the flow of information between authorities, social institutions, and citizens are to be sustainably improved.
The path to the final report
The results collected at the future workshop are now being scientifically processed and documented by the Organisationsberatungsinstitut Thüringen. Together with the findings from previous working group meetings and the results of accompanying digital participation formats, this data will flow into a comprehensive final report. This will be presented to the Jenaer Stadtrat after its completion to serve as the official basis for action for the city’s future crisis preparedness.
🛡️ Prevention & Guide: Resilience in urban areas
Municipal resilience refers to the ability of a city to react to crises – whether pandemics, extreme weather events, or infrastructure failures – in such a way that basic functions are maintained and damage is minimized. Modern prevention strategies today increasingly rely on a combination of official preparedness and active citizen participation. Studies show that societies in which citizens are actively involved in decision-making processes manage crisis situations with higher solidarity and fewer social disruptions.
Source:
Jena collects lessons from the Corona period
Transparency note: This article was created automatically, editorially reviewed, and expanded with AI support.