Representing my employer, frog design, I was honored to participate in the "Next Generation Germany" initiative. Jointly hosted by four leading German trend research institutes, the Innovation Council of the Endowment Foundation of German Sciences, the Bohnen Kallmorgen & Partners political consultancy, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Next Generation Germany initiative was launched on the occasion of the Federal Republic of Germany's 60th anniversary to enable an interdisciplinary dialogue with civil society and develop a guiding vision for Germany in the year 2030. Key themes and findings of the hearings were presented today at the Future Congress in Berlin. A book documenting the exchange in full detail will be published at the end of June.
The hearings took place between February and April at the Federal Chancellery in Berlin and brought together academics and practitioners from a variety of sectors. Participants represented science, media, NGOs, and corporations, including Allianz Group, Ars Electronica, Bertelsmann Foundation, Brand Eins, Club of Rome, DEKRA, Die Zeit, Free University Berlin, Folkwang Design School, German Center for Social Progress, German-French Center for Social Studies, German Institute for Community Organizing, Trendbuero, and Vodafone Foundation.
The German government is well-advised to embrace open innovation and new digital technologies. Barack Obama's new media-based campaign has fostered the momentum for using the Internet to reach, engage, and mobilize political constituents. Governments worldwide are now exploring the possibilities of social media and mobile communications to enhance their outreach. Citizens, on the other side, expect technology to introduce more transparency to governance and to empower them to actively participate in the agenda-setting and policy-making process.
Self-organization, open- and crowdsourcing, and social networks are enabling new forms of civic collaboration and government-citizen interaction. The innovative use of digital technologies, in particular the mobile and social web, can generate empathy and empower citizens to engage in the political process - both of which are key factors in ensuring leadership, social coherence, and a high quality of life in Germany and around the world.
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