With the citizen participation kiosks (BBKs) and the AGORA in the city forum Dresden, the state capital Dresden is expanding its offering for modern citizen participation with the "Toolbox Smart Participation (TSP)" measure in the model project Smart City . While AGORA, as a central analog meeting and event space, enables direct exchange between the administration and citizens, the BBKs create flexible digital participation opportunities at various locations in the city. Both formats complement each other and together contribute to making participation in Dresden contemporary, low-threshold and versatile.
The citizen participation kiosks in the model project Smart City Dresden
The BBKs have been part of the Smart Participation toolbox since 2024. The mobile terminals contribute to smartand sustainable citizen participation in the city administration Dresden.
3 large touch displays, measuring 85 x 65 x 122 (WxDxH), generate maximum attention in the city forum Dresden or at other locations in the city. A web application (Microsoft Edge kiosk mode) runs on the BBKs, which is set up as standard and in which existing websites or survey tools can be integrated.
Since 2024, the BBKs have already been used around 20 times in a city-wide context, including for a user survey in the Joynext Arena, at the presentation of results for the citizen participation Alter Leipziger Bahnhof (Center for Building Culture in the Kulturpalast Dresden), at the opening of the City Forum, in March 2025, at Digital Day 2025, at the Mayor's summer reception and at the volunteer exchange in the town hall. All 3 citizen participation kiosks can currently be found at the statistics exhibition in the AGORA of the Stadtforum Dresden, with one kiosk offering a permanent survey on smartcitizen participation.
In the model project Smart City Dresden , the citizen participation kiosks are a good addition to the participatory claim of a smartcity. With the BBKs, a digital supplement to analog citizen participation formats can be offered in a time-saving and resource-saving manner, which can be used cost-effectively with standard software.
The high-profile nature of the BBKs attracts many interested parties and, especially with the large-scale INSEK survey in January 2026 in the city forum's AGORA, will actively contribute to smartincreasing citizen participation in Dresden.
The citizen participation kiosks have their permanent location in the AGORA of the Stadtforum Dresden, but can also be borrowed for any major events. However, for insurance reasons, the BBKs can only be set up in municipal facilities. It is therefore planned to purchase smaller and more mobile versions in 2026, which can then be used more flexibly for digital citizen participation formats.
Contact person for the citizen participation kiosks at TSP, model project Smart City Dresden :
Andreas Willliger, Digital Citizen Participation Coordinator
Citizen Affairs Department, Office for Urban Strategy, International Affairs and Citizenship
Mail: beteiligen@dresden.de or smart-participation@ dresden.de
Phone: 0351- 488 2040
AGORA in the city forum Dresden - continuation of the analog space concept "Citizens' Lab Dresden"
In the model project Smart City Dresden , in the measure Toolbox Smart Participation, AGORA (after the test period 2023-2025) is now taking over the active part for analog events within the framework of citizen participation in the citizens' laboratory Dresden, in close cooperation with the offices of the city administration and the citizens.
Open formats are being integrated and developed that are accessible to everyone and enable an exchange of content and topics between the administration and citizens. The TSP's citizen participation kiosks are also continuously integrated into this process.
Since the opening of the Stadtforum at Dresden in March 2025, AGORA has been part of the public area in the building. The Stadtforum is not a purely administrative building, but creates a relationship between the administration and the city with two public floors (first floor and second floor). Here, urban society and administration are to come into contact with each other in a low-threshold, broadly effective manner and with participatory formats and events.
In ancient Greece, the agora wasthe central festival, meeting and market place of a city and thus an important social institution. In the city forum, the AGORA is the public space for urban debates, project presentations or exhibitions. Here, a connection is created between administration, citizens and civil society through thematic formats and proximity to citizens. The "marketplace" is complemented by conference and consultation rooms, a cozy café bar and the large city model. Here, against the backdrop of the town hall, people come together, chat, take a seat, spend time together and let their gaze wander out of the large windows.
AGORA has already hosted 15 formats since March 2025, including the first INSEK survey/exhibition, the "Children's voices in our city" exhibition, an exhibition on the "World Transplant Games", an exhibition on "Climate Week", the Lord Mayor's summer reception, the meeting of Saxon stakeholders in civic participation, the Lord Mayor's office hours and various other formats. AGORA is currently hosting an exhibition of statistics and a permanent survey on citizen participation at smart.
The high-profile nature of the large areas of the AGORA ("modular exhibition space" and "gallery at the city model") as well as the large foyer and the open staircase on the first floor are gradually attracting more and more interested citizens to the Stattforum and increasing the demand for participation formats in the AGORA. In early 2026 in particular, the large-scale INSEK survey in the city forum's AGORA will actively contribute to the analog and digital (in combination with the BBKs) increase in citizen participation in Dresden.
Please always contact the city's event service at Dresden (event service@dresden.de)
Please always send exhibition inquiries to the contact persons at AGORA (agora@dresden.de)
Contact persons AGORA / Exhibition and Citizen Participation:
Coordinator Citizen Participation, Department of Citizen Concerns
Thekla Muntschick (organizational), 0351-4882109
Coordinator (Citizens' Lab) Community, Toolbox Smart Participation, Department for Citizens' Issues
Christiane Wagner (content), 0351-4882178
Mail: agora@dresden.de
