Vienna gives kids the reins of local government

During one working week, the youngsters can get to experience what adult life is like

In the height of summer, many parents sign up their children for different camp activities so they can find something fun and interesting to do during the long warm days. The Vienna City Hall has taken up that idea by organizing a different kind of camp called Children’s City, where kids will learn what adult life looks like by picking up a profession that they find interesting.

The educational camp will take place next week from 21 to 25 August and has been designed with the idea of helping children understand the complexities of adult life in the context of a role-playing environment.

The City Hall will host the Children’s Town daily between 10 am and 5 pm and adults will have to wait in the courtyard in special waiting areas. All children aged between 6 and 13, willing to experience this will have free access.

Adults not allowed

All residents of the Children's City will receive a passport and their own currency at the registration office, after which they can start looking for a job. Whether as journalists, garbage collectors or security guards - children will take care of everything in an imaginary town.

The youngsters will have the freedom to decide what to do with their earned money, after paying taxes of course – an inescapable part of being an adult. They can deposit them in a bank, buy a plot of land to build a house or purchase games at the store. We feel that this last one will be a popular choice.

And of course, there will be politics and governance at play. Municipal elections will be held daily. Whoever runs for office and wins will be the next day's mayor or municipal councillor, and will participate in the adoption of laws and the determination of taxes.

The local adult city councillors won’t be able to escape the scrutiny of the media even then since child journalists will have the chance to visit them at their offices and grill them with questions.

The most important political meeting will be with Mayor Michael Ludwig, who will answer questions from the young journalists on 23 August.

And on the improvised “streets” there will be a go-kart track and a road traffic garden because there are important things to learn there, too.