FAQ – frequently asked questions

Ehrentag is a day for getting involved across Germany on the anniversary of the Basic Law. It will take
place for the first time on Saturday, 23 May 2026.

On this day, everyone is invited to roll up their sleeves, to do something for the common good and
embrace social interaction – thus celebrating the anniversary of the Basic Law.

Ehrentag volunteers’ day. For you. For us. For everyone.

Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is the initiator and patron of Ehrentag, which is being
realised in cooperation with the German Foundation for Civic Engagement and Volunteering
(DSEE).

The further organisation of Ehrentag will be carried out – on a voluntary basis – by numerous
organisations large and small, as well as associations and individuals, municipalities, companies and
educational institutions throughout the country.

In line with their interests and capabilities, they will get involved, organise local activities, help with
funding or provide assistance with advertising.

Private individuals, neighbourhoods and groups of friends can also organise activities and invite
others to participate.

Join in! Ehrentag is what you make of it.

With Ehrentag, we are celebrating our Basic Law. Moreover, Ehrentag pays tribute to voluntary
engagement and invites everyone to get stuck in. It demonstrates just how much strength, fun and
personal development can be derived from social interaction and how important this is for our
democracy. At the end of the day, democracy depends on people getting involved.

Ehrentag brings people together – regardless of their age, place of residence or origin. With small,
fun and joint activities, it also reaches people who have not been involved in volunteer work before.

And it shows that volunteering has many faces.

Last but not least, working for the common good strengthens us all: the feeling of being able to
shape our own world; the sense of belonging; trust in society – thus keeping democracy alive.

Everyone in Germany can take part in the celebrations marking the anniversary of the Basic Law,
regardless of age, place of residence or origin.

There are various ways to do this.
You can get involved in activities that are taking place locally or online. Most of these activities will be
listed in the Engagement-Finder on ehrentag.de. Or keep your eyes and ears open concerning
initiatives being announced in your area.

You can also get creative and organise an activity yourself. Invite others to join you in working for a
good cause – for the environment, for your association, for a cultural project, for the socially
disadvantaged. You can find out how to do this below.

There are activities for all ages on Ehrentag.

If you are still very young, why not do something together with your family on Ehrentag? Or in a
group, for example with your sports association, at the volunteer fire brigade, the music school or
the church community?

School classes and nursery groups can also take part together – either by joining an activity or with
their own idea for a good deed.

No, registering an activity for Ehrentag does not cost any money. And participating usually does not
cost anything either.

However, depending on what kind of activity you are planning, you may need financial resources.

You can read more about funding below.

There are many ways to get involved in Ehrentag. Starting with your organisation’s own project that
it implements on Ehrentag, through various collaborations, to financial support for the day itself.

Perhaps one of the events that you are already planning would be a good fit? Every approach and
every project idea is welcome. Feel free to talk to us.

What can you do? A great deal:

•  An intergenerational reading day.
• An ideas competition for Ehrentag within your company.
• Use the reach of your social media channels and organise a fundraising campaign.
• Give volunteers in your company a platform.
• Offer free advice to associations or neighbours.
• As a tech company, design an app for a social project.
• Make your premises or employees available for a local activity.
• Make advertising space available for Ehrentag.
• Provide financial support for Ehrentag.

There are so many more ideas – and the best one is yours.

Ehrentag is a great opportunity to showcase your work, motivate your own people and attract new
volunteers.

It is a PR opportunity. Both internally and externally, companies can demonstrate their commitment
to democracy and social cohesion, highlighting and raising awareness of their own programmes and
products. The nationwide campaign for Ehrentag reinforces your messaging.

Show your partners, press contacts, members, employees, followers and your entire network that
you are committed to a good cause. Reach out to new target groups and expand your network even
further.

There is no deadline for participating in Ehrentag. You can take the initiative at any time, just as long
as you leave yourself enough time to organise.

We are currently discussing ideas with Ehrentag supporters and anyone who would like to become
one. We offer advice, online seminars and workshops – for example, on how to find good ideas for
activities or network with like-minded people.

The most important features are available on the ehrentag.de website, including a marketing toolkit
with everything you need to promote your activity. There is also an Engagement-Finder where you
can register your activity so that interested parties can find it.

The public campaign will be launched nationwide in spring 2026. It will include PR, advertising, social
media posts and much more. Anyone who is organising an activity on Ehrentag can join in with their
advertising.

Ehrentag itself is taking place on 23 May 2026 and the whole of Germany is getting involved. With
combined forces and united by this great idea, your activities and projects will come to life.

Do you already have an idea? Great! If not, you can find inspiration and good examples at
ehrentag.de.

Here are just a few of them: a tree planting campaign, an inclusive football tournament, a street
party, an encouraging post on Instagram, a joint litter collection, a games evening in a retirement
home, a reading hour at the church hall, IT support for your club. Knock yourself out.

You don’t have to register your activity anywhere – there is no central committee that selects
activities. Any activity that celebrates our democracy and the values of our community is welcome.

Spontaneous activities are also possible. Just bear in mind that you may need time to plan and
promote your activity.

You can enter your activity in the Engagement-Finder so that interested parties can find it. This is not a substitute for your own local advertising – read on below to find out how we can support you with
this.

Even if your activity is only small, it is very welcome.

There are countless ways to raise awareness of your activity, many of which are free of charge.

Depending on who you want to reach, different channels are particularly suitable: posters, flyers in letterboxes, email newsletters, social media, chat groups, press releases, personal announcements,
e.g. at general meetings.

We can offer you some support here.

• At ehrentag.de, you can find a toolkit that you can use to create your advertising using the Ehrentag design. You can use it to make flyers, posters and banners for your website and social media – genuine eye-catchers.
• Enter your activity in the Engagement-Finder at ehrentag.de so that interested parties can find it.
• Content that you can share is posted on a regular basis on the Ehrentag social media
  channels.
• Subscribe to the newsletter for information about Ehrentag (in German language).
• The newsletter will keep you informed about the dates of community calls, online seminars and workshops that you can participate in (in German language). You can also find more information here on ehrentag.de.

Depending on what kind of activity you are planning, you may need financial resources. This is where
you need to get creative and join forces with others. For example, you can approach local businesses
to see if they would like to support your activity – whether financially, with donations in kind or
through active support.

The DSEE is planning its own small funding programme for Ehrentag projects.

The DSEE website also features further helpful information for your own fundraising activities as well
as an extensive database to search for funding.

Ehrentag is taking place throughout Germany on the anniversary of the Basic Law – 23 May. You can,
of course, plan activities for Ehrentag in the runup to it or afterwards in order to celebrate our
constitution.

You can enter activities in the Engagement-Finder for the period from 16 to 31 May.

Our Ehrentag campaign will support your activity over the course of these two weeks. If you are active in the community beyond this period, that’s great. Your commitment strengthens democracy and social interaction at all times.

Ehrentag complements existing activities, each of which has its own focus, and is not intended to replace or compete with other action days.

Ehrentag is also intended to serve as an umbrella and lever for other action days – after all, social interaction cannot be celebrated often enough.

Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is the initiator and patron of Ehrentag, which is being realised in cooperation with the German Foundation for Civic Engagement and Volunteering (DSEE).

Both the Office of the Federal President and the DSEE are making financial contributions to organising Ehrentag.

Further funding is provided by partners and supporters. So far, the Deutsche Postcode Lottery, the
ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS, Aktion Mensch, Mc Donald’s Germany, the DFB foundations and the Stiftung der Nationalmannschaft (national team foundation) are on board as official partners.

If you would like to support Ehrentag financially, please write to us at ehrentag@d-s-e-e.de.

Enquiries can be sent to the Ehrentag team at the DSEE at ehrentag@d-s-e-e.de.