"Sun Deck"

The social-democratic city of the future is a city of freedom. It enables people to live and develop in every way they wish. It is also a city of solidarity. Only co-existence creates conditions for personal development, happiness and satisfaction. The Social Democrats believe that politics should not be overestimated. And yet, political decisions determine daily life more than many people would think. Quality of life is dependent on the participation in the democratic process. The SPD wishes to inspire thought and ideas with their contribution to this exhibition. The social democratic city of the future provides various suggestions depicted in scenes and motifs. These can be divided into three main groups: Progress plays a large role in the social democratic city. Science, education and ecology are absolutely vital. The city is colourful and vibrant. Cultural diversity and the promotion of the plurality of opinions are relevant themes in the second theme group of the SPD diorama. The social democratic city is a city for everyone – fair and integrative. Equality and voluntary work are just as normal as a free education.


Bridge building is the central element of this diorama – it symbolises a social-democratic solidarity. The values ‘Freedom – Equality – Solidarity’ in combination with the SPD logos at the bridge pillars help identify the diorama.

All-Day School

More education leads to social equity, economic strength and better integration. On the sun deck is a kindergarten with multiple caretakers, an all-day school and a university. A cost-free education, from pre-school to university, is the basis for a real equality of opportunity.


Knowledge and ideas are the most important resources of the country. The support of creative and cultural industries is exemplified in a symbolic scene in front of a bank. Creative artists meet there to receive small loans.

Job Centre

The policies implemented during the Social Democrats’ term to fight the crisis are continuing to build bridges towards a better employment in the future. The closed Job Centre symbolises the realisation of a plan with which the SPD wants to reach full employment in Germany until the year 2020.

Voluntary Work

These symbolise a society that has not lost its inner solidarity. In one scene, voluntary workers of the Agency for Technical Relief secure a street leading to the ‘Carnival of Cultures’. In another scene, an elder lady is reading to children, who are listening intently.


The SPD wishes to break down old role allocations and wants to integrate women in all areas of professional life.
In the diorama, ‘traditional’ male professions are filled with women and vice versa. Besides this liberated approach to professional life, there are also men who dedicate themselves to the education of their children.

House Boat and Carnival of Cultures

Urban life and nature are not opposed to each other in the city of the future. The house boat symbolises that both form a whole. Also, people with different backgrounds come closer together:
They are celebrating together in the "Carnival of Cultures".


Using well-aimed industrial policies, a social-democratic government will change the course of the economy and steer towards an age of energy and resource efficiency. At the banks of an unpolluted river people can relax in the sun and read. Together with anglers and swimmers, they symbolise a gentler use of natural resources.

Citizens Advice Bureau

The outcome of the federal election will determine the country’s direction in the coming decade. However, one thing is already certain today: The citizens’ advice bureaus of the SPD will continue to provide the opportunity for people to express their wishes and concerns directly to the SPD.

Electric Gas Station

Opting out of nuclear energy programmes is not an ideological issue. Nuclear Energy is not the energy of the future, it leads to a dead end instead. At the electrical charging station ‘Neutral’, the inhabitants of the sun deck may charge their electrical cars with energy generated by wind power. Solar collectors on rooftops underline the importance of renewable energy.

Receiving a Cheque

A solidary contribution for education makes the strong shoulders carry more than the weak ones. In the scene in front of the Johannes Rau University, high earners are giving a symbolical cheque to a student.

Newspaper Publisher and Wi-Fi

The goal is the extension of a powerful broadband network for all people in Germany. There are numerous figurines in the diorama making use of a free wireless connection with their notebooks. The newspaper publishing house ‘Stadtanzeiger’ symbolises more plurality and regionality in media coverage.