Swimming courses in clubs cannot currently take place. (Rolf Vennenbernd / dpa)
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In order to get a better insight into the problems of clubs and initiatives, especially in this time of the pandemic, Mayor Andreas Bovenschulte (SPD) recently invited them to a conversation in digital dialogue format. For him, volunteering has an “irreplaceable value”, he emphasized right from the start.
Without civic engagement it would be “colder and poorer” in Bremen, said Bovenschulte and thanked the volunteers for their commitment. Human contacts, feelings and closeness are the “glue for cohesion in society”.
More than 210 participants sought direct dialogue with the mayor. As a result, not everyone had a say. Nevertheless, the online visitors as well as Andreas Bovenschulte determined in the lively, two-hour conversation: Despite the wide range of different activities and target groups, clubs face similar challenges.
Problem swimming lessons
The urgency of some concerns also worries Bovenschulte, some of them visibly touched him. The lack of swimming lessons is a “big problem with potentially dramatic consequences”, he agreed with a view to possible swimming accidents to the complaint of a board representative of a swimming club about missing indoor swimming pool times. “The club’s operations are at a standstill, and not only do we have very long waiting lists for swimming courses,” he pointed out.
Currently, children can only learn to swim in school sports classes. Since there is currently no foreseeable opening for indoor sports, according to Andreas Bovenschulte, the Education, Social Affairs and Sport departments are considering whether indoor swimming pools could be used in a school context. “That would be the only possibility and perspective at the moment,” he said.
Incidentally, the lack of exercise opportunities to maintain health affects all generations, as two women explained. They felt that medically prescribed rehab sports were allowed for up to ten people, but not other club fitness offers or contactless dances such as Zumba in small groups, as unfair.
Justice and logic are indeed the problem when deciding on corona protective measures, says Andreas Bovenschulte. “What worries us is the right balance between relaxation and limitation,” he explained and campaigned for understanding for the federal government’s corona policy. In other contexts, too, he tried to explain or justify incomprehensible rules for some. Among other things, in connection with orchestral rehearsals. He repeatedly assured that any difficulties or food for thought that had been identified would be “taken with him” in order to present them to the responsible political bodies and perhaps to solve some problems. Bovenschulte assessed the fact that many disabled people had no access to digital culture as an important suggestion, partly because telephone or video conference systems are not barrier-free. “That embarrasses me a little,” he admitted, especially with regard to participation.
Help from support funds
The Corona regulation should be looked at from the perspective of volunteer work at one point or another, summarized Bovenschulte as a further finding. “This is not a job, but it is undoubtedly more than a leisure activity,” he stated. In his opinion, it should be examined, for example, whether labor services from associations such as Nabu or meetings of self-help groups in the health sector could be approved at short notice, provided the incidence value allows.
When asked about financial concerns, Bovenschulte was able to provide some delegates with important information by referring to the support fund. For the problem of falling membership numbers and no newcomers, he also had an immediately implementable tip: In addition to digital public relations, from his point of view nothing speaks against distributing flyers on the street in compliance with the corona protective measures.
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