»92 Tage« (92 days): Bauhaus-Universität Weimar Campaign Aims to Motivate Students for Upcoming Elections
2024 is a super election year in Thuringia, Brandenburg and Saxony with local (from 26 May), European (6 – 9 June) and state (1 September in Thuringia) elections all scheduled to take place. The »92 Tage« (92 days) campaign is the brainchild of instructors and alumni from the Faculty of Art and Design and calls on students from all Thuringian universities to register their residence in Thuringia so that they can vote in the upcoming elections and support democracy in the Free State.
For the past few days, people have been discovering the flickering animated message: »92 Tage« (92 days) on Thuringian universities’ social media channels. Initially, no information was given on the context of the »92 Tage« (92 days) message. Starting today, the goals of the universities and the campaign designers are being made clear: They want to draw your attention to the fact that you must register your residence in Thuringia in good time if you wish to vote and have your say. Specifically, you have to be registered 3 months, or 92 days, before the election in order to be eligible to vote.
»A lot of students have consciously decided to study in Thuringia, but they never actually officially register in the city or municipality where they’re studying. We recognise this untapped voting potential and want to directly appeal to this group«, says Burkhart von Scheven, Professor of »Image-Text-Conception« at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, describing the campaign he developed together with his colleague Prof. Markus Weisbeck and alumni Markus Griebl and Coco Lobinger. »Time is of the essence. Local elections in Weimar — and other places across Thuringia— for example, will be held on 26 May. In order to generate as much curiosity and attention for this topic, we decided to make the deadline the subject of the campaign.«
Something many students and employees don’t know: In order to be eligible to vote in a Thuringian municipality, you must be registered there not only on the date of the election, but 92 days (or three months) before. This means that the deadline for registering to vote in the 26 May local elections in Weimar is 26 February. This deadline is coming up for anyone who has not already registered Weimar as their primary place of residence and who want to have their say in the local political developments in the coming years.
This »time problem« is precisely what communications experts have turned into a solution: The »92 Tage« (92 days) campaign generates awareness, educates and motivates well before the elections. And it’s not just directed at students who need to change their registration. »In addition to social media posts, we have designed and programmed the microsite www.92tage.de that provides further information and directs users to the registration form in just a few clicks. The forms can then be filled out, printed, signed and sent to the local authorities«, von Scheven continues.
Kampagnenvideo »92 Tage«
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There are also other advantages to changing your registration: Many university cities offer so called »Ausbildungsprämien«, which are financial incentives paid to students and apprentices. Those who register their main residence as Weimar for one year, for example, can receive 300 euros from the city of Weimar.
The following Thuringian universities are participating in the campaign by posting on their various communication channels and on their websites: Fachhochschule Erfurt University of Applied Sciences, University of Erfurt, Technische Universität Ilmenau, University of Applied Sciences Jena, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Hochschule Nordhausen - University of Applied Sciences, Hochschule Schmalkalden - University of Applied Sciences, and the University of Music FRANZ LISZT Weimar. The platforms will continue to feature the »92 Tage« (92 days) message for the upcoming European elections in June and the state elections on 1 September 2024. Bauhaus-Universität Weimar students will also be developing new formats and campaigns to promote democracy in the upcoming summer semester.
You can access the campaign microsite at www.92tage.de.
Questions can be directed to Romy Weinhold, Press and Public Relations Officer for the Faculty of Art and Design by phone at +49 / 36 43 / 58 11 86 or by e-mail at romy.weinhold[at]uni-weimar.de.