These Community Voting Winners and Jury Favourites are coming to Berlin
The Digital Kick-Off Day celebrating creative bureaucracy and public sector innovation, has once again showcased some of the most forward-thinking projects from around the world. In the Community Voting more than 6,500 votes were cast. Six outstanding Project Showcases (three from the English-speaking programme and three from the German-speaking programme) emerged as the Community Voting Winners. Additionally, two projects were selected as Jury Favourites, receiving special recognition for their impact and innovation.
The following eight Project Showcases are invited to present on the festival’s big stage on 5 June in Berlin.
Winners of the international programme
🏆 Student Auditor: Fostering Civic Engagement in Belo Horizonte’s Public Schools
The Student Auditor Project empowers students in Belo Horizonte to audit schools, propose solutions, and engage in public administration, fostering youth leadership, civic education, and school improvement.
By Controladoria-Geral do Município de Belo Horizonte | Brazil
🏆 K100 Citizens‘ Waterway: Shaping Public Infrastructure Through Infraculture
The K100 Citizens’ Waterway Project transforms Bangalore’s drains into public spaces, integrating flood resilience, sewage management, and culture to foster community ownership and better urban water governance.
By Mod Foundation | India
🏆 UrbanLab for Green Cities: Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Sustainability
UrbanLab for Green Cities empowers citizens to co-design and test urban solutions. With 12 editions in 6 cities, it has created 50+ projects for sustainability, inclusivity, and climate action.
By UrbanizeHub | Romania
Winners of the DACH Region Programme
🏆 BunterBund – Austria’s first LGBTQIA+ network for a diverse administration
BunterBund connects employees across ministries in the Austrian Federal Service who wish to discuss LGBTQIA+ issues. Initiatives include networking meetings and awareness-raising workshops.
By BunterBund – Verein zur Förderung von LGBTQIA+ Interessen im österreichischen Bundesdienst | Austria
🏆State Competition for Start-up Friendly Municipalities – Start-up BW Local
Start-up BW Local helps municipalities become more start-up friendly. Economic development agencies pitch to founder juries, exchange best practices, and gain recognition for their work.
By Landeskampagne Start-up BW des Ministeriums für Wirtschaft, Arbeit und Tourismus Baden Württemberg | Germany
🏆 Urban Stack – Serving Smart Solutions. A Digital Ecosystem for All
Urban Stack is a digital Smart City ecosystem for the comprehensive digitisation of municipalities. The scalable open-source SaaS solution connects administration, citizens, and data, and can be flexibly customised.
By Stadt Gütersloh | Germany
Jury Favourites
⭐️ Building Purpose and Leadership Among Government & Citizens to Transform Health
This initiative addresses the high maternal mortality in Meghalaya, India, where a dispersed population across 6,000 remote villages made traditional top-down interventions ineffective. By establishing village health councils and cross-sectoral teams, the project empowered local communities to identify and address their own challenges. Strengthening collaboration, trust, and shared purpose unlocked local innovation, leading to systemic reforms such as the creation of citizen-run transit homes, ensuring expectant mothers could access timely healthcare. As a result, maternal mortality in the state dropped by nearly 50% between 2021 and 2023.
By State Capability Enhancement Project of the Government Innovation Lab, Government of Meghalaya | India
⭐️ Flexible Staff Deployment with the FLEX:Unit of the City of Kiel
The City of Kiel has created an innovative model with the FLEX:Unit, making administration more agile and resilient in times of crisis. Established in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this "flexible deployment unit" enables targeted staff allocation. Employees with diverse skill sets support various teams for several months in leadership, administrative, and project management roles—helping to ease workloads, share knowledge, and drive sustainable transformation.
By Landeshauptstadt Kiel | Germany
