At the moment, there are various programs that try to make politics and democracy understandable. This works on the national level as well as on the municipal level. Here are four digital and analogue examples:
- Wahlkabine.at
Since 2009 potential voters are able to use this website to gain more knowledge about potential matches with election programs of all common parties. The aim of Wahlkabine.at is to provide voters with an opportunity to compare their political positions with the positions of the various parties. The platform asks a series of questions on various political topics, and users can state their own positions on these questions. The answers of the different political parties to the same questions are then published on the platform. Voters can then compare their own answers with the parties’ positions and get an overview of which party they have the greatest agreement with in terms of content. Wahlkabine.at also enables users to obtain more information about the individual parties and their election programs. - Several Boardgames
“Democracy: Majority Rules” is a cooperative board game in which players take on the role of members of parliament and must make decisions together to find the best solution for a fictional community. In the process, they learn about different aspects of democracy, such as the importance of debate, compromise, voting, and representation of the population. Another example is the game “The Political Game – Governing and Making Laws.” It allows players to take on the role of political decision-makers and develop an understanding of the political process by making decisions and drafting laws. The game is designed to show how democracy works and how political decisions are made. - “Der Kanzlersimulator”
The Chancellor Simulator from SWR is an interactive online tool developed by the Südwestrundfunk (SWR), a public broadcasting company in Germany. The goal of the simulator is to give users the opportunity to slip into the role of a German chancellor and make political decisions. The Chancellor Simulator is based on real-life political scenarios and challenges that a government might face. Users can select different policy areas such as the economy, education, the environment or foreign policy and make decisions by, for example, passing laws or taking political action. What is special about the Chancellor’s Simulator is that it simulates the consequences of the decisions made. The effects of policy are presented to the players in the form of feedback and evaluations. This gives them an impression of how their decisions might affect different areas of society. - “Wer regiert Österreich? Du wenn du es willst”
The Migration Council’s report, published in December 2016, emphasizes the importance of public support for a successful nationwide migration policy. In response, the migration communication initiative, GEMEINSAM. VIEL BEWEGEN, was launched. It offers interactive programs for different school levels to explore the connections between migration, society, and politics. For upper secondary students, there’s the political simulation game GEMEINSAM. AUSTRIA GOVERNING. It allows players to experience democracy, responsibility, and the impact of migration on society. Interested teachers can book the simulation, GEMEINSAM.ÖSTERREICH REGIEREN, free of charge via ICMPD.
