Michael Wübbold
Conflict Manager , City of Munich, Social Department , AKIM - All Party Conflict Management in Munich
Munich, Germany
About
Michael Wübbold is a conflict manager and certified mediator with the city of Munich. He specializes in mediating (night-time) conflicts at AKIM – All Party Conflict Management in Munich and was involved creating the new office MoNa. He is responsible, among other things, for organizing a growing number of networking events for participants from Germany, Austria and Switzerland to exchange best practices on dialogical conflict management in public spaces.
Dealing with the effects of Mediterraneanization in the public space in Munich
The use of public space in Munich has changed in recent years and is becoming more and more Mediterraneanized, especially at nights. This frequently clashes with the need for peace and quiet, cleanliness and security of the area‘s residents and of other users of the same spaces.
In order to counter these developments not exclusively repressively, the office “AKIM – All Party Conflict Management in Munich” was set up to intervene in a mediating and reassuring manner in the event of conflicts over the use of public space.
AKIM, also giving feedback to the administration and politics, initiated a city-wide decision of the city council regarding nightlife conflicts. As a result a new specialist unit „MoNa – Moderation of the night“ was created in 2021, similar to the night mayors in other cities. First activities such as open air clubs or city-wide working groups developed in cooperation with all stakeholders, including night culture.
Other administrative offices also contributed to the new night strategy i.e. with installations of easy-to-maintain chillout boxes for young people.
Where are we currently and what are the next steps?
