Vorschau

Gladbeck

Family Municipality 2024: A young, diverse and family-friendly city

The city of Gladbeck is a family city

With this claim, the city of Gladbeck applied for the state prize for family-friendly municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia in 2024.

Gladbeck belongs to the district of Recklinghausen, has around 76,000 inhabitants and is located in the Emscher-Lippe region. For several years, Gladbeck has been pursuing a city-wide concept to promote family friendliness. A large number of projects and initiatives contribute to this.

A young and diverse city with socio-economic challenges

Gladbeck has a higher proportion of young citizens (35.9 percent) compared to the district of Recklinghausen (32.0 percent). In total, people from around 113 nations live in Gladbeck. At the end of 2023, the proportion of foreign residents was 19.3 percent. Gladbeck is the city with the third-highest poverty rate in Germany - a particular challenge.

To counteract this, Gladbeck relies on various projects and participation formats for family-oriented future planning. Citizens are regularly surveyed as part of the "Gladbeck Family Reports". In the Gladbeck Alliance for Families, experts and administration network to promote and support families and children.

State prize for family-friendly municipalities 2024

Gladbeck was awarded the Landespreis für familienfreundliche Kommunen 2024 in the "Large medium-sized city" category for its diverse initiatives and the anchoring of family friendliness as a cross-sectional task in all administrative areas.

We present some of the city's offers here. Further information, links to the project descriptions and to the North Rhine-Westphalia state award can be found in the sidebar.

Family-friendly offers in Gladbeck

  1. Gladbeck family report
    Gladbeck has carried out a detailed family survey every 5 years since 2007. The results are published together with the social and population data in the Gladbeck Family Report. The needs of the population identified in the report serve as a basis for family-friendly measures in politics and administration.
  2. Award for family-friendly employer
    Since 2017, the city of Gladbeck has honored family-friendly employers every two years. Employers apply with a questionnaire and are visited by two members of the jury.

    Family-friendly aspects that are recognized are
    - Support for working parents and employees with caring responsibilities,
    - health promotion and
    - general offers for employee satisfaction.

    The award is valid for 4 years. After re-certification, a permanent award is then possible.
  3. Gladbeck Alliance for Families
    In 2005, stakeholders from municipal institutions, social and welfare associations, independent organizations and local business leaders founded the Gladbeck Alliance for Families. In five workshops, experts from the various fields meet several times a year and develop project ideas to promote and support families and children.

    The topics of the workshops are: School and youth welfare, early education, exercise and health, cultural education, as well as migration and living together.

The other 2024 award-winning municipalities

The cities of Hamm and Brühl, the district of Düren with its 15 towns belonging to the district and the municipalities of Windeck and Dörentrup were also recognized for their innovative, family-friendly offers . These range from family-oriented intergenerational projects to family-friendly town halls.

  • Hamm

    Family community 2024: focus on family friendliness

  • Brühl

    Family Municipality 2024: Committed to a child- and people-friendly city

  • Düren district

    Family Municipality 2024: An attractive living environment for families

Further information Offers for families in Gladbeck

The Gladbeck Family Report, in which around 1,000 families provided information about their living situation, has provided the city with important answers and highlighted areas in which the city can continue to improve.

Gladbeck family report

The aim of the "Family-friendly employer" award is to certify family-friendly companies that are committed to reconciling family and career.

Award and certification

The Gladbeck Alliance for Family, Education, Training, Future is an association of many social groups with the aim of further improving the situation for families in Gladbeck.

Gladbeck Alliance for Families

Further information Links to read more

"We live diversity": Under this motto, the Ministry of Family Affairs in North Rhine-Westphalia has announced a state prize for municipalities that are particularly committed to meeting the needs of families.

State prize for municipalities Press release from September 18, 2024

Whether living together in different lifestyles and households, the diversity of family life, different educational and employment biographies or different immigration histories: Diversity is part of North Rhine-Westphalia's DNA.

Diversity in NRW: facts and figures