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Alpenrod shines: Orts.App wins award for citizen participation 2025!
Alpenrod was awarded the Orts.App for innovative citizen participation, which promotes active participation and local democracy.
Alpenrod shines: Orts.App wins award for citizen participation 2025!
The small community of Alpenrod, with around 1,500 residents, has received an important award: The Orts.App was named the “Most Innovative Citizen Participation” with the Orts.App Award 2025. The highlight of this digital application? It offers citizens the opportunity to actively shape and inform their community. As [Kommune21](https://www.kommune21.de/k21-meldeen/buerger participation-per-app-2/) reports, the app serves as a meeting place for engagement and exchange about local events, club life and current topics that affect the community.
Users can find out about news and contribute to shaping community life themselves. Jonas Salzer, who manages the app, ensures that it is always updated and stays close to the pulse of citizens with new content on a regular basis. According to David Weiß, managing director of Orts.App, the award illustrates the innovative strength and commitment of the municipality of Alpenrod. The desire to promote a vibrant local democracy is very popular, and this is increasingly happening digitally.
Digital participation on the rise
Digital development is not only changing everyday life, but also political participation. More and more citizens are using digital platforms to get involved politically. According to current studies, 67% of Germans are already using digital options for political activities. Online petitions are among the most popular formats, with over 12 million signatures collected on Change.org in 2024, as [MNU-BB](https://www.mnu-bb.de/2025/02/07/political-participation-digitale-buerger participation/) reports.
It couldn't be more modern: initiatives like “Consul” or “Liquid Democracy” enable direct participation in political decisions. In Hamburg, over 45,000 citizens took part in drawing up the 2024 urban development plan, which shows that digital engagement is most welcome. These new technologies not only offer opportunities, but also challenges such as the digital divide, which leads to an unequal distribution of digital skills. Older people and socioeconomically disadvantaged groups in particular use digital participation offers less frequently.
The look into the future
Looking into the future, the forecast is optimistic: by 2030, around 60% of all political participation processes could be digitally supported. To achieve this, investments in digital infrastructure and education are essential. The development of inclusive formats and strengthening media literacy are also on the agenda. Topics such as data protection and IT security play a central role. The challenges should not be underestimated, but the opportunities that digital citizen participation offers are promising.
In this context, the Orts.App award in Alpenrod shows once again how important it is to sensibly integrate digital tools in order to create an inclusive and sustainable democracy. Citizen participation via app – this is not just a trend, but a necessity to promote participation for everyone.