Sax it Up!

With our unique conversation dome we will visit ten public places in Saxony in early summer 2021. At all the locations, we will speak with up to 20 citizens and invited representatives from political and civil society under our dome.

Sax it Up! is inviting everyone, regardless of their background and settings, to speak up - for five minutes or 1.5 hours. In dialogue, we overcome prejudices, discover common ground, and develop solutions in solidarity for Saxony's future questions. We want to listen to one another, learn to understand each other and talk about problems and solutions together - for solidarity in Saxony and beyond.

Everyone gets to express individual topics and suggestions. We identify problems and debate ideas. Ideals are confronted, filter bubbles burst and commonalities are discovered. We experience how political decision-making and solidarity are created, by listening and being listened to.

This is also shown by the dome itself: The wooden struts, meeting in geometric triangles, pentagons and hexagons, symbolise the necessary democratic statics and cultural diversity of the shared Saxon home. Each strut contributes to the cohesion of the whole.

Following-up on the dialogues, we will create a Catalogue of Ideas from the gathered ideas. This catalogue and the video recordings of the individual stops will be available online, so you're always with us on the road. We will hand the Catalogue over to politicians in Saxony after the end of the discussion rounds!

We want to speak with EVERYONE!

Sax it Up! documents citizens’ wealth of ideas. We find the solutions that we as a society so urgently need and show that Saxony is more than just divided. The Idea Catalogue also brings politicians on board and makes the ideas of the people heard.

What emerges is democratic participation and solidarity. People see themselves as active citizens. A positive, mature identity and a feeling of community develops. Through the video recordings and the Idea Catalogue, we also reach people beyond Saxony.

• Because democracy, solidarity and cohesion cannot be taken for granted and concern all of us.
• Because solidarity, cohesion and creativity need analogous times and spaces to develop.
• Because every person and every opinion is important for the creation of a common vision. Together we deal with the issues that concern us all - also beyond right and left mindsets.
• Because social development is only sustainable if the community of citizens supports it. We are looking for concrete building blocks that are needed for a sustainable social architecture in Saxony and Germany.
• Because our ideas and approaches go beyond the unofficial sphere: Together we collect and disseminate them online and hand this incredible Catalogue of Ideas over to political decision makers!
• Because on our journey we provide insights into the life and landscape of Saxony - which is more than just catch lines.

In May 2021, we will finally hit the road - by then we’ll hopefully be able to gather in public places with a clear conscience. However, the dialogues also work with social distancing through only occupying every second chair.

For every 2,000€ another day of talks takes place! 1,000€ are financed through donations and membership fees from Democracy International, 1,000€ come from you and the Matching Fund of the non-profit Hertie Foundation. For every fourth Euro from you, Hertie will add another one! On top of that, the 10 projects with the most donors - independent of the amount donated - will receive prices worth 2,000€ each!

If 10,000€ are collected on Startnext, we will travel to 10 places in Saxony! The more we raise together, the more places, people and ideas we can reach.

Without exception, we will invest all your contributions into the implementation of Sax it Up!:

• Travel expenses for 3 fellow travellers and the dome
• Repairs to the dome
• Personnel costs e.g. for moderation, film editing and the subsequent analysis of the discussions.