Are you excited as well? We're already a little on the fidgety side. This summer, it's finally time for the European Children's City Magdeburg OTTOPIA! To start the Children's City year 2024 in style, we met on February 1, 2024 for the official kick-off.
The venue was the European Youth Education Centre in Magdeburg, which was transformed into a colorful forum for children, young people and adults.
We were particularly pleased to welcome the Mayor of Magdeburg, Simone Borris, who, as a self-proclaimed "fan of the Children's City", did not want to miss the opportunity to wish everyone involved "good luck, many educational experiences and memories".
We were also pleased to welcome many representatives of the city and state administration, as well as democratic members of the City Council and state parliamentary groups. And what would the European Children's City OTTOPIA be without the numerous supporters from Magdeburg's businesses, associations and projects, many of whom found their way to our event.
And because Children's City doesn't mean sitting and talking, but doing and getting active, all guests were given a creative introduction to the pedagogical concept of OTTOPIA with a "mini Children's City". With the help of our Children's Council and some volunteer Children's City supervisors, the guests were able to experience the game concept first hand by working in various professions and earning and spending the Children's City currency, Topis.
We are now looking forward to July 22nd, when OTTOPIA will open its doors for the last two weeks of summer vacation. Once again, admission will be free for all children between the ages of 8 and 14. Until then, there is still a lot to organize, plan and coordinate. We are still looking for supporters, sponsors and donations.
The European Children's City Magdeburg "OTTOPIA" takes place every two years and reaches about 4,000 children each time. It is organized by the European Youth Education Centre Magdeburg (EJBM) and supported by numerous authorities, offices, ministries, associations, companies and private individuals from Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt and the EU. In addition, more than 100 young people from Germany and other European countries volunteer as OTTOPIA staff every year, and groups of children from Saxony-Anhalt's partner regions in France and Poland visit the Children's Town - making OTTOPIA the largest international youth meeting in the state.