The future remains different

Together with the University of Jena, the city of Jena is applying for the Future Center for German Unity and European Transformation and, as a selected Thuringian applicant, will receive exclusive support from the state government. The application documents will be submitted by the end of September. At the start of the final application phase, Lord Mayor Dr. Thomas Nitzsche and University President Prof. Dr. Walter Rosenthal presented a communication campaign in which everyone is invited to share their own experiences of the awakening and upheaval of German unity.

jZET! - The future remains different

The campaign idea was realized with the communications agency anschlaege.de from Berlin. Managing Director Rik Watkinson said at the launch:

"Transformation means change, upheaval, new beginnings. The city of Jena and its citizens are building on a foundation of 464 years of transformation history, which has a lot to tell and will continue to tell a lot. As diverse as the experiences of upheaval are, they all have one thing in common: things will remain different. We have chosen this guiding principle for our campaign and link it to the strengths of the city of Jena: a committed civil society that tells the story of the transformation of Jena, Thuringia, the GDR and Eastern Europe and an excellent scientific landscape that builds on this knowledge."

Narrating upheavals and upheavals - participation welcome

As a basis for discussing transformation, it is important to make concrete stories and experiences of upheaval visible. People were therefore asked in advance: What was your upheaval? What does German unity mean to you? Where were you on November 9, 1989? Initial answers can be found on the campaign website https://diezukunftbleibtanders.de. Interested parties can upload their own stories there, anonymously or with names. Postcards are also available at central points in the city as an analog way of sharing stories of upheaval and change.

Lord Mayor Dr. Thomas Nitzsche says :

"For the campaign, I hope that as many people as possible will share their stories and thus release forces for the Future Center in Jena, where these experiences will be transferred into the future. There will be answers that make people happy on the one hand, painful and thought-provoking on the other, and also allow everyone to reflect on their own personal lives and what German unity has meant for them."

"People from East and West can report on a departure into the future. The campaign takes the abstract out of the concept of transformation and connects people," adds University President Prof. Walter Rosenthal.

The multiplication of stories of upheaval and new beginnings creates a real picture of moods, opinions and interpretations - possible content that can later be further researched and exhibited in a future center in Jena.

"So everyone can get actively involved now and help shape the Future Center," explains Martin Fischer, project manager for Jena's application for the Future Center in Jena.

Image motifs show visual breaks

The images in the campaign have been chosen to show deliberate breaks and surprising perspectives. Transformation initially means uncertainty: in which direction will the future develop? The visual breaks tell of this ambivalence: an optical lens sets Eichplatz - the central location for the Future Center in Jena - straight. A cloud in the sky appears as a ball of ice cream when viewed together with a wafer. A person sits on a bench, turned 90 degrees, with their legs towards the backrest. Depending on the angle from which Transformation is viewed, a different image emerges.

Central communication tools and other events

In addition to the campaign website, postcards and posters, information will also be shared on Instagram and Facebook via the "The future remains different" channels. There will also be opportunities for exchange at the following upcoming events:

• Pössneck storytelling café on the "Rotasym" trust case, 8.9.2022, 7 p.m., Klosterplatz 2-6, Pössneck
• Old town festival with the opportunity for market discussions on the future center on 20.09.2022
• Day of German Unity and twin city festival in Jena on 3.10.2022