The Creative Bureaucracy Festival 2024

CREATIVE BUREAUCRACY FESTIVAL IN BERLIN WITH RECORD ATTENDANCE: SUSTAINABLE ADMINISTRATIVE TRANSFORMATIONS REQUIRE COOPERATION, CREATIVITY, EMPOWERMENT

• More than 1,850 guests on site, more than 2,500 viewers online​​​
• Top speakers included Marco Buschmann, Federal Minister of Justice; Markus Richter, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of the Interior and for Home Affairs and Chief Information Officer of the Federal Government; Steffen Saebisch, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Finance; Sarah Ryglewski, Minister of State at the Federal Chancellery; Martina Klement, State Secretary for Digitalisation and Administrative Modernisation and Chief Digital Officer of the State of Berlin; Dirk Günnewig, State Secretary in the Ministry of Finance of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
• The international guests included: Namatai Kwekweza (Zimbabwe), winner of the Kofi Annan NextGen Democracy Prize and democracy activist; Sophie Howe (UK), former Future Generations Commissioner for Women; Tamara Srzentić (Montenegro), former Minister of Public Administration, Digital Society and Media
• The winners of the Creative Bureaucracy Festival Awards are Matthias Ecke, Sophie Howe, Christiana Bukalo

The Creative Bureaucracy Festival returned on 13 June 2024 in Berlin to rethink principles, processes and practices of our public institutions. Once again we welcomed creative minds, public sector innovators and creative changemakers from all over the world. Our programme calendar featured a lineup of more than 200 speakers from almost 40 countries, 83 English and German language sessions with several formats such as keynotes, panels, workshops, round tables, and even a cruise. Here is our photo gallery of the festival and the programme overview.

DIGITAL KICK-OFF DAY 2024

Prior to the live festival in Berlin, the Digital Kick-Off Day in March, ushers in a new year for administrative innovation with forward-looking ideas and projects. The online event consists of the entries selected by the festival jury from the annual Call for Participation. For the first time, the programme comprised three different categories and offered more than 90 Project Showcases, Digital Workshops and Podcast Episodes.

The Digital Kick-Off Day took place on 21 March and counted more than 2,200 livestream viewers, almost 500 workshop participants and 4,400 podcast episode listeners from 90 countries, as well as 6,500 votes cast to elect the community voting winners 2024!

The videos for each Project Showcase are published on our YouTube channel.

THE DAY BEFORE | 12 JUNE 2024

INFORMATION ABOUT THE FESTIVAL 2024:
 

WHEN?
The Festival took place on 13 June 2024. Doors opened at 8:00 (CEST) and all programme sessions ran between 9:00 – 19:00 (CEST). And to ensure this really feels like the festival we all deserve, we were excited to also offer a day of music, art and entertainment throughout the day until 23:00 (CEST).

WHERE?
In 2024, the festival changed its location. After two live festivals at the event location Radialsystem in Berlin and with growing numbers of participants and programmes, it was time to expand. On 13 June, we welcomed you in Berlin at Festsaal Kreuzberg, Oberhafenkantine, Flutgraben, and Arena Market Berlin – all locations are within easy walking distance and offered great spaces for new outdoor and indoor experiences.

WHAT WAS ON?
In 83 sessions with more than 200 speakers from around the world innovative solutions for the administration of tomorrow were presented: Entrepreneurial States, Equitable Citymaking, Creative procurement, “Fördermodernisierung”, Nighttime Governance, Digital Twin Cities, Sustainability Reporting, Science-Fiction-Bureaucracy, Decolonization, Environmental Movements, Legal Justice, AI, “Startups x Verwaltung”, Public-Private-Partnerships, Finance for Social Good, “Ämter der Zukunft”, and many more!

Four dynamic stages and four immersive workshop tracks shaped the main programme for our festival day, with several formats such as keynotes, panels, workshops, round tables and even a cruise! The Creative Bureaucracy Festival Awards honoured innovators within or associated with the public sector.

HOW PEOPLE TOOK PART?
Guests  joined live or they took part digitally via our Livestream from the Impact Stage.

4 STAGES
 

Impact Stage

There was a dynamic lineup on our Impact Stage featuring keynotes, panels, and thought-provoking chats showcasing innovative initiatives. From igniting hope for democracy to promoting female empowerment, guests discoverd approaches to driving progress and rallying for change. They could delve into administrative modernization, AI, and societal change.

Connection Stage

Our inaugural open-air Connection Stage focused on collaboration and community building. Guests explored culture’s role in fostering connections, compared state modernization strategies, and discussed managing 24-hour cities. Sessions covered synthesis, citizen-centric grant management, sustainable procurement, diversity, innovation, and project management essentials.

Imagination Stage

The Imagination Stage stood for reimagining future bureaucracies creatively. Guests crafted innovative visions for change and discussed mission-driven bureaucrats. They discovered initiatives like the African Union’s digital fellowship, participated in intergenerational dialogues, and gained insights from young female entrepreneurs.

Transformation Stage

On the Transformation Stage, we delved into transformative initiatives and propel action on pressing challenges. Guests joined us for a “GovTech Connect Pitches” session, featuring several startups providing digital solutions to tackle public sector challenges. They explored sessions on engaging young people in politics and administration, sustainable school IT, and mission-oriented funding design.

4 FORUMS & 1 CRUISE

• FORUM AI – this Forum was organised by our festival partner PD (public sector in-house consultancy Germany) exploring various topics related to AI in the public sector.
• FORUM Resilient Futures – this Forum focused on exploring strategies aimed at building resilience in the public sector for the challenges of the future and was organised by partners such as the German Federal Ministry of Defence, BMVg; the Konrad Adenauer Foundation; Project Management Institute, PMI and Placemaking Europe.
• FORUM Bureaucratic Activism – organised by our partners Politics for Tomorrow, the Danish Center for Public-Private Innovation, Dark Matter Labs and Center for Complexity RISD, this Forum explored how to leverage different levels of influence within democratic systems to advocate for societal decisions reflecting the needs of our planetary society.
• FORUM Cities - Prototyping Democracy – this Forum was organised together with BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt RISE Cities and discussed in different sessions how cities can serve as experimental grounds for democratic innovation and societal progress.
• Cruise - Guests joined us for four immersive workshops on a boat along Berlin’s waterways, exploring the theme of #ProveKafkaWrong. Just like last year, due to limited capacity on the boat, you could win your Golden Ticket at the Opening to participate.