International Conference “On the Road to Paris”

Certainly one of the highlights in 2015: 25 participants from all over the world, from Indonesia to Peru, from Poland to Zimbabwe – a truly global community invited by Friedrich Ebert Foundation to gather in Berlin and discuss international climate policies/politics and develop possible alternative paths.

For planpolitik it was a unique opportunity to use almost its entire portfolio: first a three week online phase on our simulation platform for pre negotiations, followed by a face-to-face simulation game in Berlin. Thereafter an ideas lab in which participants developed ideas for an alternative climate policy. Here, our most recent achievement has had its first appearance: the “conference app” which allows to feed in ideas online and then comment on them. We are delighted that the app fulfilled its purpose. It will be further developed on the basis of these first experiences and will be used again very soon. The best ideas of the conference will be published in a small documentation in the coming weeks on this site.

Developing simulation game for Bayer AG

In pharmaceutical companies, the journey from an initial idea to the final product can take as long as twelve years. Usually, several possible approaches are developed. But only one drug makes it through all the tests and meets all the requirements of effectivity and tolerability. For Bayer HealthCare, we are developing a simulation game aimed at demonstrating the complexity of developing pharmaceuticals to medical students. The first test run will take place in Boston – without us, unfortunately. Instead we will show Bayer employees how to facilitate the game before.

EDC for All – the final push!

For “Education for Democratic Citizenship for All” – one of our three EU projects – we are getting close to the finishing line. The final meeting, which took place in Faro/Portugal at the end of September, was very constructive and thanks to its proximity to the Atlantic afforded us some quality leisure time too. But now planpolitik once again has to prove itself in a new field, namely the production of 150 game boxes. 50 boxes each in English, Portuguese and German will be produced. They will contain the two games S*Intro and Ja!Do, both developed by planpolitik. This means ordering and packaging 90.000 game pieces over the next few weeks.

We will, of course, inform you as soon as the boxes are ready to go. We are planning to complete the game boxes by Christmas. The website edcforall.eu currently still has a slightly makeshift feel, but in December it will simultaneously feature online versions of the games!

Only a matter of faith?

In our newly developed simulation game about the fictional play “A Matter of Faith”, things get rather heated. Controversial representations and depictions of Mohammed and other important religious figures are causing a dispute about freedom of speech and artistic expression: What is reasonable? Which religious feelings should art respect? Is freedom of opinion being used as an excuse for resentments towards Muslims? The heated atmosphere is further fuelled by fictional warning by the domestic secret service.

By the end, one thing is clear – there is no perfect solution. This was the conclusion arrived at by around 40 participants during the Berlin edition of the “Young Islam Conference” at the end of an intense day at the town hall of the district of Neukölln. The Young Islam Conference aims to ignite discussions about issues related to minorities and Islam. This year, planpolitik will be part of the Hamburg conference for the first time, with a simulation game on the topic of building mosques.