St Vincent de Paul class visits the town hall

Mayor Michael Gerdhenrich answered questions from the pupils of the Vinzenz-von-Paul School during their visit to the town hall.

8 May 2023
School class with the mayor
  • From left: Mirac, Fabian, teacher Marieke Weitenberg, Maxim, Denni, Burak, Mayor Michael Gerdhenrich, Gabriel, Maline, Florian, teacher Sabine Ben Romdhane and FSJ volunteer Finja Menne.

What are the duties of a mayor? What do you do in the citizens' office? And what actually happens at the registry office? These and other questions were asked by pupils from the practical vocational level of the Vinzenz-von-Paul School accompanied by their teachers Sabine Ben Romdhane and Marieke Weitenberg as well as FSJ volunteer Finja Menne during their visit to Beckum town hall.

School class in the wedding room of the registry office
Rita Ahlmer reports on her work at the registry office.

Welcome from the mayor
Firstly, Mayor Michael Gerdhenrich welcomed the young people and answered their questions. He described his everyday working life, how he became mayor and how old you have to be to become mayor.

What are the tasks of the Citizens' Office?
Mareike Berkhoff then provided information about the tasks of the Citizens' Office. It is the first port of call for citizens, a lost property office and a shop for event tickets and souvenirs. In the registry office's wedding room, registrar Rita Ahlmer explained the requirements for a marriage and listed the city's wedding venues. The registrar also looked for and found a birth certificate of one of the attendants from 2003, when Beckum hospital still had a maternity ward. In around an hour of their visit, the pupils were given an informative insight into the work of a municipal administration.