The TEDYC – Toolkit Educating for Dynamic Citizenship – project is one of our favourite projects of recent years: Firstly, the collaboration with our partners in Locarno, the Department of Education and Learning at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI) and the Institute of Argumentation, Linguistics and Semiotics (IALS) at the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) in Lugano was exceptionally pleasant and very constructive, so we very much hope that many more joint projects will follow.

Secondly, the two simulation games developed are very low-threshold and available both on our digital platform Senaryon and in analogue PDF format, as well as in four languages – this allows for a very wide range of use, depending on the linguistic and technical preferences of the teachers. This technical and linguistic versatility is an absolute unique benefit of this project.

The dissemination workshop with education professionals from Ticino was particularly exciting for us: it was the first Italian-language workshop in the history of planpolitik! And if we are to believe the feedback from the participants, we could certainly do this more often.

And thirdly, Ticino is a beautiful region where people like to spend their holidays, which is why the two trips in May will remain particularly fond memories: after work, hiking on Lugano's local mountain, Monte Bré, or taking a quick dip in Lake Maggiore is almost a little surreal from a Berlin-Neukölln perspective, but in any case very beautiful.

The project ran from 2022 to 2025. Together with our partners in Ticino, we developed two very low-threshold simulation games, tested them extensively and researched their use – financed by the Swiss foundation Movetia.

The now completed toolkit ‘Educating for Dynamic Citizenship’ offers two simulation games in digital or printed form for young people aged 12 and above. The games are designed to promote critical thinking, argumentation skills and perspective-taking, as well as a dynamic concept of citizenship (citoyenneté), which is understood as the result of a conscious and dialogical decision.

The simulations deal with two fictional scenarios: on the one hand, the possible introduction of school uniforms and, on the other, the use of a vacant building in the city centre. These can be easily adapted to different educational contexts. An accompanying handbook provides detailed instructions for educational staff and tips on how to address the topics in an inclusive and unbiased manner and develop empathy for different points of view.

We very much hope that the games will be used frequently in Switzerland. With minor adjustments, they can also be used in Germany or other countries – after all, they already exist in four languages. If you are interested, simply go to the project website and download the game materials and the manual! Let's hope that this project will also help to promote civic engagement.