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Munich perspective: New guideline, "New Media" |
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City of Münich, Germany |
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The Munich perspective is Munich’s urban development concept for the city’s future, the guidelines and leading projects of which have been under discussion with Munich’s citizens and municipal authorities and associations since 1995. It became clear, however, that urban development consists of ongoing processes. Thus, in order to take due account of changed development parameters, new guidelines were developed, while existing ones were updated; and all were regularly submitted to Munich City Council for its information or resolution. Attempts are being made to implement the guidelines on major projects using corresponding strategies. It is intended that the "New Media" Guideline, which was devised in conjunction with the appropriate professional departments, will be subsequently submitted for public discussion with Munich's citizens, as part of two action weeks featuring talks and a presentation of projects already underway, at a central location, namely the Munich town Hall Gallery. The aim of this is to raise awareness about both the major opportunities and risks involved in this area, as well as to awaken and/or encourage interest on the part of the public. This is particularly important as far as Munich is concerned, since, after London, it is the second largest media city in Europe: New Media? "New Media" means a lot more than just mobile phones and the Internet. The term encompasses both methods and instruments that through the use of digital (computer-aided) technology enable the bringing together of language, text, graphics, still images, sound, animation and video and the creation of new forms of communication.
The "New Media" Guideline: The Guideline’s objective is to determine the actions required in the local political arena with regard to the new information and communications technologies. Its four main goals are:
Increasing citizens’ media competency – the knowledge society Encouragement
of the media economy
"New Media"
and the enhancement of municipal functions Local policy
action areas are: New city administration – e-government Economic and employment policy for Munich as a media location Education policy Sustained urban development policy, urban
planning and housing policy The new technological infrastructure Integrated
mobility management Social services Environment and health Starting from the vision that the New Media should change urban
society in accordance with the objective of "sustained development and
urbanity" in a socially balanced, ecologically viable and acceptable
manner, means that the majority of citizens should possess the media
competency necessary to make use of the range of media opportunities
available. The New Media Guideline stresses which strategies and
projects should be used to achieve this objective: The main aspects of the "New Media" Guideline are: A high level of data security and data protection is needed, so
that citizens can have confidence in the "digital town hall".
A city such as Munich must serve current, constantly updated
information "available 24/7" ( Easy-to-use,
cost-effective, compatible and uniform standards and components are
necessary for acceptance of the "digital town hall". Political events in the city can be reported on the "Munich
Portal ( The "Munich Portal" should feature all kinds of social groups
(non-profit organisations, clubs, associations and initiatives). Munich City Council should grasp the opportunities presented by
technological, structural change and should support the increased use
of New Media in education, business and to strengthen social
integration. This should be one of the purposes for which the "Munich
Portal" is used. The demands of a future-oriented city development policy make the
use of new media indispensable. Working conditions at Munich City Council have undergone
considerable improvement, due to the use of New Media for staff
members. In the workplace, communications and information pathways have
been drastically shortened. Using new media instruments in connection with traffic planning
and management avoids gridlock and reduces the need for new road
construction, which would otherwise encroach on the countryside. The creation of cost-effective provision appropriate for seniors
and access opportunities to the new information and communications
technologies, together with the promotion of media competency and
Internet use specifically among the elderly, is a major requisite for
the preservation of independence and enhanced quality of life in old
age. An entire series of projects has already been developed for this
purpose by the various departments concerned, partly in conjunction with
interested associations. These projects are currently at the
implementation stage. (Relevant Internet addresses are shown below). Four projects taken from the areas of "education", "sustained urban
development policy, urban planning and housing policy" and "integrated
mobility management" will now be described in brief:
Education projects: Schools Networking Project During the last two school years, all public schools in Munich have
defined, in educational technology plans, educational specifications
for the concept of a networked school. At the present time, schools
are being equipped with computer technology and Internet access in
accordance with these educational plans; and teaching staff are being
appropriately trained and advised. (Investment: 119 million €).
Follow-on costs of 46 million €/year incurred in supporting technical
equipment and installations and providing replacement parts have been
built in to the planning in this area. All Munich teachers will be supported in their work by a variety of
further training opportunities, specialist advice and multi-school
projects for the introduction of New Media. Many projects and teaching ideas are arising in this way. On the
"virtual exercise books server" of the Institute of Education, as well
as on the local authority education server - muc.kobis – and the
website of individual schools, many interesting websites have since
come into being showing teaching results. For example, the history website of the Louise Schröder Gymnasium
school The local authority education server - muc.kobis The local
authority education server - muc.kobis - is a community project of the
Schools, Social And Cultural Department and acts as a platform for
Munich educationalists in connection with computer-related educational
work. The content on the education server is designed by individual
institutions themselves, and is also put together by an editorial team
drawing on a central source. The provision offered by individual institutions constitutes in
practice the broad spectrum of computer use by young persons in
Munich. In the meantime, in addition to school web sites (virtually
all Munich schools also partially offer their sch7ool many project
results and schoolwork in addition to the other information. In
addition, websites have been created by many youth institutions and
educational school projects, which are also concerned with the
computer and publish their results on those web sites. The central provision constituted by muc.kobis brings together and
places in order the wide variety of data available on muc.kobis, and
in the process presents links to all participating institutions
(Heading: "Munich Net Life"). It also offers support and suggestions
for issues relating to the effective use of computers in the
classroom. In the virtual learning workshop, teachers can find links
to the major education servers, a collection and exact description of
freely accessible reference works, finished projects from schools in
Munich, together with a project description and links to project
results, a database with teaching materials, information on major
educational topics, such as "Internet and Youth Protection" and much
more. Under the Heading "What's New", educationalists can read current
Munich and District education news; while individuals who have
subscribed to the muc.kobis mailing list can receive important new
information by e-mail. Helpful recommendations for free software
(freeware), answers to frequently asked questions and online help for
the technology provided at muc.kobis round off what is on offer. The main provision can be found at: A list of hyperlinks to all participating institutions:
Riem Trade Fair City: Information, dialogue and development of social networks. Current and future residents and users have been invited to participate in the development of their growing city district. In 2000, a three-year model project was launched at Riem Trade Fair City and this aims to explore and implement opportunities for public participation, including that of residents and users. Riem Trade Fair City: Dialog, as the project is called, is an important instrument for information and participation. It serves as a platform for contacts with the planning committees, and even building contractors. It enables the details of planning to be discussed and suggestions to be made. Above and beyond this, Riem Trade Fair City provides: Dialog, with the function of giving the new inhabitants of the district the chance to meet one another. Riem Trade Fair City achieves: an important con3 -tribution by Dialog to one of the central goals of the project and strategic concept; namely, the development of social networks and a shared identity in the growing city district.
Integrated mobility management The Mobinet Project is the leading project on this. (The project is an initiative of the Federal Ministry for Education and Research on "Mobility in Urban Areas")
The following are "New Media" projects that can be viewed on the Internet, together with corresponding contacts: 1) Administration close to the people - the "Digital Town Hall"
2) Projects relating to the business and job markets:
3) Education Projects:
4) Projects on sustained urban development policy, urban planning and housing policy:
6) Projects on Integrated Mobility Management
7) Projects relating to social services:
8) Environment and health services projects:
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