The world has not become more peaceful.

Rather the opposite seems to be the case.

And that despite the fact that for almost five decades pioneers and thoughtful people, admonishers and optimists, revolutionaries and realos have been gathering at Pentecost for a multi-day exchange of ideas in the Mainz citadel.

During the Open Ear Festival, they work together to develop useful suggestions, such as a fair society, harmonious coexistence or – although everything is usually connected with everything else – a way of life that is geared towards sustainability and climate protection.

Markus Schug

Correspondent Rhein-Main-Süd.

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The seven newcomers, who were responsible for the program of the four-day youth culture festival for the first time after a two-year Corona break, had agreed months ago that this time taxes and tax justice would be the priority.

Which only seemed a bit “brittle” at first glance.

"I can do more.

More than most of you!

And I'm in favor of it, even if it affects me," Stefanie Bremer assured on Sunday afternoon on the podium on the small stage, where "prosperity and fair division" was discussed in a pleasantly factual and competent manner.

From sign language to yoga

The young woman in her early thirties, who is involved in the "taxmenow" initiative founded by several wealthy people, says of herself that, as an heiress to millions, she was simply "lucky in the birth lottery".

Because in Germany more property has long been inherited than earned, it is high time that the state started right there.

The rules that have applied to date, according to which larger inheritances – including family businesses – are often taxed less than smaller inheritances, further exacerbate the imbalance.

According to the initiative, what the courts have repeatedly judged to be unconstitutional.

As those affected, Bremer and her comrades-in-arms are committed to overturning tax privileges for the super-rich in order to compensate for unequal living conditions.

About 70 percent of the population are "losers", i.e. belong to those who get nothing in the "lottery of life".

Anyone who doesn't want to wait any longer for things to get better had the opportunity to get practical tips and personal tax advice at the 48th Open Ear Festival, which probably attracted more than 10,000 visitors from Friday to Monday in the fortress at the Roman Theater.

Among other things, in the workshop on “Tax tips for artists” offered by tax specialist and poetry slammer Andreas In der Au, which was informative and helpful and ultimately also very entertaining.

Anyone who didn’t just want to chill on the main meadow, but also wanted to learn a little something, had an impressively wide selection at the Open Ear, which has almost no corona requirements: a short introduction to sign language here, yoga or dance meditation there, or rather a Tour through the underground passages of the fortress and the wild green citadel moat.

Toilet queues are part of the feeling

Because the feared storm did not materialize and the rain showers spread out in tolerable sequences over the four days of the festival, the organizers - i.e. the seven volunteer representatives of the Freie Projektgruppe and the team from the Mainz youth welfare office led by Marcus Hansen - were very satisfied and recognizable in the final festival review relieved.

The fact that there were fewer food stands than before and therefore sometimes long queues was due to short-term cancellations by providers who apparently still lacked staff after Corona.

By doing without large tents, it was prevented that too many people might have stayed too close and too long in rooms that were difficult to ventilate.

And the long queues in front of the women's toilets, apart from a few better years, were part of the open-ear feeling right from the start.

The logistics had become more expensive in a number of places, it said in the maneuver criticism.

And because toilet containers are increasingly being set up on large construction sites on a long-term basis, it is difficult to find enough sanitary facilities for a festival.

A third of the budget, which according to youth department head Eckart Lensch (SPD) is currently 380,000 euros, was available for the artists and their programs: starting with Fredrik Vahle, whose songs like "Anne Kaffeekanne" were able to inspire all generations at the family festival, up to to "Eight Bucket Chicken Hearts" which, as the top act on Sunday evening, were 100 percent subject to amusement tax.