Meet More Than 150 Speakers

Two weeks from today we will meet again – both live in person and online via our livestream! With us are more than 150 speakers from 36 countries in over 60 programme sessions.

Join us in Berlin!

Join us online!

Today we want to introduce you to our very first Creative Bureaucracy Award Young Faces – Young Spaces in collaboration with the Hertie Foundation. Find more information below and dive into further programme highlights awaiting you on 2 June. Meet our speakers by browsing through the speakers list on our website and plan your festival experience with the help of our dedicated programme calendar.

Have fun!

YOUNG FACES – YOUNG SPACES

This year, the brand new Creative Bureaucracy Award Young Faces – Young Spaces will be presented at the festival for the first time.

The award will be given to a creative collaboration that involves young people in the design of public space. It is made possible by support from the Hertie Foundation whose project “Youth Decides” sees local politicians delegate real decisions to 12-17-year-olds. Experience shows that both sides benefit immensely from the collaboration.

The idea for the award was born to honour pioneers and inspire imitators. The laudation will be held by the German Federal Minister of Construction, Klara Geywitz. Stay tuned for the winners!

MORE PROGRAMME TO EXPLORE

FESTIVAL MAINSTAGE

🗓 The Bold Bureaucracy: Changing the System | English (Thu, 2 June, 11:00 – 11:50 CEST)

Tackling the biggest challenges of our time will require a systems-based approach. What does this mean in practice? Here are four powerful examples.

Under strain from overlapping crises, can global bureaucracies renew themselves? If so, where do you start? Drawing on his work with governments around the world, Giulio Quaggiotto points to possible answers.
Anir Chowdhury shares Bangladesh’s remarkable development journey towards citizen-friendly public service innovations and simplified governance.
Unlocking an effective civil service depends on quality politicians. Why? And what would it take to have more of them? Apolitical Foundation founder Lisa Witter can tell you more.
Our current economic systems are creating crises rather than solving them. How can we change this? Johannes Nuutinen from Demos Helsinki highlights examples of New Economic Thinking in action.
More…

🗓 The Self-Enabling Bureaucracy: Working from Agile to Army | German (Thu, 2 June, 14:00 – 14:50 CEST)

Presentations by courageous bureaucrats who managed to turn the mindset of entire organisations upside down.

ADMINIMUM is a remedy and prevention against bureaucratism in the Bundeswehr. Sandra Acksel and Gesine Elste-Naerger highlight its effect.
“Link and Learn – Einfach.Mal.Machen”! continues with a Bundeswehr project. Christina Glückler and Aline Dobrovsky tell us what is made easy with the platform for agile collaboration.
Astrid Beger from the German Association for Project Management shows what it means to organise projects in a people-oriented way. What sounds so simple is actually a utopia, yet it is a start we should all dare to make.
In the fourth talk, the heat is on – the Agile Coaches of the BMAS (Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs) spill the beans! About: their toolbox for modern work.
More…

See more mainstage sessions

FESTIVAL BOWL

🗓 Don’t Be Afraid of Big Animals! A Contribution to Demystifying Aid and Budget Law in IP Transfer | German (Thu, 2 June, 10:00 – 10:50 CEST)In this session SPRIND and other renowned law firms want to help demystify state aid and budgetary law, eliminate uncertainties, and highlight the legal leeway that enables startup-friendly IP transfer in spin-offs. More…

🗓 Sharing Power: Moving Beyond Tokenism to Collaborative Empowerment | English (Thu, 2 June, 15:00 – 15:50 CEST)
Directly involving citizens from all walks of life in public decision-making and more open government is a mantra of our times. Yet so often this rhetoric falls far from reflecting reality. How can we break down institutional barriers to a wider adoption of empowered participation with citizens? More…

see more bowl sessions

FESTIVAL SEMINAR

🗓 New Ways To Cooperate | German (Thu, 2 June, 11:00 – 11:50 CEST)
The public sector faces a dilemma when it comes to digitalisation: on the one hand, it needs to develop its own expertise, on the other, it needs to harness external innovative power. We will examine the conditions under which it makes sense to develop in-house and when private players should be involved. More…

🗓 Doughnut Economics in Action: How Can True Smart Cities Use the Doughnut and its Data to Thrive in Balance? | English (Thu, 2 June, 12:00 – 12:50 CEST)
Can the Doughnut help municipalities worldwide to become true smart cities? Leaders from Berlin, Frankfurt, Brussels and the Doughnut Economics Action Lab share their experiences of using the Doughnut Economics model to guide and measure their sustainable development. More…

see more seminar sessions

NETWORKING LOUNGE

🗓 Mini-Publics: Drivers of the Great Transformation | German (Thu, 2 June, 11:00 – 11:30 & 15:30 – 16:00 CEST)
Join us for an interactive discussion on the concept and examples of “Mini-Publics” and examples from practice. Short inputs, including from the Klimabürger:innenrat Berlin (citizens’ council on climate), will examine innovative models for democratic citizen participation and their impact on the “Great Transformation”. More…

🗓 Shaping the Future of the Creative Bureaucracy Movement | English (Thu, 2 June, 14:00 – 14:50 CEST)
Are you interested in helping to shape the future of the Creative Bureaucracy movement? Then join this discussion led by our Circle of Friends on where things could go next and how you can be involved. More…

see more networking lounge sessions

CBF ACADEMY

The Academy offers the opportunity to explore a topic interactively in a 90-minute workshop. This year’s four workshops focus on #DemocratisingTransformation at four levels: local, regional, continental, and planetary. The first two take place in German, the second two in English.

🗓 Democratising Transformation – Financing Infrastructure Transitions | English (Thu, 2 June, 14:00 – 15:30 CEST)
We look at a future that requires massive public investment. What is needed to create a balanced approach between public and private capital to finance infrastructure transitions? How could we democratise this process? This workshop looks at #DemocratisingTransformation at a European level. More…

🗓 Democratising Transformation – Spurring Learning at Planetary Scale | English (Thu, 2 June, 16:00 – 17:30 CEST)
From crisis response to long term risk management – how can we establish new relationships to energy and resources to better care for future generations? How can we evaluate systemic capabilities between state and society? This workshop looks at #DemocratisingTransformation at planetary scale. More…

see all academy workshops

GARDEN & RIVERBANK

🗓 The “Tiny Town Hall” Rethinks What a Town Hall Can Do | German (Thu, 2 June, 11:00 – 11:50 CEST)
The “Tiny Town Hall” offers a space to network with local actors, where innovative projects can be presented and participation can take place. They are joining us at the festival to share their approaches and experiences while also getting inspired by other projects. More…

🗓 E-Government Office Hours | German (Thu, 2 June, 13:00 – 17:00 CEST)
Have you always wanted to ask the scientists at Fraunhofer FOKUS a question about digitalisation in administration or learn more about their research? Then book an appointment for our eGovernment consultation. Experts will be available to answer your questions in 1-to-1 conversations. Book your slot and find more infos here…

Modern Times

The public sector is undergoing profound change. Many familiar processes are being questioned, and new ones tested. For example, will new ways of working with private actors lead to faster administrative digitalisation? And if public authorities adopt an agile approach and manage their projects in a more goal- and results-oriented manner: Will public projects then be planned, evaluated and implemented more efficiently in the future?

These and other pressing questions will be explored by our main festival partner PD on 2 June. PD Managing Director Claus Wechselmann is looking forward to the live festival with great excitement: “In twelve sessions, we will be discussing best practices in modern administrative work – and learning from each other how best to advance the digital transformation of administrations through cooperative and agile collaboration.”