DSC News brings us to the very west of Germany, this time to visit DSC Cologne. “It takes a long time to build a group. There are new people every time, some of them don’t come back after their first meeting, but others become very committed.” This is how Klemens Surmann describes his experience of the founding of the DSC in Rhineland.
It was Klemens who produced the first impulse to start this DSC in the forum on the official DiEM25 website, calling for all comrades in the area to begin having a regular get-together. People reacted quickly, but it took some time to find the right interval and the best timeslot. “Our strength here is perseverance, even if we are just two, the meeting takes place,” is how he summarizes his recipe for success.However, a core group not of two but of 15 people has now been formed and is meeting biweekly. The Facebook group for DiEM25 Rhineland now has 130 subscribers and the group is very international with a very broad age range.
At the beginning of every get-together we discuss a subject and a summary is published in the forum and on Facebook for those who could not participate.
Let’s save Europe from the dictatorship of money?
What DiEM25 actually is and whether it has the goal of being a party have been points of debate among the participants. The motivation was part of the reflection too. Do we just want to discuss things or actually do something? The first step agreed upon by the group was to define our positions and to compare them with the Manifesto. Today, the group has moved to the next stage and is now working on the so-called “policy papers”.
Klemens’ personal motivationcomes out like a shot: “to save Europe from the dictatorship of money and to say it plain and simple.” The foundation of the European Union was that of a peace community which worked well. Then the bureaucrats and monetary policy increasingly took power and worked against the interests of the people. As a result, the Union is perceived increasingly negatively.

DiEM25 speaks…
Does this sound like armchair politics? It certainly isn’t. To date, the main action in the short history of this DSC has been the cooperation with “Köln spricht” (Cologne speaks), a kind of speakers’ corner, which is very active and very successful. On peak days, there are up to 150 visitors and the DSC in Cologne regularly makes presentations and prepares written material.Cooperation and mutual support is very important for Klemens. He stays in close contact with the Ruhr regional group and is helping to found a new DSC in Bonn.

A special highlight for him was the meeting with Yanis Varoufakis at the end of October in Bonn. The small bar didn’t have space for more than 15 people. There could have easily been 50 of us. The meeting lasted over 3 hours. “Yanis made a good impression, he is very connected to the base and has feasible ideas” is his personal conclusion of the evening.

Let’s help each other
Are you a DiEM25 member but not active yet because there’s no DSC close to you? Hopefully this story inspires you to start one. If not YOU, who else? Count on our help, just ask for it at volunteer@diem25.org

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