offizielle NRW-Vorstellung des Buches „Dienstschluss“ von Prof. Dr. Uwe Schneidewind im Deutzer Zentralwerk der Schönen Künste

Meeting point: Deutz Central Plant of Fine Arts, Deutz-Mülheimer-Str 147-149
Limited number of participants, pre-registration recommended: info@raum13.com

The fact that cities produce a future despite financial bottlenecks, bureaucracy traps and financial shortages has to do with a lively eco-system of civil society initiatives. This is no different in Cologne than it is in Wuppertal. In his new book "Dienstschluss", transformation researcher and former mayor of Wuppertal Uwe Schneidewind has therefore dedicated a separate chapter to "civil society democracy laboratories". The project "Raum13", the "Deutzer Zentralwerk der Schönen Künste" on the former KHD site in Cologne-Mülheim - the cradle of the Otto engine - plays an important role in the book.

The book
How can cities transform themselves so that they are equipped for the future? Why does Germany have such a hard time with change? Uwe Schneidewind addresses these questions after five years as mayor of a major city.
Cities are the focal point for the possibilities and limitations of transformation, because this is where social change processes become concrete. The challenges are enormous. As cities are institutionally strongly oriented towards stability and continuity, the organization of change is full of pitfalls. After five years as mayor of Wuppertal, Uwe Schneidewind takes a look back at the urban engine room. Whether it's swimming pools, school construction or local transport - Schneidewind describes the everyday systemic failures at a local level and, at the same time, how things can still get moving. Because it is precisely in the supposed powerlessness that islands of success emerge. When successful projects grow and committed people network, they sow the seeds for change. In this sense, this instructive book, rich in vivid examples, gives hope. As one of the leading transformation researchers, Schneidewind has spent half a decade testing the waters in practice and draws a balance sheet that has been tried and tested in reality and is nevertheless undaunted.
Uwe Schneidewind: Closing time. The challenge of local politics. Published on March 12, 2026 by Klaus Wagen-Bach-Verlag

The author
Uwe Schneidewind was Lord Mayor of the city of Wuppertal from 2020 to 2025. Prior to that, the economist spent over 25 years shaping and supporting sustainable transformation processes in politics, business, science and society, including as a university lecturer, President of the University of Oldenburg and the renowned Wuppertal Institute

We and Uwe Schneidewind would be delighted to receive a solidarity contribution of 5 euros for the work at the Deutz Zentralwerk der Schönen Künste.