The state should be transparent, not the people.

Transparency is the basis for trust. If people are supposed to understand political decisions, they need access to information: not as piles of files, but in a way that lets non-insiders see what is at stake, who is responsible, what it costs and which decision follows. ## Our transparency package for Oldenburg - a council and project dashboard: motion, committee, decision, implementation, cost status and responsible office in one trace - a budget dashboard with investments, grants, municipal companies, reserves, risks and follow-up costs - publication of relevant reports, contracts and decision documents wherever legally possible - machine-readable open data interfaces for budget, mobility, climate, participation and urban development - clear labelling of open issues, risks, conflicts of interest and review mandates - accessible summaries for people who cannot or do not want to read administrative PDFs Oldenburg already publishes a lot of information. Our goal is the next step: information should not merely exist somewhere, but be connected, searchable and understandable.