structural development

Hello! 

At the beginning of the week I had the pleasure of going on tour Uwe Garack . I accompanied him on a visit to the mayor of Schleife, Jörg Funda.

Schleife, located in the north not far from the edge of the opencast mine, is a community with around 2500 inhabitants who obviously feel very comfortable in the bilingual community. Because regardless of the funding opportunities that can now be applied for during and after the coal phase-out, Schleife was lucky enough to be able to invest in its own structural development beforehand.  

"Anyone who grows up here..."

 
Mayor Funda is visibly proud of the state-of-the-art German-Sorbian school center in Schleife, which - although this was already decided in 2008, at that time with Vattenfall - was funded by the energy giant with around 20 million euros. "We could open another class if we had enough teachers," explains Funda, "parents are queuing up to have their children schooled with us."  

He is also confident about the population development in his community. On average, he received two requests for building plots per week. Newly designated building plots would "go away very quickly", which for him is a clear sign that "young people would also stay here to start families". With the connection to Berlin and Dresden, the metropolises can be reached quickly for young people - and that seems to be reason enough not to want to leave home. He is certain: "Anyone who grows up here and has a good job will want to stay here.".

Of course, phasing out coal and the associated loss of jobs are an issue, says Funda openly. But with the settlement of the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) in Weißwasser, just 10 kilometers away, a good sign has been set and many jobs have been created. "Good people are in demand in this area," he says happily, even though his community center has already "lost" a "great colleague" to BAFA.  

The miners' fear of losing their jobs 

Of course, Mr Funda also knows about the concerns of the miners who are still fully active in coal mining - and which he takes seriously. You have to look very carefully at how you can use the experience and manpower of these justifiably proud men and women in the time after the coal phase-out. Develop perspectives together. Find good social solutions. This is important to him and many in his community. "The younger ones are already reorienting themselves," he reports, for example, about his son who, at the age of 32, wants to get out of the mining industry and join the police. "It won't be that easy for the older ones, but we're trying to find the right solution for everyone," he said.  

When asked why Schleife has not yet submitted any applications for subsidies under the coal phase-out law, the mayor explains that one would wait patiently and think about it and not have to be present at the first round of money allocation. He is happy that with the Halbendorfer See and the wakeboard facility, a great range of leisure activities has also been created for tourists. And on top of that you have the only nudist campsite in the region, a unique tourist feature. He still sees a lot for tourism marketing, especially cross-community development potential and is happy about every joint step that makes the Lusatian Lake District better known.  

When considering the overall structural development in the district of Görlitz, Funda does not care much about claiming "something very special" just for Schleife. He is involved in the mayoral council of the northern district and meets with his colleagues every two months. "It's important to us to avoid duplication in the application process and to support each other," he emphasizes, "after all, it's about supporting the entire region and not just individual locations or projects". For example, he welcomes and supports efforts to set up a large data center, which Rietschen, Weißwasser and Krauschwitz are coordinating.  

For Schleife, but also the neighboring communities, he could still imagine nice "bad weather offers" for travelers. Because, he's sure of it: "It doesn't matter to the guest whether he has to drive down the village for dinner or for entertainment". He could also imagine beautiful cultural offerings. Digitization would offer many great opportunities to draw more attention to Sorbian culture, e.g. through an interesting, modern exhibition, "but it doesn't all have to be tomorrow," he winks, more satisfied than I can for the mayor of a community almost directly would have expected at the edge of the mine.  

Best regards!

Your 

Yasna