Stengeforter Neiegkeeten N°110 - Décembre 2022

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English version Stengeforter Neiegkeeten N°110

Edito by Sammy Wagner, mayor of the Steinfort Municipality

Dear fellow citizens,

How time flies! In the February edition of our "Stengeforter Neiegkeeten" magazine, I was a young mayor, in this edition, a few months later, I am a young father (and proud of it)! A lot has happened in the past few months at the municipal level: the municipality has presented the project for the new cultural centre, together with you we have worked on the mobility concept, our team has grown steadily, various events have been organised... With the introduction of our new logo, the look of our municipal publications has been refreshed and, as you can see, our magazine also received a makeover!

It was interesting to see how our municipality, together with our citizens, woke up from the long slumber of the COVID during this year. If in 2021 we were already able to celebrate the one or another event (e.g. Summer um Weier and Christmas Market) with our citizens, this year we were really able to start again!

We started off gently with the presentation of the citizen participation project, which was broadcast live. Slowly but surely, other live events of all kinds were added over the months: theatre, babysitting classes, a walk on International Women's Day, Grouss Botz, reading, the Elsy Jacobs Festival, ... We present you in this edition a retrospective in the form of articles and photo reports!

Your opinion is very important to me and to our aldermanic college. That is why I would like to mention here the various information meetings and workshops on different topics. These events are intended to involve you, our citizens, as much as possible in the development of our municipality and to enable us to find the best solutions together for Steinfort. In this spirit, the consultations of the aldermen's college take again place on Saturday mornings, where each of you can come to the town hall without an appointment, on Saturday mornings (except during school holidays) between 9:30 and 11:30. It is indeed essential for us to know the opinion of our fellow citizens on various subjects.

At this point, I would also like to thank, on behalf of the College of Aldermen, all the municipal services, without which the events of the year would not have been possible. And of course a big thank you to all of you, because without you, our citizens, our events would not be the success they are!

It only remains for me to wish you an excellent reading of our magazine "Stengeforter Neiegkeeten"!

***

Portrait of Andy Gilberts,
first alderman of the Steinfort Municipality

Andy Gilberts (dei gréng) officially took over the position of first alderman from his predecessor, Yann Wunsch, on the 12th of October 2018. The environmental physicist oversees the following topics in the College of Aldermen: environment, climate, mobility, school transport, integration, senior citizens, sport, agriculture, waste management and cemeteries.

In the College of Aldermen, the vote of the first alderman has the same weight as the one of the mayor or the second alderwoman. All decisions must be taken by at least two aldermen. The difference between the 1st alderman and 2nd alderwoman is that if the mayor is unavailable, the 1st alderman takes over.

After 4 years in the role of 1st alderman, it is time we got to know Andy Gilberts a little bit better.

Describe yourself in a few words:

1m94, light brown hair...

Helpful, confident, flexible, practice-oriented and funny, as you may already have noticed in the first part of the answer!

How do you reconcile your job as a physics teacher with your role as 1st alderman?

As a scientist, I have learned to understand technical information. To keep up to date, you must constantly train and keep informed. During my teacher training, I have also acquired some basic psychological knowledge. At the municipality, I get an insight into many different professions, which enables me to better advise my students.

What is your favourite invention and why?

Toilet paper, for obvious reasons.

Could you have imagined as a teenager that you would be active in politics as an adult? If so, why?

Not at all. I was certainly involved in the social field as an animator in summer camps for Caritas during my school holidays. Walking the streets like a penguin in a suit and tie (my idea of politics by then, see picture above) did not fit me at all. My interests at the time were mainly focused on sports and partying.

What does sustainability mean to you?

Sustainability means questioning all of one's actions while taking the most sustainable path possible. This is usually not the easiest nor the most pleasant way and for me it involves that certain situations give me a bad conscience.

What does integration mean to you?

In sociology, integration means the end of the state of exclusion and separation (source: Wikipedia) and is usually related to migrants. In Steinfort, we go further and implement the “Pact vum Zesummeliewen” (editor’s note: pact for living together).  In this way, we support the development of an inclusive society for young and elderly, for old and new citizens, for men, women and non-binary people.

How do you see the development of our municipality in the next 10 years?

In 10 years, we will have modern school and sports facilities, a new cultural centre, a new hospital as well as a new fire station. People will be cycling on our extensive cycling network and we will also have enough parking spaces throughout the municipality for their hydrogen cars and everyone will be happy and satisfied.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I don’t plan that far ahead. Except, of course, that I will still be happily married.

First alderman Andy Gilberts in private

What three things would you take with you to a desert island?
Sunscreen and a seaworthy boat. Those two things are enough on their own. I’ll take that joker when it comes to choosing between beer and wine.

Would you rather have coffee or tea?
Coffee

Beer or wine?
Joker

Sports or music?
When I was young, I played trumpet and percussion. At some point, I gave up music for volleyball. Since my knees and shoulders no longer cooperate, I've been content to watch sports or listen to music.

Heart or head?
In the heart. In the head will make too much of a bloody mess.

Traditional daily newspaper or online media?
Online. But I'm always happy to read the paper version.

Summer or winter?
Summer, from July 15th to September 15th

Mountain or beach?
Mountain. It's too hot at the beach and way too boring.

Cat or dog?
We live with two cats. Fibi and Fatzi.

Get up early or sleep late?
Get up early and enjoy the morning silence. I use the time to do the dishes. Usually, when I finish vacuuming, the silence is over and the rest of the family gets up.

Theatre or movies?
Movies. We already have enough theatre in the municipal council