On 21 March, Secretary of State for the Environment Sebastian Thul, Mayor of Rehlingen-Siersburg Joshua Pawlak, and CEO of saarland innovation und standort GmbH (saaris) Rita Gindorf-Wagner presented the results of the ‘co:working66 – creating. local. together’ pilot project. This was implemented by saaris in Blieskastel, Marpingen und Rehlingen-Siersburg. The end of the successful pilot phase now also marks the go-ahead for rollout across the whole of Saarland, as the project is aiming to enable coworking even in rural areas.
As part of their project work, the saaris team developed dynamic model coworking sites in three pilot municipalities and established guidelines for implementation in other areas. This saw the team conducting a wide range of activities over the course of two years: determining needs and operational structures, inspecting properties, through to discussing cost effectiveness and financing.
Their work also included making people aware of the topic and networking with local communities. This strengthened existing structures and inspired enthusiasm in many people for this pioneering way of working. Last but not least, collaboration between municipalities, companies, freelancers and initiatives impressively demonstrated the huge potential of this development and for establishing new locations.
The pilot municipalities of Marpingen and Rehlingen-Siersburg will now be moving into implementing and setting up these services.
Statements:
Sebastian Thul, Secretary of State for the Environment, Climate, Mobility, Agriculture and Consumer Protection: ‘Coworking spaces are particularly popular in cities with many inhabitants. However, surveys have shown that there is a similar wish for flexible workspaces like these in rural areas. With the “rural coworking in Saarland” pilot project, we set out two years ago to establish such spaces outside urban spaces as well.’
Rita Gindorf-Wagner, CEO of saaris: ‘Coworking – working together in flexible spaces – has long been more than just a metropolitan trend, and is already offering huge opportunities in rural regions: it combines modern, digital working with regional roots, creates new networks, and promotes local innovation.’ She added: ‘And above all, coworking gives people an opportunity to work near where they live, reduce their commute, and also enjoy an inspiring working environment.’
Joshua Pawlak, Mayor of Rehlingen-Siersburg: ‘I am delighted that the coworking pilot project in Rehlingen-Siersburg is now being fully implemented. It offers a wealth of opportunities: for transregional, intercultural, and even intergenerational collaboration, and of course to strengthen the local economy’, Pawlak emphasised. ‘My vision is to provide a lively community of creatives, freelancers and companies right here. This is now taking shape, and I fully welcome it.’
All those involved agree that new, collective, local workplaces help to strengthen rural communities as residential and business locations as part of sustainable regional development, make Saarland more attractive as a place to live, work and conduct business, and thus increase the attractiveness and sustainability of Saarland’s municipalities.
‘co:working66’ stands for ‘collaborative working’ in rural areas of Saarland (‘66’).
Full details of the project and a downloadable project brochure can be found at: www.coworking.saarland
