Festival 2025
The Creative Bureaucracy Festival 2025
RECORD ATTENDANCE AND NEW IMPETUS FOR STATE MODERNISATION AT THE 8TH CREATIVE BUREAUCRACY FESTIVAL
- The 8th Creative Bureaucracy Festival took place on 5 June 2025.
- With over 2,100 attendees on site and more than 2,000 viewers via livestream, the festival recorded the highest participation numbers in its eight-year history.
- Key impulses for public sector innovation and state modernisation came from Philipp Amthor, Katja Wilken, Thomas de Maizière, and representatives from the Federal Ministry for Digital and State Modernisation, among others.
- A recording of the programme on the Impact Stage is available here.
On 5 June 2025, the Creative Bureaucracy Festival returned for its 8th edition in Berlin. The festival brought together over 2,100 international participants from government, politics, civil society, and other change-making organisations gathering to share and celebrate outstanding examples of innovative public administration. The festival welcomed both familiar and emerging creative minds and public sector innovators on four stages and five workshop spaces including a new meetup area. Across 90 sessions, more than 200 speakers from over 30 countries shared bold ideas, practical tools, and inspiring experiences.
DIGITAL KICK-OFF DAY 2025
The Digital Kick-Off Day on 13 March was a huge success! With 30 Project Showcases and 15 Digital Workshops from 15 countries, the event brought together a global audience. 1,500 viewers from around the world tuned in via livestream, around 400 participated in the workshops and over 6,500 votes were cast in the Community Voting. Watch all Project Showcases, talks and interviews of the day on our YouTube channel here. In the end, six Community Voting winners and two Jury Favourites were invited to present on the festival’s big stage.
OUR TWO EVENTS ONE DAY BEFORE | 4 JUNE 2025
Global Government Innovators Forum
The Global Government Innovators Forum brings together key actors shaping public innovation worldwide in a unique unconference format. Participants discuss pressing challenges and exchange ideas, experiences, and approaches. The forum creates space for open dialogue, peer learning, and unexpected connections – aiming to build lasting change by strengthening public sector practice and advancing new thinking across borders.
Young Bureaucrats Event
At the Young Bureaucrats Event 50 emerging public sector talents gather ahead of the Creative Bureaucracy Festival. Through workshops and discussions, they explore shared challenges, exchange ideas, and build connections across disciplines and backgrounds. The event offers space for the next generation to connect, learn from one another, and strengthen their engagement in public service – laying the groundwork for a more resilient and collaborative public sector.
INFORMATION ABOUT THE FESTIVAL 2025:
WHEN?
The Festival took place on Thursday, 5 June 2025. Doors open at 8:00 (CEST) and all programme sessions will run between 9:00 – 19:00 (CEST).
WHERE?
The festival was hosted at Festsaal Kreuzberg in Berlin, located at Am Flutgraben 2, 12435 Berlin. Found between the underground station Schlesisches Tor and the train station Treptower Park, it offers convenient access via bus, S-Bahn and U-Bahn.
WHAT WAS ON?
More than 2,100 participants from around the world – including representatives from government, politics, civil society, and other change-making organisations – came together to exchange ideas and celebrate outstanding examples of innovative public administration. The festival welcomed both established and emerging creative thinkers and public sector innovators across four stages and five workshop areas, including a newly introduced meetup area. In 90 sessions, over 200 speakers from more than 30 countries shared bold ideas, practical tools, and inspiring experiences.
HOW PEOPLE TOOK PART?
Guests joined live in Berlin or tuned in digitally via the livestream of the Impact Stage on our website.
Stages, Forums & Meetups
The Impact Stage addressed key questions of state reform, participatory democracy, and administrative innovation. Topics included the EU’s plans for strengthening public administration, digital transformation in federal systems, approaches to strengthening female leadership in the public sector, and science governance.
The Connection Stage explored how collaboration, community, and creativity could drive systemic change across institutions, borders, and generations. Whether it was reimagining citizen engagement, inclusive administration, or the future of cultural institutions – this stage celebrated the power of unlikely alliances and shared purpose.
The Transformation Stage was where we explored the tools, mindsets, and mechanisms that helped the public sector respond to contemporary demands – from financial reform and tech innovation to cultural change and data-driven decisions. The programme spanned community as a capability in government, inclusive innovation, and smarter public investment.
The Imagination Stage offered space for bold ideas and shared reflection in a participatory fishbowl format – inviting curiosity, dialogue, and creative disruption. From reshaping the role of culture in urban transformation to navigating complexity and institutional chaos, the stage created space for fresh perspectives.
Beyond the main stages, the festival offered four dedicated Forums, including our Academy, and a new Meetup area – each designed to foster deeper exchange, hands-on learning, and cross-sector collaboration on the most pressing questions in governance.
