aconium on site at the 75th Annual Conference of the German County Association

On September 7, 2022, the 75th annual conference of the Deutscher Landkreistag (DLT) took place in Neuhardenberg, Brandenburg. Against the historic backdrop of Neuhardenberg Castle and exactly 100 years to the day after the umbrella organization of the administrative districts was founded, current political developments in particular ensured a lively exchange among the district administrators, officials, DLT members and guests. True to the theme of the annual conference “No equal living conditions without districts”, the speakers, including Federal Minister Cem Özdemir, Minister President Dietmar Woidke and the President of the German Association of Districts Reinhard Sager, emphasized the outstanding importance of districts for all areas of public services – not just as crisis managers.

Under the impression of the crisis situation in Germany, the theme of the annual conference “No equal living conditions without districts” quickly became the tenor among the speakers and participants of the 75th annual conference of the German Association of Districts: In line with the principle of local self-government, the districts must be given trust, adequate financial resources and planning security by federal and state politicians. The Minister President of Brandenburg, Dietmar Woidke, called for greater involvement of the municipal level, especially in crisis management. Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture Cem Özdemir emphasized that rural areas can unleash their power of working together and for each other, especially in times of crisis, and underlined the goal of efficient and decision-making municipalities in the current coalition agreement. DLT President District Administrator Reinhard Sager also appealed to municipal power and decentralized responsibility to create equal living conditions. In these and other speeches, the current challenges and diverse responses of the districts in all areas of services of general interest (including energy, infrastructure, digitalization, mobility and education) were also discussed.

aconium was represented on site with an information stand as part of the exhibition accompanying the event. The employees advised interested event participants on the service portfolio of aconium GmbH in the areas of municipal services of general interest and were able to point out numerous interfaces to current challenges facing the districts. The aconium Academy ‘s new offerings for teaching digital skills and project opportunities in the areas of smart regions and measuring mobile coverage were met with particular interest. Simon Melch, employee of aconium GmbH, emphasizes: “As a partner of rural areas, the annual conference of the German County Association is an important date in the calendar for aconium GmbH. Rural districts play an outstanding role in shaping rural living environments. In view of the digital transformation, rural districts will take on an even greater municipal coordination and design function in the future. Once again, it became clear that our services and expertise are in tune with the times and that we can make a significant contribution to overcoming current challenges