Cornelian cherry

2024 was a super election year. More people worldwide than ever before were called upon to cast their vote in elections in more than 60 countries, including 27 EU member states. This meant that around 3.6 billion people – or around 45 percent of the world’s population – had the opportunity to take their future into their own hands and have a say in the kind of world they want to live in. Living in a democracy is not something we should take for granted. Free elections, peace, freedom of religion, freedom of travel – many privileges go hand in hand with it.  

The culture of democratic coexistence shaped hard coal mining – and thus the Ruhr region – for centuries. That is no coincidence: Religion and origin played no role in the sometimes dangerous work below ground. What counted was being able to rely on each other. Reconciling diverging interests was the goal and that was achieved successfully, with everyone pitching in together to overcome challenges. Today, our democratic awareness continues to ensure our country’s competitiveness and the future of our society. 
 

Occasion for planting

The RAG-Stiftung also needs political stability and legal certainty to fulfil its mission. That is why it supports engagement with this issue in many ways. This tree was planted to mark a contest for the best ideas to promote democracy in the Ruhr region which the RAG-Stiftung staged in November 2024. For a whole weekend, young people aged between 14 and 18 honed their concepts at the Zollverein UNESCO World Heritage Site in Essen. A jury including André Kuper, President of the North Rhine-Westphalia State Parliament, and Dorothee Feller, North Rhine-Westphalia’s Minister for Schools and Education, awarded the prizes to the three happy winning teams. The RAG-Stiftung is earmarking up to EUR 150,000 to implement their ideas.