Action common sense
| Action common sense | |
|---|---|
|
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| legal form | registered association |
| founding | 1957 |
| founder | Carl-Christoph Schweitzer |
| Seat | Bonn |
| motto | with each other for each other |
| Website | ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: www.gemeinsinn.de ) |
The Aktiongemeinschaftinn eV was a civic association in Bonn that started campaigns on social issues with unpaid engagement since 1957. The association stopped its work in 2015.
Origin and goals
The Aktion Gemeinschaftinn eV was founded in 1957 as an independent and non-partisan civic association. Since its inception, it has relied on the willingness of people to be committed to the cohesion of society and took up problems that “must be solved in the interests of everyone, but which the state, states and municipalities cannot solve or cannot solve alone. Because what the state cannot do, but what still has to be done for the community, the citizen has to do ” (from the first formulation of the statutes).
The Bonn-based action community spirit used the American model to design calls, slogans, advertisements and posters and to ask the media to publish them free of charge for a good cause (“ pro bono ”). Conferences and workshops were added. The initiator was the historian Carl-Christoph Schweitzer , who was also chairman for many years, most recently honorary chairman. The association deliberately refrained from institutional funding from the state and financed its work exclusively through contributions, donations and grants for projects. Many volunteers provided help with content and organization.
From the mid-1990s onwards, changes in the media landscape and the advertising industry made it difficult for the association to work. Placing generous pro bono ads was hardly possible anymore. The original unique position of the earlier years in the free advertising area gave way to the competition between large non-governmental organizations and the growing number of charitable and ideological associations and groups. The common sense action saw itself at the end of its decades of successful work and campaign management. Under the long-term chairmanship of Cornelie Sonntag-Wolgast and, from 2012, Henning von Vieregge, and from 2013 together with the long-standing honorary managing director Christian Wilmsen, the association ended its activity after almost two years of internal discussion.
Campaigns
From 1959, large, high-profile campaigns on explosive social issues were launched every year - in close cooperation with well-known advertising agencies. The spectrum ranged from appeals for solidarity with old people and foreign students as well as voluntary services in hospitals to calls for ecologically responsible behavior, educational offers for disadvantaged young people and against the political indifference of many citizens (Mr. " Ohnemichel ") to the demand for legal protection living wills, a more family-friendly policy and the commitment to a united Europe.
The association also awarded prizes for moral courage. Public figures - the federal presidents, federal and state politicians, chancellors, ministers as well as decision-makers from companies, media and associations supported the activities.
During and after the fall of the Wall, the Action Community made an especially intensive effort to bring East and West together. In 2008 she was awarded the “Standard Prize” from the Federal Agency for Civic Education .
literature
The publication published on the occasion of the dissolution offers a comprehensive overview of the history, development and objectives of the association:
- Action Community Spirit eV (Ed.): Community spirit: from encouraging to interfere; Action common spirit 1957–2015 . Verlag HP Nacke, Wuppertal 2015, ISBN 978-3-942043-54-0 .
Web links
- Welcome! Action Community Spirit, accessed on August 29, 2015 .
- Action common sense on Facebook. Action Community Spirit, accessed on August 29, 2015 .