Auf die PLÄTZE los

Auf die PLÄTZE los: Kiezi-Rucksack Veröffentlichung

How do children experience their neighborhood? Where do they feel at ease, which places excite them—and what do they wish for the future? The Office of Social Work—specifically its School Social Work division—has developed the Kiezi Backpack as a new participatory initiative. It invites children to explore their neighborhood and actively help shape it through play. The backpack is part of the "Auf die PLÄTZE los" (Ready, Set, GO!) project and combines discovery, creativity, and civic participation.

At the heart of the Kiezi Backpack is the "Kiezi-Workbook"—an interactive activity booklet that guides children on an exciting tour of discovery through their neighborhood. Acting as neighborhood detectives, they explore their local area, record their impressions, and develop ideas for a child-friendly future. The workbook covers a diverse range of topics, including a photo scavenger hunt, a school route and a playground check and chapters on Green Neighborhood and Climate Heroes. Through these activities, children engage with issues such as sustainability, mobility and the quality of public spaces.

The Kiezi Backpack also contains various materials to enrich the exploration tour. In addition to art and writing supplies, the kit includes an instant camera and a litter picker tool. The latter encourages children to take responsibility for their neighborhood and actively help keep it clean. In this way, the Kiezi Backpack playfully combines environmental education, civic education, and participation. The backpack is available for use by school social work services, child and youth work organizations. It contributes to child-friendly and participatory urban development. The backpack will be unveiled for the first time at the Superblock event in Wiesbaden on August 8, 2026.

The school social work service for children is a youth welfare program provided by the Wiesbaden Department of Social Work and is currently active at 17 primary schools.

Working in close cooperation with the primary schools and other partners, the service offers early support and assistance to children and their families. The aim is to improve the children's learning and living conditions and to address exclusion and disadvantage.