WIR – Wülfrather Ideen Räume

WIR – Wülfrather Ideen Räume (literally "WIR – Wülfrath Ideas Spaces") is a civic initiative and registered association (eingetragener Verein) based in Wülfrath, a town in the Mettmann district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The name is programmatic: "WIR" means "we" in German, and the association describes itself as Wülfrath residents who have ideas and create spaces. Its members are local clubs and organisations active in art, culture, technology/Freifunk, music, sport and health, and social affairs, alongside numerous individuals with expertise in education, skilled trades, and IT. The association was founded in 2020 with the goal of giving the people of Wülfrath a meeting place and a point of encounter in a central location. It operates the WIR-Haus at Wilhelmstraße 189 as a community-oriented meeting venue. The building had stood empty for years before the association filled it with life, an example of grassroots urban development. Members manage the house themselves, support one another, and carry out smaller maintenance and tasks communally or on a voluntary basis. A board elected by the members handles business matters, while interested participants contribute their know-how in teams and individual projects. WIR's programme is broad and locally rooted. It hosts a small-stage (Kleinkunstbühne) programme with cabaret and music acts, family cinema once a month in the WIR-Haus, and community events. The association also engages with digital sovereignty: it participates in the DI.Day and presents alternatives to apps and services from large tech companies, aiming for greater independence from Google, Facebook, WhatsApp, Microsoft and others. The WIR-Haus is a venue for concerts, readings, film screenings, and neighbourhood gatherings, and the association maintains a Satzung (statutes) dated 20 November 2020, a Vorstand (board), and a Nutzerrat (users' council). As a small, volunteer-driven local initiative, WIR is not a commercial company in the conventional sense, but it functions as a brand-like civic platform with a distinct identity, venue, and programme. Its activities are concentrated in Wülfrath and the surrounding area, and its communication is primarily in German through its website wir-wuelfrath.de.

WIR – Wülfrather Ideen Räume was founded in 2020 as a registered association (Wülfrather Ideen Räume e. V.) by Wülfrath residents who wanted to create a central meeting place for the town. The initiative's name is literal: "WIR" means "we", and the founders described themselves as Wülfrath people who have ideas and create spaces. The association brought together local clubs from art, culture, technology/Freifunk, music, sport and health, and social sectors, as well as individuals with expertise in education, skilled trades, and IT. The association took over a building at Wilhelmstraße 189 that had been vacant for years and transformed it into the WIR-Haus, a community-oriented meeting venue. This was framed as "lived urban development" (gelebte Stadtentwicklung), aimed at revitalising the Innenstadt quarter and providing a point of contact for diverse uses. Members manage the house themselves, support each other, and carry out smaller maintenance tasks communally or voluntarily. A board elected by the members handles business affairs, and interested participants contribute through teams and individual projects. The association's statutes (Satzung) are dated 20 November 2020. Since its founding, WIR has developed a varied programme. It operates a small-stage (Kleinkunstbühne) for cabaret and music, hosts a monthly family cinema in the WIR-Haus, and organises community events. It also engages with digital sovereignty, participating in DI.Day and promoting alternatives to major tech platforms. The WIR-Haus has hosted artists such as cabaret performer René Steinberg and the music-cabaret duo Mackefisch. The association maintains a Vorstand (board) and a Nutzerrat (users' council), and continues to be run by volunteers.

• 2020

  Wülfrather Ideen Räume e. V. founded

• 2020

  Statutes adopted on 20 November 2020

• 2020

  WIR-Haus at Wilhelmstraße 189 opened as community venue

Non-profit, community-oriented meeting place and cultural venue in central Wülfrath, run by and for local residents.

• WIR-Haus venue

  Community-oriented meeting place at Wilhelmstraße 189, Wülfrath.

• Kleinkunstbühne programme

  Small-stage performances including cabaret and music.

• Monthly family cinema

  Free family film screenings once a month at the WIR-Haus.

1. 1Startseite - WIR-Wülfrathwir-wuelfrath.de
2. 2Über uns - WIR-Wülfrathwir-wuelfrath.de
3. 3Wikidata Q138822413wikidata.org